In the wake of The Donald’s Second Coming, an ideological movement has arisen with the resilience and momentum to endure well past the point its founder steps away.
Future strategists will marvel at how Democratic zealotry on energy, immigration, and trans rights drove swathes of their base into the hands of their opponents. That is why we have seen hardly any protest marches or conspiratorial media narratives in response to Trump’s second victory.
Progressives have, it seems, conceded that many positions they once deemed beyond the pale now resonate with mainstream voters to a striking degree. An astonishing 67 per cent of 18-29 year-olds now express optimism about Trump’s second term. While that does not equate to political support, the shift in mood among older Zoomers does reflect an anticipation of improved economic conditions and employment opportunities.
Just as importantly, elite young Americans appear to be increasingly drawn to the countercultural cachet of a movement that once existed well beyond the boundaries of social respectability. MAGA has spent the last eight years developing its own institutions, policy shops, and media platforms. Most distinctively, it has spawned a labyrinthine universe of memes, symbols, phrases, talking points, and cultural touchstones that energize digital natives as much as they baffle Beltway normies.
As a movement, MAGA has embedded itself on the American political landscape by forging an infrastructure and intellectual framework that gives concrete expression to its founder’s uncanny instinct for securing the national interest. This development has implications that extend far beyond America’s shores.
In Britain, observers are taking note of the strength of MAGA’s institutional infrastructure. The newly rebranded Prosperity Institute exemplifies a growing recognition that Right-wing movements need to emulate the successes of their transatlantic counterparts such as The Heritage Foundation and American Moment.
Looking ahead, the challenge for Republicans will be to manage the transition from a personality-driven movement to a dominant political force. That is a challenge that it looks ready to meet after Trump’s own transition from chaotic CEO in 2016 to a more emollient chairman figure, who seems willing to entrust a degree of power and responsibility to Cabinet appointees that would have been unthinkable in previous administrations.
Democrats must now reflect upon how they misjudged the political moment so disastrously. And for us loyal colonials on the edge of the American imperium, MAGA offers a blueprint for how populist concerns could be minted into prosperity for all. Britain’s sclerotic establishment can no longer dismiss the New Right as a passing phase. Trumpism is here to stay.
