Over the weekend, I went to DC to meet everyone right-wing influencers and the content creators who made it President Donald Trump Victory 2024 possible. They were everywhere.
The 2024 election was the election of the influencer and inauguration was no different: There were dozens of pre- and post-inaugural parties and balls this weekend, as well as the big event itself. Theo Von sat in front of Jake and Logan Paul under the Capitol rotunda (well, until the podcaster’s chair collapsed). Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, and Brett Cooper walked the Turning Point USA red carpet and posed for selfies with fans. Jessic Reed Kraus, writer of the HouseInhabit newsletter, went with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Make America Healthy Again ball on Monday night.
In August, I published a guide on Republican and Democratic influencers shaping the 2024 elections. Influencers and content creators still matter, and will communicate and drive policy decisions for years to come.
Welcome to Trump 2.0, where these creators have the ears of not only their audience, but the president as well. Here are some of the ones to keep an eye on over the next four years.
Podcasters and Streamers
The 2024 election was the breakthrough cycle for podcasters in politics. Most of the shows that Trump has continued welcome to the manospherea free network of creators pushing misogynistic, racist and pro-male ideology online. This includes people like Joe Rogan, Andrew Schulz, the Paul brothers, and Adin Rosswho shared his Trump interviews with millions and millions of his fans. There is also a second branch, consisting of creators who have marked themselves as the intellectual wing of the modern Republican party, such as Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin and Lex Fridman. Fridman’s YouTube podcast reaches millions of viewers every week. Shapiro’s show is one of the most popular those on Spotify.
These podcasters have amplified Trump and his agenda with little, if any, pushback. They will likely be key in rallying support for the Trump administration’s decisions.
I spoke briefly with Shapiro on Sunday night, asking what’s next for the GOP and podcasting. “The power continues to grow,” he said. “Legacy media is completely broken. We are focused on expanding, not only our brand, but there are so many other brands that need expansion, I think it will be a very rich time for the podcast industry.
The Meme Pages
DC Draino, the typical liberal, RagingAmericans, and Snowflaketears are some of the biggest pro-MAGA meme pages on Instagram. Combined, these accounts have more than 6 million followers. They act as a conduit between GOP leadership priorities and platforms like X and Instagram.
Think of their accounts as news aggregators for people who might not otherwise consume them.
The organizers
While Democrats also worked with influencers over the last election cycle, no PAC or campaign organized them as effectively and efficiently as the right. Because of Turning Point USA and its leader, Charlie Kirkmany of the most popular creators of the GOP are seen at least a few times a year at the summits of the organization and training. According to interviews with some of the leading organizers of the right, that infrastructure will only grow in the next four years. The organizers themselves have also become influencers to watch.
I wrote about it a party of influences (and victory lap) hosted during the opening weekend which was put by CJ Pearson and Raquel Debono. Pearson, a conservative creator with more than 500,000 followers, co-chairs the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council. He played a key role in the adoption of influencers by the party and planned additional trainings with organizations such as the Heritage Foundation.
https://media.wired.com/photos/67917c795a26334664bc963c/191:100/w_1280,c_limit/politics_newsletter_maga_influencers.jpg
2025-01-23 15:00:00
