How the MAGA wave revived in America

“America’s golden era begins today,” President Donald Trump declared in his inauguration speech on January 20. “America will soon be greater, stronger and more extraordinary than ever before.”

Observers believe that Mr. Trump’s statement marks the development to the peak of the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement that he has promoted for many years. Across many aspects of American society, from sports and entertainment to classrooms and workplaces, there are increasing signs that MAGA is not just for the White House, but is gaining a stronger foothold in the workplace. popular culture.

Instead of kneeling to call for social justice, American National Football League (NFL) players perform the “Trump dance” in the end zone during matches. Mainstream entertainers, such as country singer Carrie Underwood or rapper Snoop Dogg, have agreed to perform at events commemorating Mr. Trump’s inauguration, something music stars have largely avoided. dodge 8 years ago.

A generation of comedians and health care influencers supporting President Trump are flooding YouTube and other social media platforms. The audio clip featuring Barron, President Trump’s youngest son, and First Lady Melania has become one of the hottest memes online, with celebrities like Paris Hilton and brands like Frontier Airlines using it. it in posts on TikTok or Instagram.

“Every time I walk on campus, I see a few red MAGA hats. This is definitely a new thing,” said Carson Carpenter, 19, a senior at Arizona State University. “Conservatism has really become inextricably embedded in our popular culture… It’s very popular.”

Off campus, Americans who once hid their sympathy for President Trump now proudly display it on their sleeves or hats.

Trevor Traina, a technology entrepreneur and ambassador in the first Trump administration, said he clearly felt the changes when he co-hosted a fundraiser for Mr. Trump last June in the Pacific Heights area, San Francisco, a Democratic stronghold, where the majority of people have liberal views.

Traina said instead of having to deal with protests like they expected, the event attracted more than 100 people wearing red MAGA hats walking around the neighborhood.

“You know, in my life, I’ve never seen anything like that. Republicans in San Francisco used to march with headscarves, rushing in the dark,” he said.

In fact, some values ​​associated with liberalism have become more popular in recent years in the United States. Same-sex marriage is widely accepted and more than half of US states have liberalized cannabis laws.

After the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, a Wall Street Journal-NORC poll found that support for abortion rights has reached one of its highest levels since NORC began began tracking this issue in the 1970s.

However, polling company Gallup found that the proportion of Americans who identify as socially conservative also increased significantly, reaching a 10-year high. Accordingly, about 38% of poll participants considered themselves conservative and 29% said they had liberal leanings.

Moreover, conservatives are gaining the upper hand in a long-standing fight to reverse what they call the liberal takeover of Hollywood, academia, and hiring and investment policies. at large enterprises.

Large businesses in the US are withdrawing efforts to diversify racial and gender issues that became urgent after the black man George Floyd was killed by police in 2020 and sparked a movement to fight. The fight for racial equality follows a liberal trend.

Colleges are adapting to the Supreme Court’s ban on considering race in the admissions process. Programs designed to help minority students are under legal attack, facing complaints that they discriminate on the basis of race.

Conservatives have long complained that free speech is censored on social media. Last month, Meta announced an end to fact-checking and restrictions on certain types of speech on social networks Facebook and Instagram.

Last year, Pixar, a subsidiary of Disney, reportedly removed a transgender storyline from the animated series Win or Loseexplains that the company realizes many parents want to discuss certain topics with their children in a personal way.

“I think we’re winning, and it’s rewarding to see that,” said Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative think tank, referring to diversity programs. of race and gender are being erased and the role of religion is expanding in American life.

President Trump’s inauguration on January 20 was a gathering of America’s largest business leaders, and some of them have begun to abandon policies on climate change or promoting diversity, the goal that the MAGA movement always aims for.

Many businesses have millions of customers and do not want to take a political stance, but their leaders appearing with President Trump signals that he has been widely accepted by the public, according to observers.

Among the business leaders with seats at the ceremony are Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, the world’s richest billionaire Elon Musk, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos from Amazon and Sundar Pichai from Alphabet, the parent company. by Google.

Coca-Cola recently released an edition water bottle commemorating Mr. Trump’s inauguration. The company has produced similar water bottles for five previous inaugurations, but this is the first time chief executive James Quincey has personally presented it to the President.

The commemorative water bottle attracted attention because Coca-Cola harshly criticized President Trump for the immigration control policy he implemented in 2017 and called the Capitol Hill riot on January 6, 2021 an “event”. insults America’s democratic ideals.”

Many political analysts say Americans are becoming more open to conservative ideas because they are tired of the “rejection culture”, which many people believe is too sensitive to gender identity issues. gender and race.

The trend of social media development is also an important factor driving MAGA’s expansion. By appearing on YouTube, Instagram or other platforms, conservative content creators can avoid traditional censorship and build a like-minded audience.

Manu Anpalagan, 20, a third-year student at Yale University, remembers Ben Shapiro’s high school craze in Buffalo, New York, when the conservative commentator’s debates with students were published. uploaded on YouTube became famous.

“The kids enjoy watching clips of ‘Ben Shapiro smashing liberal arguments,'” Anpalagan said.

Medical influencers and famous comedians, such as Theo Von and the Nelk Boys, now also convey conservative messages. Both Theo Von and Nelk Boys have hosted podcasts with Mr. Trump.

“We are witnessing the increasingly strong integration of conservatism into everyday life,” Anpalagan said.

As a Yale student, Anpalagan restarted the school’s Republican club last year after it was discontinued. According to him, MAGA hats are still rare at this generally liberal university, but evidence of cultural change was clear when 40 freshmen showed up on campus day to Consider joining the Republican club.

President Trump’s personal popularity also has certain impacts. His somewhat rambling speeches are now welcomed by many as a unique feature, not a flaw. The clumsy, cheerful dance moves he showed were responded to and imitated by young Americans.

“If you don’t think Trump is funny and is considered funny, it’s very difficult to solve the puzzle of what Democrats can do to better deal with him,” said Liam Kerr, co-founder of WelcomePAC, the organization supporting Democratic centrists, noted.

Kevin O’Leary, Shark Tank investor, said the direct-to-consumer marketing trend after the Covid-19 pandemic has caused some business owners, like him, to pay more attention to social media. , President Trump’s dance moves and viral videos featuring his voice.

“Mr. Trump accidentally, unintentionally, made himself fashionable,” O’Leary commented.

The rugby field is also a place to clearly witness the strong rise of the MAGA movement. Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who knelt during the national anthem at games as a form of social justice protest, was not signed after the 2016 season.

Currently, the representative face of the NFL’s protest movement is player Nick Bosa, also from the San Francisco 49ers. Bosa interrupted a television interview just before the November election to show off his MAGA hat.

He was later fined for violating tournament rules. However, this player affirmed that “it was worth it”.