Right-wing influencers turn against Trump’s campaign – Mother Jones
White nationalist Nick Fuentes is one of numerous right-wing influencers who denigrate Trump’s campaign team – but not his candidate.Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto/ZUMA
Right-wing extremist influencers stand behind their husband – but not behind his election campaign.
The WashingtonPost To Sunday described how several far-right figures with large online followings – including white supremacist Nick Fuentes and activists Laura Loomer and Candace Owens – sowed discord by publicly criticizing He argued that Trump needs new leadership that would push him to take a tougher stance on issues such as race and immigration.
Fuentes dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, demonstrating how much influence he has gained since his early days as a “Fringe YouTube star,” as my former colleague Ali Breland reported. Just last week, Trump’s vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) called Fuentes “a total loser.” But Fuentes Earlier this month, he posted on X: “We support Trump, but his campaign has been hijacked by the same consultants, lobbyists and donors he defeated in 2016, and they are screwing it up. Without serious change, we are headed for a catastrophic defeat.”
Fuentes, who has more than 390,000 followers on X, has racially attacked Vance’s Indian-American wife Usha and pilloried Vance for his past criticism of Trump. He has also criticized the Trump campaign for distancing itself from Project 2025 – even though, probably to Fuentes’ delight, the ties between the former president and Project 2025 are deep and likely permanent. He called on the campaign to get rid of chief strategist Chris LaCivita and senior adviser Susie Wiles. Fuentes claimed “victory” this week after the Trump campaign hired 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
The post reported that two days before Fuentes’ tweet, Laura Loomer, who has 1.2 million followers on the platform, said Trump’s surrogates looked “weak” on TV, adding that the campaign “needs to change FAST because we can’t be talking about a stolen election for the next four years.” A year ago, Loomer posted a video with Trump from his golf club in Bedminster to X, calling her “very special” and saying he appreciated her support.
Then there is Candace Owens, who has 5.4 million followers on X and who previously hosted Trump at the White House. In her podcast this week, she said, “I’m just not sure who’s driving the MAGA bus anymore.”
His most extreme supporters are joined by leading Republicans who also believe Trump needs to change his strategy – but they have different recommendations. Former UN ambassador and one-time Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway are among the leading Republicans who believe Trump is necessary. Avoid personal attacks and focus more on Harris’ policy positions. Meet the press On Sunday, even Trump supporter Senator Lindsey Graham (RSC) said: “Every day that we don’t talk about their policies … is a good day for them and a bad day for us.”
Yet both far-right activists and leading Republicans may feel somewhat reassured by Trump’s list of extremist priorities if re-elected. The former president has, for example, said he would pursue mass deportations and recently signaled that he would be open to banning medication abortions — though his campaign later denied this. And this week, Trump’s campaign account on X sparked controversy after posting a photo of black men on a street with the caption “Your neighborhood under Kamala.”
Just as the Republicans have not softened their stance on abortion – no matter what they would have you believe – Trump has not Really The problem for his supporters is that Americans – even those who advise him – seem less and less interested in his hard-line political positions.
As post Reports:
Some campaign officials had previously argued that the far-right influencers added value by bringing political messages to their audiences. But the more overt attacks by Fuentes and his followers, who call themselves “groypers,” have become a “noisy” and counterproductive distraction to the campaign, said a person familiar with the activities who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
“If anything, (Fuentes) is hurting the idea of bringing fresh blood into the campaign because it makes it a lot harder for Trump if it looks like he’s pandering to the groypers,” the person said.
When asked for comment, Trump’s campaign referred to an Aug. 11 Truth Social post in which Trump said he was “leading in almost all REAL polls” and his team was doing a “great job.”
The Trump team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
