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<\/a><\/a>Students in Fieldston\u2019s \u201cThe Rise of The Right in Contemporary American Politics\u201d history class, taught by Dr. Nancy Banks and Dr. Jennifer Tammi, have been attending CPAC since 2011. This year, the class had a front-row seat at an historic turning point in American politics. In the 2024 Presidential Election, Trump won both the electoral and popular votes, decisively marking a national swing towards the right. Yet \u201cMAGA\u201d politics is distinct from traditional forms of conservatism, emphasizing populism and anti-globalist policies with an undercurrent of Christian nationalism. These values were on clear display throughout the two days (Thursday and Friday) that my classmates and I spent at CPAC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/a>Thursday began with a conversation between J.D. Vance and former White House Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp. Vance is undeniably articulate and energetic \u2013 it\u2019s easy to see why he\u2019s widely considered the future of the GOP. \u201cHe\u2019s such a good speaker,\u201d the sequin-clad woman behind me whispered to her friend. Vance quickly identified the bread-and-butter issues: immigration and economy, peppered with anti-cancel culture jargon. He and Schlapp claimed an immigration crackdown will restrict an influx of human traffickers and drug cartels preying on \u201cangel\u201d American families, as well as protect American jobs and entitlements. \u201cIf you get control of the border, you do more to control the financial problems that we have in this country than almost anything,\u201d said Vance. Boosting the economy also means we\u2019re going to \u201cdrill, baby, drill\u201d \u2013 Vance explained, in simple terms, how unleashing energy could drive down consumer costs. DOGE, meanwhile, will redirect taxpayer money away from \u201cprogressive modern art projects centered around toilets in Afghanistan\u201d and back towards American priorities. The administration ultimately aims to improve American quality of life through affordable housing, employment opportunities and family security.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>Throughout the day, mainstage speakers addressed immigration, religion, technology, education and global affairs. Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing populist Reform UK, and Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss praised the POTUS. \u201cWe want a Trump revolution in Britain,\u201d said Truss. \u201cWe want Elon and his nerd army of Musk-rats examining the British deep state.\u201d Panels like \u201cThe Takedown of Left Tech\u201d accused the Biden administration of working with Big Tech giants to \u201ccensor speech\u201d under the guise of misinformation. In discussion with Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Pam Bondi evoked horrific imagery of the U.S.-Mexico border: young girls\u2019 underwear hanging from \u201crape trees\u201d and \u201cdisposable children\u201d who cross repeatedly, accompanying different \u201cfamilies.\u201d Her approach to increasing deportations involves suing sanctuary cities, including New York and Chicago. \u201cI gave a very strong warning,\u201d Bondi said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t comply with the law, you\u2019re next.\u201d Michael Knowles, a 34-year-old political commentator on the Daily Wire, endorsed Christian nationalism. \u201cThe fact that, in recent decades, our political class has largely removed God from public life, is an aberration and a national scandal,\u201d he said. \u201cIt needs to be reversed.\u201d Vance, in contrast, chose his words carefully. He said families should be able to safely raise children to become \u201cgood young people\u201d in \u201ctheir faith\u201d \u2013 not necessarily Christianity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 4 p.m., the Potomac Ballroom was packed, brimming with anticipation for a special guest announced just hours earlier: Elon Musk. The billionaire tech mogul emerged with rapper chains swinging, oversized sunglasses and a \u201cdark gothic MAGA\u201d hat. Before long, he fist pumped the air, clutching a chainsaw gifted by Argentinian president Javier Milei \u2013 a reference to DOGE\u2019s extensive government employee and budget cuts. Musk struggled through an awkward comedy routine, his words barely intelligible, with long silences punctuated by shouts of \u201cWe love you\u201d from the audience. \u201cI am become meme,\u201d he said, in a response that effectively summed up the interview. \u201cThere\u2019s living the dream and there\u2019s living the meme, and that\u2019s pretty much what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a>The fiery Steve Bannon speech that followed was a stark contrast to Vance\u2019s measured language and Musk\u2019s stardom trip. The \u201cWar Room\u201d host roused the crowd with militant maxims, howling, \u201cFix bayonets, we\u2019re charging again!\u201d The announcement that former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell would be retiring raised more cheers. Notably, Bannon made a motion resembling the same Sieg Hail<\/em> that Musk performed at the inauguration. Mexican actor Eduardo Ver\u00e1stegui appeared to do the same. Subsequently, French National Rally leader Jordan Bardella cancelled his CPAC appearance<\/a>. Bannon denied the gesture was a Nazi salute, responding, \u201cIf [Bardella\u2019s] that worried about it and wets himself like a little child, then he is unworthy and will never lead France.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n It was a whirlwind two days. Yet, just one month into Trump\u2019s second term, these CPAC speeches, panels and attendee interviews provided a glimpse into the future of American politics. Here are a few key takeaways from the conference:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCommon sense\u201d was extolled again and again. Knowles attributed shifts in Black, Latino and female voting groups to Democrats losing on \u201ccommon sense.\u201d He said, \u201cUniparty elites have limited the political discourse to exclude the common sense policies that people actually want (…) it does not take a PhD in philosophy or theology to know we owe more to our kids than we do to face tattooed Mexican gangsters.\u201d Vance called Trump\u2019s goal of establishing safety and prosperity, \u201cpretty common sense stuff.\u201d Bannon, too, referenced Trump\u2019s address to the World Economic Forum<\/a> on January 23, in which he deemed the 72 hours following his inauguration a \u201crevolution of common sense.\u201d Even NewsMax comedian Rob Carson praised the overthrow of \u201cnonsense\u201d in schools and return of \u201ccommon sense\u201d in a brief elevator conversation with me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This rhetoric is indicative of Trump\u2019s populist base. The perception of Democrats as perched in ivory towers has become widespread, evidenced both at CPAC and in exit polling. The \u201cdiploma divide\u201d grew among voters in 2024: the Washington Post<\/a> found that \u201cvoters without college degrees supported Trump by a wider margin than any Republican since 1984.\u201d According to NBC<\/a>, this equated to nearly 70% of white men and 63% of white women who were not college graduates. Bannon emphasized this success, informing the crowd that Trump had delivered \u201ca populist nationalist revolution.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ve honored every patriot in this country, every patriot grave,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve honored them through your agency \u2013 this is all you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suspicions surrounding the \u201cmainstream media\u201d are a key component of MAGA populism. Jeremiah Hooker, a Plattsburgh resident in his 40s, told me that he personally witnesses groups of immigrants (all military-aged, able-bodied men) being deposited by the busload at upstate gas stations. \u201cI experienced it first hand, saw with my own eyes\u2026and then the news says that\u2019s not what\u2019s happening,\u201d he said. Furthermore, he noted the economic discrepancies between administrations. His business struggled under Obama and Biden, while under Trump, he\u2019d \u201copen up [his] center console and it [was] full of cash.\u201d For someone like Hooker, it could be undeniably compelling to hear Bannon affirm his reality and profess that power resides in Hooker\u2019s own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This wariness has fueled the popularity of conservative podcasts, talk shows and social media influencers. Trump, buoyed by the trend, continues to engage with these sources and has begun restricting others. AP News, which has continued to refer to the \u201cGulf of America\u201d as the \u201cGulf of Mexico,\u201d has been barred from Oval Office events<\/a>. On February 25, the White House broke precedent by announcing<\/a> that they would hand-pick the pool of reporters admitted to press conferences. \u201cWe are going to give the power back to the people,\u201d said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. \u201cNew voices are going to be welcomed in,\u201d she announced, noting that many radio hosts and streaming services have traditionally been denied access to the pool. The notion that individuals are more reliable informants than major news corporations is shaping the national media landscape \u2013 and playing a key role in cultivating youth voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On February 10, the New York Times published \u201cHow Charlie Kirk Became the Youth Whisperer of the American Right,<\/a>\u201d a profile examining the rise of Charlie Kirk, media personality and co-founder of Turning Point USA. Like Ben Shapiro, Kirk is well-known for his videos featuring debates with liberal college students<\/a>. In high school, Kirk gained the favor of older Tea Party activists like Bill Montgomery, who \u201curged [Kirk] to spread his message to college campuses rather than attending college himself.\u201d For conservatives seeking to reach the next generation of voters, individuals like Shapiro and Kirk are emblematic of the boots-on-the-ground approach that may corral more followers towards MAGA. \u201cWe\u2019ve got the power of persuasion,\u201d said Vance. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to convince our fellow citizens.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Attitudes towards the United States\u2019 role in the international sphere were inconsistent. \u201cGlobalism is going to die,\u201d Matt Schlapp announced in the conference introduction. Flashy anti-globalist videos skirted across the mainstage screens. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure other countries stop taking advantage of us,\u201d Vance said of Trump\u2019s tariff policy, while Bannon asserted that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is finally being \u201cput in his place.\u201d Yet, there was a global presence in the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A significant portion of the conference was dedicated to reiterating the United States\u2019 commitment to standing with Israel. Two freed Israeli hostages were present in the audience, one panel hosted family members of Israeli hostages and another breakout group discussed \u201cA New Take on Mid-East Peace.\u201d While this support for Israel is seemingly at odds with the Christian nationalism on display, there is a long history of Christian alignment with Zionism. Many U.S. evangelicals, for example, believe the creation of the state of Israel was the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and that the Jewish people must return to Israel as part of the \u201cend times\u201d and the Second Coming of Jesus. Other Christians may be sympathetic to a nation with a strong religious identity, coupled with Israel\u2019s position as a major non-NATO military ally that shares regional interests. Ultimately, unity with Israel appeals to the desire for a clear, simple, dualistic approach to a complex geopolitical issue. However, this vociferous support for the Jewish state is in tension with the overt anti-semitism on display (the notorious Nazi salutes, for example), which may pose a challenge to a long-term alliance between Israel and MAGA Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain\u2019s hard-right Vox party, joined Brits Farage and Truss on stage. Friday\u2019s agenda consisted of speakers from CPAC chapters in Japan, Australia and Korea. In the exhibition hall, I spoke with a representative from CPAC Hungary who was excited about the rise of the right under President Viktor Orb\u00e1n. The European contingent largely praised Vance\u2019s controversial address<\/a> at the Munich Security Conference on February 14. \u201cJD called them out in this speech and he was right,\u201d said Farage. The crowd applauded as Vance insisted that the U.S. relationship with our traditional European allies will be contingent upon the adoption of \u201cshared values.\u201d \u201cWe do not have shared values if you\u2019re jailing people for saying we should close down our border (…) if you cancel elections because you don\u2019t like the result (and that happened in Romania) (…) if you\u2019re so afraid of your own people that you silence them and shut them up,\u201d he said. Echoing his Munich address, he suggested that the greatest threat to the Western world is attacks on \u201cfree speech.\u201d This alignment on \u201cshared values\u201d presumably justifies CPAC\u2019s transnational presence despite its anti-globalist stance \u2013 foreign leaders who advocate mimicking U.S. policies are welcomed as allies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance also defended Trump\u2019s negotiations with the Kremlin, claiming that, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to talk to everybody involved if you want to bring the conflict to a close.\u201d On Friday, Slovakia\u2019s Prime Minister, Robert Fico, further broached the topic of Russian relations. \u201cNo one is disputing that Russia\u2019s use of military force in Ukraine was a violation of international law,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, Russia had serious security reasons for doing so.\u201d He continued on, contending that Zelensky \u201cneeds the war\u201d because \u201cwhen there is war, there cannot be Democratic elections.\u201d Recent Pew polls<\/a> found that American views on the Ukraine war have shifted significantly since the conflict began. Now, 47% of Republicans and 14% of Democrats say the U.S. is giving Ukraine too much support. Yet, Trump critics have expressed anxieties<\/a> about turning away from longtime European allies and potential national security threats posed by Russia, while Europeans grapple with the president\u2019s opposition to NATO and support for Ukraine. Leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have begun making their cautious appeals<\/a> while increasing domestic defense spending.<\/a> For now, the future of U.S.-E.U. relations remain on rocky ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps the most prominent question was how far the President\u2019s jurisdiction can and should extend. There was no consensus \u2013 while a few attendees displayed uneasiness about his \u201cLONG LIVE THE KING\u201d \u201cjokes\u201d on X, many were enthusiastic about the expansion of his power and would \u201chappily\u201d vote for him again. Bannon announced to whoops from the crowd, \u201cWe want Trump in 28.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump has been slapped left and right with lawsuits<\/a> challenging his myriad executive orders, including the firing of government watchdogs<\/a> and dismantling of government agencies. Though a federal judge ordered him, on February 13, to resume the flow of USAID, the White House has yet to provide evidence<\/a> that he has done so. On February 26, his nominee for solicitor general told the Senate Judiciary Committee<\/a> that presidents could conceivably defy court orders in \u201cextreme cases.\u201d On February 25, more than 20 DOGE employees resigned, writing<\/a>, \u201cWe will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans\u2019 sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services.\u201d Yet, in conversation with Fieldston students, radio host Tony Katz, maintained that Trump is not exercising \u201cunchecked\u201d power since 77 million Americans voted for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many MAGA supporters believe that Trump is enacting corrective policies to address deeply entrenched corruption. Annette Parchert, a former Democrat, told me that Trump\u2019s overhaul of the DOJ and dedication to \u201ctransparency\u201d were among her top priorities as a voter. As heads of DOGE and the DOJ, Musk and Bondi were authorities on this topic. Musk claimed that the rough estimate of fraudulent entitlement payments is \u201c500 billion per year.\u201d Meanwhile, Bondi condemned the political weaponization of the DOJ against Mayor Eric Adams and Trump, declaring that the \u201cincredibly weak\u201d case against Adams was fabricated to block deportation efforts in New York and denouncing the FBI raid on Mar-a-lago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between his felony conviction and assassination attempt over the summer, Trump was consistently cast as a Napoleonic figure \u2013 a symbol of defiance and an American martyr. Bannon likened him to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and Farage called him \u201cthe bravest man\u201d he knows. Trump has embraced this characterization. In true magnate fashion, he\u2019s proposed buying Greenland<\/a> and turning the Gaza Strip into the \u201cRiviera of the Middle East<\/a>\u201d (most recently posting an AI video<\/a> projection of \u201cTrump Gaza\u201d). He quoted Napoleon on X, saying, \u201cHe who saves his Country does not violate any Law.\u201d This, however, seems to contradict Bondi\u2019s statement that, \u201cNo one is above the law.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless of inner-party divisions on specific issues, CPAC stood united behind one thing: Trump. \u201cThe shock and awe strategy,\u201d as Mercedes Schlapp said, has marked his first weeks in office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For now, most Americans can only wait and watch as a new political landscape unfolds. Perhaps it\u2019s the Golden Age of America. Perhaps the Golden Age of Authoritarianism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAmerica\u2019s Golden Age.\u201d This was the dominant refrain at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which was held Wednesday, February 19 through Saturday, February 22 in National Harbor, Maryland. Speakers included newly inaugurated President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) frontman Elon Musk, Attorney General Pam Bondi, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon and an array of other elected U.S. officials, media personalities and international leaders. Attendees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":330,"featured_media":11456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[347,318,320,441],"tags":[],"coauthors":[481],"class_list":["post-11429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-news","category-politics","category-world"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/IMG_2088-scaled-e1740862151490.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/330"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11429"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11447,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11429\/revisions\/11447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11429"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=11429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Populism and the media<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Anti-globalism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Executive power<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n