POLITICO has a piece examining "How Donald Trump transformed mass culture." The graphic they've put together to accompany their piece is a bit curious: there's a Republican elephant in the center, surrounded by images of Mickey Mouse, Bud Light, the NFL, and podcaster Joe Rogan. What did Trump have to do with any of these? All four of these examples are of the Left pushing people to the Right with their extremism. You could say that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was responsible for exposing Disney, but he really wasn't. Disney's push to add queerness to all of its output changed people's perception of Disney. Bud Light? Where did Trump inject himself into that mess? The answer is that he didn't. The people saw Dylan Mulvaney's face on a commemorative can (celebrating 100 days of being a girl) and started their own boycott. When did Trump insert himself into the NFL's growing wokeness and embrace of Black Lives Matter?
How Donald Trump transformed mass culture https://t.co/EauB12UtIR
— POLITICO (@politico) December 29, 2024
All right. Let's hear it:
Since Donald Trump won the White House, there have been subtle and overt changes in mass culture — particularly in its approach to Donald Trump and the culture wars.
Disney recently pulled a transgender storyline from a new animated series. Professional football and soccer players started mimicking Trump’s “dance” to much fanfare, and the NFL has no issue with it and hasn’t been mired in controversy. It’s even pervaded the clothes we wear — and not just red MAGA hats.
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David Kihara: What do these changes say about how Americans’ views have evolved from the first Trump presidency?
Shia Kapos: I’m seeing a version of that in Chicago, too. Here it is a hard-core Democratic town and now it’s not unusual to see a red “Make America Great Again” cap when you’re walking around the neighborhoods. Would have been unheard of four years ago.
Trump’s hold on culture which goes back decades to his cameos in movies and hip hop songs appears to be the nostalgia folks want to return to, not necessarily an era of electing a historic “first” — I’m even hearing Dems acknowledge they’ve overplayed their hand with leaning into identity politics.
Trump's cameos in movies and hip-hop songs? Yeah, that's it.
"even hearing Dems acknowledge they’ve overplayed their hand with leaning into identity politics"
— Sean Nienow (@SNienow) December 29, 2024
"we’ve gotten past the period of “peak woke” in American culture"
"a moment of global rightward political retrenchment"
All of which happened under the Joe Biden administration.
This may be the only Politico headline about Trump that is neutral & not extremely negative.
— Marge (@Marge1902) December 29, 2024
We love the subhead: "Americans are rejecting some liberal values." Yes, they are. And Trump is a result of that, not the cause.
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