Latest news with #MAGA-like
Axios
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
Behind the Curtain: Rising Democratic MAGA movement
Democrats are tortured by what they should stand for now and heading into the 2028 elections. But a number of current trends suggest a likely answer: their own version of a populist, anti-establishment, MAGA-like makeover. Why it matters: The debate is usually framed as liberal vs. centrist, Rahm versus AOC. But big, fast changes in AI, media habits and general public angst point to a more sweeping shift in ideas and attitude. Four megatrends that are already shaping Democrats' efforts to remake their image and rewrite their agenda: Media: MSM is fading in its mesmerizing hold over liberals. At the same time, the emerging media of podcasts, YouTube and TikTok favor the new and edgy. Mood: You see it every day, from California Gov. Gavin Newsom's foul-mouthed declarations of redistricting wars to Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) mocking her state's Republican governor, Greg Abbott, for using a wheelchair. Dems are tired of looking and feeling like chumps. They want to brawl, politically and verbally. AI: Some level of job devastation is coming. Championing the worker will be too appealing for Dems to resist — a chance to win back the base, at a time when Rs are all-in with Big Tech, like Dems were during the rise of the internet. Attention: The attention economy favors the bold — see New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, or the democratic socialist candidate for Minneapolis mayor, State Sen. Omar Fateh. Between the lines: Democrats say the grassroots energy is with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — not necessarily because they agree with her on everything, but because she's so adept at communicating in this era. AOC, drawing huge crowds along with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on the Fighting Oligarchy Tour, raked in more grassroots donations in the first half of the year than the DCCC (Democrats' House fundraising committee) or any other Democrat in Congress, progressive strategist Tim Tagaris noted on X. Mamdani, Axios' Marc Caputo noticed, is in many ways a leftist version of Trump when he started running a decade ago: a product of New York ... a social media sensation ... the media can't stop talking about him ... opponents loathe him as an extremist. How it works: Democrats look at the GOP's 2024 gains and realize they'll be left behind if they don't abruptly change how they communicate. Suddenly, everyone's a brawler: In the New York mayoral race, Andrew Cuomo was outhustled by Mamdani in the Democratic primary. Cuomo has revamped his strategy for November's general election to try to be more relatable and ubiquitous — and is picking fights on social media. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker gave refuge this month to Texas Democratic legislators who were fleeing the statehouse to avoid voting on redistricting. The two-week walkout ended Monday. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) told The New York Times that her party needs "alpha energy ... speaking about your gut and your emotion. I think Democrats have lost that. We respond to people's pain with a long list of wonky policies." Potential Democratic candidates are more likely to sit down with explicitly partisan spaces like Pod Save America or Ezra Klein's podcast than they are with the longtime national political reporters who long dominated presidential-campaign coverage during the hot-stove season. Alex Bruesewitz — a top Trump digital adviser, and architect of the 2024 campaign's bro-heavy podcast strategy — told us he's not worried about Democrats trying to replicate his recipe. He says it only works with a charismatic candidate, not ones who are "boring, stiff and scripted." Case in point: Democrats' rising MAGA energy is being showcased in their ferocious response to Trump's effort to make the Texas congressional map even redder. Democrats are trying to replicate his audacious move coast to coast — even though Republicans have a clear advantage over Democrats in states that could redraw their lines before next year's midterms. James Carville told us: "I'm afraid map-drawing is [a] most valuable political skill. There is no way off this hamster wheel." A behind-the-scenes Democratic kingmaker told us: "It's just practical. We need to be practical. ... We can't be pure. The game, sadly, isn't fair." Reality check: Matt Bennett, co-founder of the center-left think tank Third Way, told us Democrats need "combative centrists," and said it would be a huge mistake for the party to overread the attention the left is currently getting. "The very online left are the only ones who actually believe that kind of politics can flip seats and win the White House," Bennett said. "We've got to appeal to the gigantic group of voters who've left Democrats in the last 10 years. Those people are not looking for socialism. They're looking for fighters — but only ones who share their values." The bottom line: Trump's suit fits Trump uniquely. Others who try to don it can wind up looking like clowns.
NDTV
11-07-2025
- Business
- NDTV
All Eyes On Bolsonaro With Lula, Trump Locked In Tarrif Fight
As Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump trade blows, the person they are fighting over has sent mixed signals to investors trying to divine who will blink first. Jair Bolsonaro, Lula's arch-nemesis whose legal woes were the basis of Trump's 50% tariff salvo, is barred from running against a rival who staged the kind of comeback he aspires to now. But all eyes are nevertheless on the right-wing former president who has spent months all but begging for Trump's help ahead of a trial on charges that he attempted a coup. On the surface, Trump's plunge into Brazilian affairs - he called Bolsonaro's case a "Witch Hunt" and demanded its dismissal - looks like a shot in the arm from one nationalist to another. But in practice, it has put Bolsonaro and his MAGA-like following in a bind. Instead of energizing the right, Trump has opened room for a similarly charismatic opponent, with his own populist base, to claim Americans are meddling with a still-young democracy sensitive to the idea of US interference. More than 24 hours after Trump's announcement, Bolsonaro finally weighed in with a statement that largely mimicked claims he has made before - and that echoed those coming from the US. The tariffs are "a direct result of Brazil's departure from its historic commitments to freedom" and the rule of law, he argued, adding that "this would never have happened under my government." The "witch hunt" Trump referenced "is not only against me. It is against millions of Brazilians," he said. Until then, the usually enthusiastic influencer had been busy reposting content from others while sharing little of his own. There were, however, a pair of messages referencing two people considered potential heirs. One is his third-eldest son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a lawmaker who took leave from Brazil's Congress to move to the US in March. From there, he's spearheaded a lobbying push to convince the Trump administration to weigh in on his father's behalf. As chance would have it, the tariffs came on the eve of his birthday. A 41-year-old with close ties to Trump world, Eduardo Bolsonaro praised the tariffs Wednesday night. Thursday morning, his father wished him a happy birthday, lamenting the fact that they weren't together due to the "persecution" he says Eduardo has suffered at the hands of the Brazilian justice system. The other is Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, a former minister in Bolsonaro's government who has begun to emerge as the favorite choice of investors pining for an alternative to Lula in next year's election. Freitas denies he'll run, but he's also taken steps to win over Bolsonaro, whose support he'd need to earn the backing of Brazil's fervent right. - Jair Bolsonaro. - Gov SP @tarcisiogdf. - Brasília/DF, 10/Jul 14h Quinta-feira. — Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) July 10, 2025 Freitas blamed Lula for the imposition of the tariffs Wednesday. By Thursday, with business groups in his home state and across Brazil warning that the tariffs would cause major pain, he began calling for negotiations, according to local media. Then, in the afternoon, Bolsonaro posted a video to social media of he and Freitas meeting at a traditional Brazilian barbecue joint in Brasilia, the capital. They hugged and shook hands as if to show all is well. "Always great to be by your side, president!" Freitas wrote in his post. It demonstrated the right's struggles to find an answer to the suddenly rejuvenated Lula, who has seized on Trump's attacks in a push to boost approval ratings that have been stuck below 50% for months. "Right now, what matters is not the narrative about who will be blamed," Flavio Bolsonaro, another of the former president's sons, said in a CNN Brasil interview. He called on lawmakers to renew a push to pass legislation granting amnesty to people convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 8, 2023 insurrection attempt in Brasilia, when Bolsonaro supporters stormed major government buildings just days after Lula took office. Other allies similarly indicated they would back the tariff measures - or at least try to pin responsibility on Lula. "We'll eat popcorn and watch for the next 21 days," Sostenes Cavalcante, the leader of Bolsonaro's party in the lower house, said in a text message Thursday, referencing the Aug. 1 date on which the tariffs take effect. "Let's wait for Lula to solve the problem." But Lula sees little use in negotiating on Trump's terms. There's no economic rationale, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Thursday, for tariffs on a country that buys more from the US than it sells - the exact relationship Trump wants. The government also has no power to hand him what he desires: The end of legal proceedings against Bolsonaro. Instead, it plans to blunt the impact on Brazilian exports by moving closer to countries like Indonesia, Canada and Japan via Mercosur, the South American customs union of which it's a member, according to an official with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters. Many of those talks have been ongoing for years, and Lula has pushed to broaden commerce beyond the US and China since Trump sparked a trade war between Brazil's top two trading partners earlier this year. Now the government's position is that it's up to Bolsonaro and Trump to fix the mess they've created. Eventually, Haddad argued, "even the far right will have to acknowledge that it shot itself in the foot." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Weekend elections in Poland, Romania put transatlantic relationship in spotlight
Presidential elections this weekend in Poland and Romania each pit MAGA-like populists against moderates, with officials across Europe closely watching the results for signals as to the continent's future direction. In Warsaw, the centrist candidate is expected to prevail, potentially driving Poland closer to traditional European powers like France and Germany. But in Romania, the favorite is a hard-right nationalist who openly emulates US President Donald Trump — down to wearing red baseball caps — and confidently predicted to Politico that he would win in 'a landslide.' Though Romania is the smaller country, its vote may have a bigger impact: 'Investors are aghast,' the Financial Times' foreign editor noted, 'as are NATO and EU officials.'
The Print
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Attacks on Vikram Misri are unpatriotic. It proves right ThePrint reportage on MAGA-like Hindutva fringe
Attacks on Vikram Misri are downright vile. It proves right ThePrint reportage on the rise of a MAGA-like ultra-Right phenomenon in the Hindutva fringe. Trolling the FS and family for India's smart, mature ceasefire, and forcing him to protect his X account isn't national interest. It's a viciously unpatriotic act. Operation Sindoor wasn't a war to finish Pakistan. Ceasefire is welcome denouement The ceasefire is a welcome denouement, with Operation Sindoor aims realised. It was to punish Pahalgam plotters and convince their patrons of inevitable military risk hereafter. It wasn't a war to finish Pakistan. All targets were clinically struck, evidence produced, later Pakistani airbases hit punitively. A good 72-hour military-diplomatic outing.
Time Magazine
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Time Magazine
Why Canada's Carney Is Softening His Line on Trump
Canada waited with baited breath as Prime Minister Mark Carney stepped foot in the Oval Office on Tuesday in a meeting for the ages. Barely a week earlier, Carney, who had vowed to fight back against Donald Trump's taunts and threats to make Canada the '51st state,' resurrected his Liberal Party against a MAGA-like opponent in a stunning 25-point election turnaround. Trump knew this. He opened the meeting by saying it was a 'great honor' to have Carney visit. Then, he pivoted to himself. 'As you know, he won a very big election in Canada, and I think I was probably the greatest thing that happened to him. His party was losing by a lot, and he ended up winning. So, I really want to congratulate him. It was probably one of the greatest comebacks in the history of politics, maybe even greater than mine.' Early on, Trump struck a tone of, if not friendship, then at least something approaching the boundaries of bare respect. Memories of the ambush on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were still fresh. 'This is very friendly, this is not going to be like … we had another little blow up with somebody else. That was a much different … this is a very friendly conversation.' A nation heaved a sigh of relief. The matter isn't a mere issue of national pride or vanity, though that's part of it. Trump has conceded that the use of military force to annex Canada is ' highly unlikely,' but he still has the power to scupper $1 trillion a year in trade. During the election, Carney ran against Trump as much as he did his Conservative opponent Pierre Poilievre. The Liberals flogged the slogan 'Canada Strong' and the nationalist rallying cry ' elbows up.' Carney vowed not to meet Trump until the President respected Canadian sovereignty. Trump, he warned, is 'trying to break us, so America can own us.' He was far more conciliatory on Tuesday. Carney is now a diplomat and statesman, not a politician on the hustings. 'You're a transformational President,' he said of Trump, 'focused on the economy, with a relentless focus on the American worker, securing your borders, ending the scourge of fentanyl and other opioids, and in securing the world.' It was, as some put it on social media, an ' elbows down ' moment. Carney avoided taking the bait for much of the meeting. Trump spoke most of the time; the Prime Minister sat there, letting the President hold court. Later, in private, during a working lunch, Carney would work on setting an agenda to renegotiate the trade relationship and, hopefully, take steps toward reducing the number or rate of tariffs. As expected, the issue of making Canada the 'cherished' 51st state arose. North of the 49th parallel, that's a non-starter, to put it mildly. Here, Carney was prepared. 'Well, if I may, as you know, from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale,' he said. 'We're sitting in one now,' he added, in reference to the White House. Trump nonetheless pressed the matter with a 'never say never;' Carney then mouthed the word 'never' five times. But that was it. In a post-meeting press conference at the Canadian embassy, Carney said there was a 'concrete path forward' for the two, a mutual desire to move forward with discussion on trade and other matters. He called the negotiations 'complex.' When asked about his previous, more confrontational comments about Trump, Carney dodged the question. Carney has made a quick transformation from campaigner to, if you'll pardon the term, governor. The White House visit was not so much 'elbows down' as it was 'watch your elbows.' But he is softening his line on Trump nonetheless. Carney and his team recognize that there's a line to walk, a dance to dance. They get that dealing with Trump to his face is harder than talking about dealing with a mercurial, mercantilist U.S. President in front of a sympathetic homefront. The alternative is going toe-to-toe, alone, against the global hegemon and its intransigent President. That would be a herculean, and foolish, undertaking for any nation—and certainly Canada and its rookie Prime Minister.
