“There is a clear seductiveness behind the thinking of the MAGA New Right that draws young people to the extremist cause,” Laura K. Field said.
Last Tuesday afternoon, April 8, Field delved into her new book, “Furious Minds: The Making of the MAGA New Right,” before an audience of students, faculty and Claremont community members.
Field took to the podium in Hahn Hall at Pomona College, providing frameworks for understanding the evolution of conservative politics and the role MAGA plays in our current political landscape.
While political issues are often widely discussed at the Claremont Colleges, Field’s words breathe new life into many ongoing conversations. In her talk, she recounted the factors that contributed to her interest in the dawn of MAGA, her long-standing relationship with conservatism in academic settings and her gradual shift away.
“[I am a] mole in MAGA’s midst, where I am from the MAGA world but slightly outside of it,”
“[I am a] mole in MAGA’s midst, where I am from the MAGA world but slightly outside of it,” Field said.
By being involved in the inner workings of the far right, she was able to understand and develop theories about how numerous political groups coalesced into the MAGA movement.
“As I was writing an outline for a book, it soon became clear that the New Right was going to be a lasting influence,” Field said. “So that’s when I decided to write a proposal and try to get a contract with this particular book.”
In her book, Field defines how MAGA New Right is a new entity in itself, separated from the traditional conservative guard. While Reaganist concepts like free-market economics are lauded by fusionists, the New MAGA movement is staunchly focused on “America First,” which is used to bolster nationalist economic theory.
Field’s talk depicted how the rise of Trumpism facilitated disparate groups like National conservatives, post-liberals and Claremonsters to unite under the New Right.
“I am not a canary in a coal mine,” she said. “But it is important to recognize the extremeness and call attention further to what is happening.”
When the floor opened for questions, many students probed what Field had not touched upon directly: the rise of the MAGA-Right on college campuses through the creation of clubs and social media content.
“It would be hard to be online today and not be impacted and not be influenced by Joe Rogan, Bronze Age Pervert or some of these other influencers [who] are quite a bit more extreme,” Field said. “I would imagine a lot of young people have a kind of immunity to a lot of this.”
Student attendees assented, speaking to the influx of MAGA-Right figureheads, particularly on social media, and how this has contributed greatly to the ideology’s popularization.
“I have listened to a lot of podcasts recently about how young adults descend into the far right from their YouTube algorithms,” attendee Emily Gao PO ’26 said. “So, I’ve always been interested in the cultural aspect and digital side of it.”
What is unique to these circles is their extremism. There has always been discourse online, from Facebook to TikTok. However, Field draws attention to the fact that recently, extremist groups have been promoting the reinstatement of traditional and “quintessential” American values.
Field stated that this extremist rhetoric poses a danger to pluralism and to progress, a problem emblematized in influencers such as Andrew Tate, who influence youth culture by espousing misogynistic ideas under the guise of traditional values.
Many students resonated with this idea, drawing parallels to different influencers who they’ve seen employing these same rhetorical strategies.
“I feel like there’s been strong rhetoric about the nuclear family and this American dream that must be chased, which could be a contributing social factor to why there’s a rise in the MAGA-Right,” attendee Daniel Wu CM ’27 said.
Wu described how supporters of such influencers seem to be increasing, even among people he did not suspect. Often, this group appears larger than it is because of supporters’ outspokenness on social media platforms. Specifically, Wu recounted discovering that people he grew up with were turning into Andrew Tate supporters online.
“I grew up with a lot of people who turned out to be Andrew Tate supporters,” Daniel Wu CM ’27 said. “I don’t really keep in touch, but I see them through different media.”
Many students reported that they often find themselves deep diving into these MAGA-Right rabbit holes online, conducting a kind of vigilante research. However, in terms of understanding the roots of the MAGA movement, these efforts are merely scraping the surface. Field’s talk exposed the intricacies behind the formation of the New Right, emphasizing the need to truly understand its origins in order to combat extremist policies.
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