Following his appearance on The Tucker Carlson Show, neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes garnered mainstream attention as the leader of the “Groypers,” an emerging alt-right faction united behind the motto “America First.” Fuentes commands a large following on Rumble, a streaming platform that serves as a haven for far-right influencers.
Fuentes’ first rounds in the media occurred in 2022 when Donald Trump hosted him alongside Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago. More recently, however, Fuentes’s tone against Trump has turned sour, exposing a rift within the MAGA movement between establishment neoconservatives and a growing reactionary and zealous coalition bound by overt antisemitism, misogyny and white supremacy.
NIck Fuentes (screencap)
Through his appearances in MAGA strongholds and MAGA-adjacent spaces, including Louder with Crowder, Infowars, Fresh and Fit, and The Tucker Carlson Show, Fuentes displays a reasonable front to his worldview to an increasingly unsuspecting audience. In a Dec. 5 appearance on Steven Crowder’s Louder with Crowder, when asked, “Do you consider yourself an antisemite?” Fuentes responded, “No.” He also responded “no” to “Do you believe white people are superior to all other races,” “Do you want to eradicate all nonwhites from the United States,” and “Do women want to get raped?”
However, on Dec. 8, on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Fuentes defended and affirmed several of his most abhorrent views, including that Adolf Hitler was “really f***ing cool,” that “Women suck … you f***ing talk too much, you b****”, and, finally, “Jews are running society, women need to shut the f*** up, Blacks need to be imprisoned for the most part, and we would live in paradise — it’s that simple!”
Later in the interview, Fuentes defended a former statement that “a lot of women want to be raped. …There’s, like, a lot of women who really want a guy to beat the s*** out of them.”
To Fuentes, the “we” who would live in (a Jewless, patriarchal and white) paradise is quite clear — white Christian nationalists. Fuentes drenches his streams with Christian language and imagery, stating that although he doesn’t believe in a Catholic theocracy, “The (U.S.) government should be Christian.” Fuentes also advocates for “put(ting) up a crucifix in every home, in every room, in every school, in every government office to signal Christ’s reign over our country.”
Singing a tune familiar to any QAnon followers, on Dec. 8, 2023, Fuentes stated offhand that he believes many high-level government officials are “evil doers,” “worship false gods” and “practice magic or rituals.”
“What Ezra Klein calls the ‘Groyperfication’ of the Right has disastrous implications for the future of religious liberty in America.”
“Those people,” Fuentes said, “when we take power, need to be given the death penalty. These people that are communing with demons and engaging in this sort of witchcraft and stuff, and these people that are suppressing the name of Christ and suppressing Christianity, they must be absolutely annihilated when we take power. … This is God’s country. This is Jesus’ country. This is not the domain of atheists or devil worshippers or perfidious Jews. This is Christ’s country.” He then said, “I’m not calling for political violence, but that cannot have any quarter in our society.”
Yet, perhaps the most concerning part of Fuentes’ rise is his preferred medium. Given his dependence on podcasts and streaming, this should exacerbate recent concerns about the rightward drift of Gen Z men in the wake of the 2024 election. What Ezra Klein calls the “Groyperfication” of the Right has disastrous implications for the future of religious liberty in America and anyone who finds themselves outside the white Christian nationalist circle of protection.
That said, I believe Groypers are the most concerning threat to religious liberty emerging from a divided MAGA. Many in the MAGA establishment have responded to Fuentes’ rise with a shocking sentiment, that there are “No Enemies to the Right.” But for those who posit otherwise, Groypers have responded accordingly, using their increasing online presence to flood the zone with pro-Fuentes propaganda.
There are many reasons to view Fuentes’ rise not as an aberration, but as a serious political movement and threat.
First, Fuentes is playing the long game. In a recent interview with MAGA influencer Steven Crowder, when asked what his prescription for the future of America was, Fuentes said, “We need the young people to climb the ladder. … I want to march through the institutions, get them in the college Republicans, to the campaigns, to the Congressional offices, to the think tanks.”
It’s no coincidence that Fuentes’ prescription fits perfectly into his current business model as a social media influencer. At only 27 years old, Fuentes is steeped in the very same digital fluency and social media awareness that targets Gen Z and Gen Alpha disproportionately. Fuentes speaks to the struggles young people face, once stating, for example, “Republicans say the free market has enough money to bomb Iran but not enough to forgive my student loans.”
Admittedly, this next piece of evidence is anecdotal. Nonetheless, I’m seeing Groypers arise on my Facebook feed at an alarming rate. Facing what some are calling a loneliness epidemic, young men in particular yearn for community and are increasingly finding it through algorithmic shepherding. Once a part of these communities, they’re sold a worldview rooted not in reality but in antisemitism, white supremacy, homophobia and misogyny, making the establishment MAGA stump seem like child’s play.
In seeing this, my former, more hopeful vision of Gen Z’s rise in politics has been overshadowed by the Groypers. Perhaps the worst is yet to come.
Caleb Cooke
Caleb Cooke serves as senior pastor of Village Baptist Church in Bowie, Md. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Duke University. He is among the current class of BJC Fellows.
BJC Fellows come from diverse educational, professional and religious backgrounds to learn in an intensive education program that equips them for advocacy to protect religious liberty. Learn more about the program here.
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