Challenges To The ‘Whitepill’

Could Insane Clown Populism take over the entire Right?

What does the future hold for the Right after Donald Trump leaves office?

It’s a question central to Whitepill, which is now available on Amazon. I argue in the book that the future will continue to be shaped by the “identitarian” forces unleashed by Trump. Immigration will remain a central topic for Republican politicians and conservative commentators. If they want to remain in the good graces of the base, they will want to restrict it rather than give amnesty to illegals. The fact that Lindsey Graham of all people stopped shilling for amnesty in the final years of his life speaks to this transformation.

But there are serious challenges to this “whitepill.” Other forces could disrupt this transformation and take control of the Right. It’s possible that either Insane Clown Populism or old guard conservatism could take over the post-Trump GOP. While both sides will remain influential, neither offers a substantive agenda to meet 21st-century American reality.

Things will be different after Trump; but the Right will still be animated by identitarianism.

I was recently asked by a reporter over the possibility that conspiratorial populism could soon define the Right. He noted how Whitepill details how Trumpism pushed old guard conservatism out of the way and wonders if the ICP could do the same to nationalism.

I don’t think so. Unlike nationalism, there is no real agenda to Insane Clown Populism. The ICP is a popular tendency within the conservative media but it can’t translate into an electoral platform. It’s hard to expect Republicans to be elected on promises to arrest Erika Kirk and fight chemtrails.

Voters want candidates to address issues that actually matter to their daily lives. An identitarian agenda does. Every American experiences immigration, affirmative action, and DEI. They do not experience JFK assassination theories or UFO sightings on their way to work.

Of course, a number of Republican lawmakers do take an interest in these topics and we’ve had our fair share of full-blown ICP candidates. Victor Marx, an archetypal ICPer, is now the Republican nominee for Colorado governor. But these candidates either lose their races or remain marginal figures in the party. They’re not the GOP equivalent to the DSA.

It’s not hard to see why ICP is popular among influencers. While normal pundits drone on about budgets, legislative maneuvering, polling, and other dull aspects of ordinary politics, the Insane Clown Party offers up new soap operas and thrillers every week. This election isn’t just an election–it’s a foreign op! This assassination isn’t the work of a lone freak–it’s the creation of an elaborate international conspiracy and the victim’s wife! Crime isn’t driven by a certain community or culture–it’s the work of literal demons!

The news is way more exciting if you hear how every event is a conspiracy and there are secret forces at work behind your wife divorcing you. Our audience can’t get enough of it.

It would be one thing if this was harmless crankery that helped pump up our own side and strengthened opposition towards leftist policies. But increasingly conspiratorialism undermines the Right. At this moment, the ICP wants to believe that the Left is not responsible for the assassination of Charlie Kirk or the attempted assassinations of Trump. Instead, it’s the work of the Right. Influencers can’t get enough of blaming TPUSA for Kirk’s death and insisting Trump faked all of his assassination attempts. These particular conspiracies make its believers think the Left is incapable of violence and the Right always bamboozles its followers. These notions encourage believers to support the Left rather than the Right.

It shouldn’t be any surprise that an ICPer like Marjorie Taylor Greene now loves DSA candidates. Her conspiratorialism leads her to the Left.

Nationalism forces the Right to focus on issues that matter to their base and affect the country. The ICP forces the Right to focus on insane frivolities that alienate moderates and encourages the base to vote Democrat. If the ICP took over the Right, it would ensure America becomes a one-party state and the opposition is filled with impotent cranks.

Insane Clown Populism only works as an entertainment model. When translated to actual politics, the results look like Royce White. Republicans will get blown out in embarrassing fashion. In contrast, Trump, Ron DeSantis, and many other Republicans have won races by focusing on immigration and DEI. The identity issues matter to voters; who killed JFK or Michael Jackson does not.

Old guard conservatives present a challenge from an entirely different direction. They want the Right to return back to its pre-Trump self. Mike Pence and others are already on a crusade to make that happen. There will be serious 2028 candidates who promise donors to make this dream a reality.

Unlike the ICP, the old guard has a clear agenda. The problem is that the agenda doesn’t inspire any enthusiasm, especially among the activists. There is no red meat offered by the old guard. Voters aren’t excited about standing for Israel. They don’t want to increase immigration to satisfy corporate labor demands. They don’t care about the debt. And they don’t want to have campaigns entirely dedicated to fiscal conservatism. Abortion, the one safe cultural issue for respectable conservatives, is a proven election loser. Same with entitlement reform, even though it’s an issue America needs to tackle at some point. The problem is that voters hate it, and Mike Pence types are not going to convince them to embrace it.

Old guard conservatism, frankly, bores the base. It also doesn’t inspire the next generation of conservatives. The youth are into the New Right, not the Tea Party. They want a GOP that addresses immigration and other civilizational issues, not dance around with debt clocks.

The old guard still retains institutional support and donor connections. But they have a tough time selling their message. Conservative media itself caters to Online Right sentiments rather than to Paul Ryanism. They know what their audience wants to read about.

In order for the old guard to retake control, they have to somehow convince the base, young activists, and conservative media that they shouldn’t worry so much about immigration. They should worry far more about the debt clock and Hezbollah threatening Israel instead. That’s unlikely to happen.

The issues the Online Right first drew attention to are not going away. Anti-white racism and immigration are still going to impact the country in the future. The Right will have to address these issues head on if it wants to be relevant. Conspiracy slop may please internet audiences and fiscal conservatism may please donors, but neither tackle the biggest challenges America faces.

Only a nationalist agenda does.

That’s why I’m whitepilled about the future of the American Right.

You can now preorder Scott Greer’s new book, “Whitepill: The Online Right and the Making of Trump’s America,” from this link.