Nick Fuentes: 21st Century Fascist
Since the defeat of Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s Italy in World War 2, the ideology of fascism has been pushed firmly to the fringes of western society.
Trigger Warning: This article engages with issues of rape, violence and glorification of genocide.
Neo-Nazis have existed, certainly, but none have reached any level of widespread fame or influence.
That is no longer true. Across social media, influencers such as Nick Fuentes have been pushing openly-fascistic ideas to ever larger audiences.
With the furthest-right and most authoritarian American president of modern history, once unthinkable ideas are becoming normalized.
Nick Fuentes does not try to conceal his political positions. He has described Hitler as “fucking cool”, advocates for autocratic rule in America and has expressed support for the way in which the ultra-conservative Taliban have implemented their authority in Afghanistan.
Though there is certainly a risk of watering-down words like fascism by over-applying them, it is hard to describe such a figure with any word other than ‘fascist’. He is also openly misogynistic, tweeting “Your Body, My Choice. Forever.” after Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election and advocating for the removal of the right for women to vote.
Nick Fuentes is not the only figure advocating these ideas. Andrew and Tristan Tate have grown famous for their content supporting toxic masculinity, and have continued to gain prominence despite being charged with human trafficking. On the Fresh and Fit Podcast, hosts Myron Gaines and Walter Weekes have platformed holocaust denial, and in his book Why Women Deserve Less, Gaines states that “all women are whores”.
What makes all of these statements more shocking is the popularity that all of these figures enjoy.
Their podcasts, videos and posts receive millions of views and all have large and dedicated fanbases. When they have been banned from platforms such as YouTube, they have migrated to more niche sites that do not have as strict policies against hate speech, such as Rumble.
Social media has allowed these figures to broadcast views that would likely never be allowed through traditional media outlets. But this alone does not explain how these ideas have become palatable to anything more than a niche audience.
A notable similarity of these figures is the young average age of their audiences, primarily targeting teenage boys and men in their twenties. This means that for most of their lives, the only mainstream Republican politician has been Donald Trump.
Though Trump may represent a much further right ideology than that of the typical Republican, especially historically, the GOP has largely been remade in his image since his first election in 2016. Republican politicians who originally opposed Trump’s candidacy have now fallen into line behind his narrative. Just look at his Vice President JD Vance, who in 2016 criticized Trump for “leading the white working class to a very dark place”.
The Overton window is a term used to describe the ideas that can be considered acceptable in mainstream discourse. Through his fame and two presidential terms, Trump has shifted the Overton window firmly to the right. This allows ideas that would typically be considered extreme to become more and more acceptable as his presidency continues. For young men who don't remember a political environment that is any different, fascism can appear to be only slightly controversial.
With an established audience, these influencers are now seeking publicity from more established Republicans, and influence over government policy. Fuentes has been interviewed by ex Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson who only slightly pushed back against Fuentes’s open antisemitism. In 2022, Fuentes was also a dinner guest for Trump at Mar-a-Lago after being invited by rapper Kanye West.
Even though many Republicans are repulsed by the ideas Fuentes advocates, there is certainly a desensitizing effect of being repeatedly exposed to his rhetoric. But even without amassing popular support, Fuentes has the ability to create change. Rod Dreher, a conservative writer, estimated that 30-40% of Republican staff members in Washington DC are supporters of Fuentes. Given that these are the people carrying out research, drafting speeches and communicating with constituents for members of Congress, this can significantly influence policy direction.
The implications of Fuentes’s rise for the wider conservative movement are hard to tell. Perhaps the most likely course is an uneasy alliance between Fuentes’s camp and more mainstream Republicans.
In the face of a perceived existential threat posed by the left in America, conservatives are leaning into the idea of ‘No enemy to the right’, sometimes abbreviated as NETTR. This calls for all conservatives to put aside ideological differences with those within the conservative movement, no matter how extreme, to fight the left.
Such sentiment has only increased since the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Shortly after Kirk’s death fellow conservative influencer Matt Walsh posted a statement reading “I cannot “unite” with the Left because they want me dead” followed by a commitment; “I will unite with anyone on the Right. I hereby discard any grudge or personal feud I may have had with anyone on my side.”
On the other hand, if Fuentes’s rhetoric continues to be critical of mainstream conservative values, there is a risk of a violent fracturing of Trump’s base of supporters. This is not without precedent either. On January 6th 2021, a mass of far-right Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol Building seeking retribution against those they had perceived of stealing the 2020 presidential election. This included the aim of killing then Republican vice-president Mike Pence, himself a staunch conservative. Though he never entered the building, Fuentes was among the crowd that surrounded the Capitol.
Whatever the outcome, it is undeniable that fascism has become a ‘normal’ part of American politics. Nick Fuentes has expressed no desire to back down, and with a sympathetic ear in the White House and a growing base of supporters, he has more power than ever before.
Questions or strong opinions? E-mail us at polisbristol@gmail.com and let us know.
