In a statement last October, Donald Trump identified two enemies: an external one and a more dangerous internal enemy. This internal foe consists of Democrats and liberals, threatening core American values. Trump's rhetoric is pivotal for his base, allowing him to frame regulatory powers as tools of revenge against perceived adversaries. The post-2020 MAGA narrative positions a significant segment of the population, including legal and illegal immigrants, as outsiders, undermining traditional American identity, as reflected in the views of right-wing thinkers like Glenn Ellmers.
Most people living in the United States today are not Americans in any meaningful sense of the term. I don't just mean the millions of illegal immigrants.
The theme of the enemy resonated on the right in the wake of Trump's defeat in 2020, providing a narrative for hard-right conservatives.
Trump's carefully calculated claim serves to justify his administration's assault on government, American values, and core traditions since he took office.
The enemy from within has proved to be the key mobilizing concept underpinning the MAGA movement and the intellectual structure of hard-right conservatives.
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