What the New Right Actually Believes
I interviewed an Ivy League student who identifies as a conservative nationalist
I interviewed an Ivy League student working in finance who identifies as a conservative nationalist.
We had an hour long conversation about his political beliefs, motivations, and predictions for the future. My goal was to better understand the young populist movement on the right.
Here are some interesting quotes from the interview:
Who did you vote for in 2024, and why?
“I ended up voting for Trump in 2024. But initially, I was going to vote for RFK. I found his messaging through social media and YouTube very appealing. He was talking about affordability for young people in a way establishment Republicans weren’t.
Republicans often say we need to decrease spending and control government finances, but they have not done it. Are these really the fiscally responsible Republicans voters thought they were electing? No.
The conservatives—what exactly are they conserving?”
Where do you diverge from the establishment of the Republican Party?
“For Trump and the MAGA movement, the slogan is “Make America Great Again.” I think a new slogan that you’re hearing a lot more is not just “America First,” but also “America Only.”
From my perspective, jobs should go to Americans first. That is where people with my views differ from traditional establishment Republicans. Part of being economically free-market is allowing the free movement of work and foreign talent. The establishment argument is that those workers bring expertise, create value, and pay taxes that benefit the country. But I think the state has a responsibility to prioritize its own citizens.”
What are the similarities between the populist right and the populist left?
“The difference between a Chuck Schumer Democrat and a Ro Khanna Democrat increasingly comes down to Israel: how much aid should be sent abroad, whether you are interventionist or non-interventionist, and what role foreign lobbying plays. It is becoming a litmus test on the Democratic side, and I think it is now coming to the Republican side as well. The more progressive left and the more nationalist right can sometimes agree that American tax dollars should not be sent out of the country, even though they arrive there from very different ideological directions.
“Populism is not always far right. An increase in taxes on the wealthy, for example, is not traditionally laissez-faire economics, but it can be populist.”
It is clear that the young right is different from the GOP establishment. The biggest differences stem from the question of national identity: immigration, domestic job creation, foreign lobbying, and foreign intervention. Overall, the new right is embracing a more populist agenda than their Reaganite predecessors, designed to protect national sovereignty above all else.
Unless a major change occurs, the party may creep towards this worldview over time as the young right grows older.
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