Trump’s Personalist Style in Politics: A Video Roundup

It is spreading in every policy area at home and abroad

Dear Readers:

Earlier this week, Brendan Carr, whom Trump picked to chair the Federal Communications Commission, was spotted sporting a golden lapel pin of Donald Trump’s head. While an American flag pin is a common choice among politicians of all stripes, donning a golden Don is a major red flag—so to speak—because it conveys loyalty not to the country or the principles it stands for but the Dear Leader.

Carr’s obsequious sartorial choice is not a one-off—a longstanding preoccupation of the MAGA movement is its worship of a man who revels in gilded displays of his own name. It’s what motivates a member of Congress, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, to declare with a straight face yesterday that Donald Trump is the “strongest president in American history, mentally, physically, spiritually.”

Our video roundup this week shows how this obsequiousness to Trump is affecting everything, from America’s conduct in ravaged Gaza abroad to what goes on in classrooms here at home.

Give these three videos, presented in chronological order of release date, a watch. Then subscribe to our YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram pages to get our latest clips as soon as they’re released.

Landry Ayres
Senior Producer

Trump Is the Right’s Daddy Now

Feb. 3, 2025

From Mel Gibson to Lauren Boebert to Charlie Kirk, Trump’s return to office is being framed not as a political comeback but as a fatherly restoration of order. As I explain in the video below, this isn’t just embarrassing—it reflects a deeper, more dangerous shift in how the right views power. This is indeed a return—not to accountable rule but to a medieval system of patronage where loyalty trumps law and governance becomes a family business.

Watch it below or on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, and be sure to read Alan Elrod’s essay in The UnPopulist for a more in-depth look at one dangerous manifestation of this phenomenon: the “constitutional sheriff” movement.

---

Trump’s Gaza Dream Is Palestinians’ Nightmare

March 5, 2025

Donald Trump recently shared a bizarre AI-generated video titled “Trump Gaza,” which depicted Elon Musk eating pita and hummus, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lounging by a pool, towering condos, and dollar bills raining from the sky—all capped by a massive golden statue of Trump himself. While this might seem like harmless fun, it reflects Trump’s preoccupation with himself and his power and total obliviousness to the real-world suffering in Gaza.

As I explain in my latest video, Trump approvingly sharing the Gaza clip reveals his commitment to building his own brand

Watch it below or on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram.

---

Trump’s Project to Spread MAGA Propaganda in History Classes

March 19, 2025

Trump has slashed federal education programs under the banner of fighting “radical indoctrination,” cutting anything that doesn’t fit his culture war agenda. But one thing he has kept is is the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission (or 1776 Commission)—his failed attempt to repurpose history as a nationalist propaganda tool.

The last version, undertaken during his first term, was rushed, widely mocked, and even dismissed by his own education secretary. But now the idea is back and it is indistinguishable from MAGA propaganda. Indeed, it is an attempt not to teach America’s history but rewrite it—to tell some fairy-tale version of it that serves Trump’s political agenda.

Watch it below or on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram.

© The UnPopulist, 2025

Follow us on Bluesky, Threads, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X.

We welcome your reactions and replies. Please adhere to our comments policy.