Doubling Down Behind Trump: Inside the New Republican Subculture on Liberal College Campuses
I attended my first UC Santa Cruz College Republicans meeting last May. The club congregated in a small conference room above the Bay Tree bookstore. About ten students came to the meeting. The members present were all male, except for Stephanie, who serves as the club’s social media coordinator. The group members came from all over the state. The members present were White, Hispanic, Asian, and South Asian. Most of them came from households with at least one conservative parent.
The group had a different structure than the other campus political club meetings I’d attended. Everybody sat around the same table. There was no set agenda. The club president directed the discussion, but everybody chimed in. The group members sat with their laptops in front of them, browsing the internet for conversation topics. Most of the banter revolved around Trump and current political and social events. Members shared stories of “triggered” left wingers on campus, or uncomfortable interactions they had with fellow students.
The rise of Trump cleansed the club of many of their more “mainstream” attendees. After the 2016 election, several members quit or stopped participating, including the group’s former president. The College Republicans who remained in the club doubled down behind the new president. “Trump is the leader of our party,” says UCSC College Republican Club President Brandon, “I voted for Johnson, but was thrilled Trump won over Hillary. As College Republicans, we should rally around our president.”
Remaining club members consumed their news from podcasts, youtubers, and online shows. Favorite sources included far-right commentators like Alex Jones, Milo Yiannapolis, Gavin Mcginnis, Tomi Lahren, Lauren Southern, and Sad of Arakad. More moderate internet personalities like Ben Shapiro, Dennis Prager, Joe Rogan, Sam Harris, and Dave Rubin also exuded influence. Older Republican party luminaries such as Bill Kristol, David Frum, and George Will (all of whom publicly opposed Trump) were largely ignored.
Topics of conservation within the group extended to fringe right-wing topics like pizzagate, the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich, and conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta’s Emails. One group member explains to me in detail why he believes the Clintons and many other influential people engage in high arousal activities such as pedophilia.
Resentment of the Politics of Resentment
Almost everyone I interviewed agrees that radical identity politics on the left hastened their move to the right. “We live in a culture of anger, you dislike people because they identify with different things,” says CR communications director Stephanie. “The left is just looking to create chaos on campus, like that ABSA (Black Student Association) protest last year.”
Part of Trump’s appeal is his ability to elicit reactions from his political enemies. “I love how easy he bates the media,” says UCSC College Republican club president Brandon, “Trump can strategically provoke them with his tweets.”
Although most group members are only four or five years younger than I am, they have grown up in a completely different political environment. Many of their early political interactions occurred online over social media. Every opinion or comment carried the risk of public shaming. This culture of shaming extends to in-person interactions, where classmates and acquaintances use ad hominem attacks to counter their opinions and breed resentment against them. The new campus Republican subculture is at least partly driven by a collective resentment of the modern day politics of resentment.
“I was asked to leave a party for making a joke,” says Justin, a recent UCSC graduate from Orange County. “I feel like I was bullied by the left in my film and digital media major, I felt like everything was just being thrown in my face. I think the department has become a beacon of liberal activism,” he continues, “Some of us would rather not write screenplays based on activism.”
Justin tells me that his classmates acted “hysterically” in the aftermath of Trump’s election, “I was called out by two people for wearing a Ronald Reagan Tshirt. I also heard one of my classmates ask openly in class, “how come nobody has killed this guy [Trump] yet?”
“Nobody here wants to hear my opinion. Nobody here wants to agree with me,” says Joe, another recent graduate. “I saw some really unprofessional behavior by my professors after the election” he continues. Right on cue, as I am conducting this interview with Joe on campus, a girl seated at the table next to us gives us the finger and walks away.
Joe tells me that he loves the president’s “independence.” “I will never be a Republican or a Conservative, or whatever that used to mean,” he says, “I don’t fit any box, and Trump doesn’t fit any box. He is something entirely different than we have ever had before.”
“They Called me a Race Traitor.”
“Some of my Latino friends called me a race traitor, ” says Logan, a 20-year-old Hispanic college Republican, “Most of them don’t understand the issues, they just buy into what the MSM (mainstream media) tells them.”
Logan’s support for Trump centers around the president’s economic, and immigration policies, as well as his repudiation of the culture of political correctness. “My hometown of Palmdale is a cesspool of Section eight housing,” Logan tells me, “The main part of town is now the ghetto. We have MS13, guns, and drugs.” Logan tells me that both his father, a small business owner and his mother, an educator supported the president. “Times were down under the Obama administration,” Logan says, “small business owners love Trump because he gives them a new hope.”
Logan says he understood what the political environment would be like when he enrolled at UC Santa Cruz, although it’s still difficult for him. “I can’t talk up in class, I can’t speak out, I just have to shut up and listen, it’s only four years though,” he says. Logan tells me that he is prepared to handle any effects that his political views may have on his social, and love life on campus. “I have a few good friends here; I am not too concerned about dating, I have my friends online.”
“The Sexual Revolution is Violating Nature.”
Ironically, the only College Republican to express deep religious convictions was initially extremely skeptical of Trump, when the President began his campaign in 2015. Charlie, a recent UCSC graduate from San Diego County, describes himself a “member of the Christian right with ‘neo-conservative’ tendencies.” “I was originally a ‘Never Trumper,’” Charlie tells me. However, after Trump won the Republican nomination, Charlie decided that the GOP nominee would be the most equipped to protect his religious and cultural values. “I eventually realized that I had to support Trump, because we are still fighting the culture wars, and Hillary would be the death of my home church,” Charlie says, “By defending Planned Parenthood, the Clintons made a deal with the devil.”
Charlie points to campus culture as an example of the “culture wars.” “The sexual revolution is violating nature; it asserts that there are no differences between men and women,” he says. Charlie also criticizes modern sexual norms, “The hookup culture is very bad psychologically speaking. Every person you have sex with decreases your ability to connect emotionally with your partner. If you have ten sexual partners before you are married, you will be less able to connect and empathize with your spouse.”
“The ‘sex culture’ on campus is pervasive and affects me,” Charlie says, “Last year I walked in on my roommate having sex with his girlfriend. I reported the incident to my RA, but they didn’t do anything to stop it. Many people are having sex on the weekends because it’s very easy to get school-subsidized condoms and morning-after pills. They cost the school money when the University is having budgetary problems.” On a more personal level, Charlie questions the academic commitment of sexually active students, “If you are studying 70 hours a week for a BA, how can you have time to have sex with your girlfriend?” Charlie also dismisses the notion that women may need hormonal birth control for other reasons than contraception, such as ovarian cysts, or irregular menstrual cycles. “Using birth-control for off-label purposes is like smoking weed for all your other problems,” he says.
Charlie sees much of the recent focus on sexual orientation and gender identity issues as a slippery slope to government overreach. “Back in the 70’s, when people came out of the closet, they said leave us alone, and we will leave you alone. Now they want state-powered enforcement of pro-gay legislation.” Charlie continues, “my problem is when people try to sue a baker or a florist for not going against their religious beliefs and participating in a gay wedding.”
Still With Trump
Nine months into the Trump administration, all of the college republicans I interviewed still supported the president.
“I knew what I was getting into with Trump,” says recently graduated film and digital media major Justin, “One of the reasons I voted for him, was that I was confident he could make changes.” Justin highlights a couple of White House policies he supports, “I support his immigration crackdown, and I am also with the trans military ban because of the high lifetime suicide rate that the transgender have.” One point of disagreement that Justin has with Trump is the president’s tweeting, “Everybody hopes he would cut it out.” he says.
Joe likes Trump’s tweeting, “It shows he’s the same dude. Joe is still generally enthusiastic about Trump’s policies as well, “He has cut regulations 20 to 1, the stock market is up by billions, the national debt is down.” Alluding to his moderate roots, Joe says “I would honestly prefer to have Ivanka as president, but I think they both care about America and are trying to have a good influence.”
College Republican president Brandon concedes that he has disagreements with some of the Trump administration’s policies thus far. “There have been several fuckups. He shouldn’t have bombed Syria, because there is no evidence Assad is gassing his own people, and he probably should have tackled tax reform before trying to repeal Obama Care.” In general, Brandon is happy with Trump’s first nine months. “I like the direction he is taking with the economy and trade. I hope he will fulfill his promise to renegotiate NAFTA. I like his ‘America First Mentality.’ He likes the president continued hostility towards the media and feels Trump has been unfairly accused in the Russia investigation. “The media is very dishonest. They portray the Trump Whitehouse like it’s the fucking Kardashians. There is no evidence for the Russia thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Hillary campaign cooked up the whole thing.”
Charlie, the Christian conservative who was slow to come around the Trump in the first place is perhaps the most enthusiastic about the president today. “We should be celebrating this president,” says Charlie. “Of course there is disarray in the White House, he has never been in Washington before, he has been a businessman his whole life.” “But if you look at the substance of what he’s done, he’s done some great things. He appointed an originalist in Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. Gorsuch will stand with Madison, Hamilton, and Jefferson, and won’t allow liberal revisionism to influence his decisions. We will have the supreme court for the next 40 years.”
Rise of the New Campus Right
As left-wing activism continues to grow on campuses all over the country, UC Santa Cruz College Republicans has seen unprecedented growth. The club now has over 100 members on it’s Facebook Group. The new members are an interesting coalition of traditional conservatives, nonconservative Trump supporters, apolitical students fed up with the leftwing culture on campus, and liberal students looking to have discussions that they don’t feel comfortable having in leftist spaces.
“Hi guys, I’m a junior in CS. I’m curious about what ya’ll do over the school year. I reached out mainly because I was getting a bit frustrated with how UCSC “safe spaces” didn’t feel very safe for me,” posts one new member, introducing herself to the group.
“What’s the best mindset to have in classes with left-wing professors? Any point in discussing ideology and arguing my case, or should I just keep my mouth shut and agree with them for a good grade?” posts another new member.
The first college Republican meeting drew more than 50 people, forcing the club’s leadership to find a bigger room to accommodate their new members. “I think over 50 percent of the people that came to our first meeting were from minority groups,” says club president Brandon, “The crowd looked like a Hollywood movie’s take on a modern high school.” While Brandon concedes that many people who attend the first meeting won’t attend meetings regularly, he is optimistic that meetings throughout the rest of the year will draw “around 30 people, which is about three times more than we had come to meetings last year.”
I attended a second meeting that college Republicans held last Sunday evening in a ground floor room of Mchenry Library. Turnout was higher than anticipated, and several attendees had to sit on the floor, or stand with their backs against the wall. I was struck by how many freshman were at the meeting. A couple of the new members told me that the left-wing culture of academia already permeated down to their high schools, encouraging them to seek different schools of thought once they entered college.
One major conversation topic at the meeting was the mandatory diversity training sessions all incoming Freshman were required to attend. All of the Freshmen present agreed that the training sessions weren’t constructive. “We didn’t do any interactive workshops or anything like that,” said one member, “all we did was listen to speeches, singing, and bad slam poetry for two hours.” Another freshmen member vehemently disagreed with the content of the diversity training. “They told us that people of color couldn’t be racist. That’s ridiculous, all people can be hateful,” she says, “I am Mexican woman, I agree that there is a history of oppression in America, but I can still accomplish anything I want in this country.”
College Republican president Brandon sees programs such as the school’s diversity training as a chance to grow his club. “The culture on campus is driving people away from the left,” he tells me. “We are focussing on student outreach right now. We are looking for people who may not identify as conservative, but are willing to come in and have a conversation,” he continues. “A lot of progressives no longer see people as individuals. They assume that they will identify with a certain ideology because of how they look, instead of taking into account who they are.”
