The NY Times columnist admits that conservatives are winning the culture war

New York Times columnist Thomas Edsall admits that conservatives have begun to dominate American culture in a guest article on Tuesday titled “The Battle for Hearts and Minds Is Winning.”

“The conservative movement’s all-out assault on the liberal hegemony of the nation’s culture is beginning to score key victories,” Edsall said after decades of bitterness from conservatives “leaning to the left in academia, in the literary world, in the press, on television, and in streaming video.”

Edsall admits to buying Elon Musk One of the main reasons conservatives have dominated culture in recent years is Twitter, now called X, in 2022. X created a space where conservatives could freely share their ideas without fear of being blocked or censored. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta recently followed suit and began rolling back content moderation to their website, ending fact-checking and censorship restrictions on certain types of speech on Instagram and Facebook.

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Edsall cited podcasts as among the media that helped sway the culture to the right, with top podcasters like Joe Rogan supporting President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

Trump’s appearances on several right-leaning podcasts sidelined traditional liberal media during the campaign.

CEOs of the world’s largest technology companies They faced off against Trump the day after the 2024 election. In the year From strongly opposing him in 2016 and 2020, to donating millions of dollars to his fund starting in 2024. Edsall cited regulatory pressure from Trump as one reason for the change.

“Trump’s threat to punish organizations that oppose government regulation has brought together major tech players who play a major role in shaping contemporary American culture. Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple’s Tim Cook each contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration,” Edsall said.

Trump reflected on the change at a Dec. 16 news conference at Mar-a-Lago, saying: “One of the big differences between the first term — the first term was everybody was fighting me. With this term, everybody wanted to be my friend.”

Mainstream culture changes tone on Trump’s victory

This swing of the pendulum culture from left to right has also affected cable news networks, says Edsall.

“The Trump-Republican November sweep had an immediate impact on the balance of power in cable news networks, which play a critical role in disseminating ideas, values ​​and beliefs from left and right,” he said. columnist, also noted that despite the closeness of the November election, two more liberal cable channels, MSNBC and CNN, experienced sharp declines in viewers after Nov. 5, while Fox News’ ratings rose.”

Anya Shiffrin, director of the Technology, Media and Communications Program at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, said in an email to Edsall that conservatives are also winning on the communications front.

Shifrin said, “The reason Republicans are so successful is the message, rather than the communication. Republicans focus their message on very simple and mundane topics. It’s not explaining the disparity of crime statistics and telling people not to worry about crime. When people go to CVS every day and see all the toothpaste and aspirin, that’s the key. And it’s convincing when you’re under lock and key or feeling threatened on the street or subway.

After the election, a Christian author asserted that cultural change had been ‘blooming for years’.

According to Edsall, efforts by conservatives to discredit liberal talking points and policies through social media, podcasts, and other media have also contributed to the ongoing cultural shift.

Christopher Ruffo, a Times columnist, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and author of “America’s Cultural Revolution,” has “almost single-handedly” acknowledged liberals’ retreat on many issues.

“Ruffo can claim credit (or blame) for the corporate and academic retreat on critical race theory, diversity, equity and inclusion (better known as DEI), and the environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement in corporate investments,” says Edsall. He said. .

As Wall Street Journal reporters Aaron Zeitner and Meredith McGraw point out in their Jan. 19 article, “How MAGA Is Taking Over Culture,” this progressive idea is also making its way into sports and music.

“Instead of taking a knee to demand social justice, NFL players are doing the ‘Trump dance’ in the end zone at football games. Major entertainers, including country singer Carrie Underwood and rapper Snoop Dogg, have agreed to perform at the events. In honor of Donald Trump’s inauguration, eight years ago, among the music stars It’s one thing they’ve been excluded from, say WSJ reporters.

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Edsall also blamed prestigious universities across America for pushing culture to the right.

“Among the most damaging left-wing developments are the collapse of liberal universities, bastions of liberalism, Israel’s failure to deal with anti-Semitic protests in Gaza, the current exodus of reporters, editors and subscribers at the Washington Post, a mainstay of liberal journalism. The undermining of the academy’s commitment to freedom by canceling controversial speakers; Fields conservative professors;

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Edsall leaves his readers with a dire warning for the future.

“Trump’s corporate allies are now all over America’s business community. History shows that change can be as dangerous as we face it. Leaders with once-autocratic ambitions like Trump, as well as his aides and sidekicks, have risen to the top. Power, fired, up.” A higher privilege follows them wherever they go.