Unless Britain truly distances itself from the racially charged nationalism emerging from MAGA mania across the Atlantic, the true victims will be immigrants, who will face an increasingly normalised wave of vilification.

A civil war is brewing in Trumpland and he hasn’t even taken office yet. Tensions are rising between two distinct Republican factions. On one side, there’s the hard-right, anti-immigrant “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) supporters. They tend to be white, working class, less educated, and disillusioned, believing that minority rights have undermined American values. They advocate isolationism, seeking to detach the US from the rest of the world.

In opposition, are the hyper-capitalist tech elites, many of whom are immigrants themselves. They’re led by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who helped to bankroll Trump’s election campaign.

At the heart of the rift is immigration. The MAGA diehards resent the arrival of foreign workers, particularly skilled immigrants on H-1B visas. In a tirade on X, Musk told H-1B opponents to: “F*** yourself in the face.”  Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House strategist, who was released from prison in October after serving a sentence for contempt of Congress during the Capitol Hill riots, hit back. Unless Musk smartens up and stops pushing visas for skilled workers to take well-paid tech jobs away from Americans, he and other MAGA diehards will “rip your face off,” warned the War Room podcaster.

Lovely people, aren’t they.

DOGE vs MAGA

Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, a fellow tech entrepreneur and Trump’s former rival for GOP presidential nomination, are spearheading efforts to streamline the federal government under Trump’s new “DOGE’’ (Department of Government Efficiency,) tasked with cutting wasteful spending.

Both men support H-1B visas, arguing that foreign talent is crucial for innovation. Musk, who was born in South Africa, sparked controversy by dismissing American workers as “re****ed” and defending the visas. Ramaswamy has similarly argued that Americans cannot compete with foreign workers due to a “dumbed down” culture.

Despite MAGA’s vocal opposition, Trump himself has expressed support for the H-1B programme, telling the  New York Post: “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favour of the visas. That’s why we have them.”

This position has baffled many within his base, given his previous push to restrict visas during his first term. Then again, perhaps it’s not so surprising, considering Trump’s penchant for changing his mind as often as a four-year-old changes their mind about their favourite toy.

DOGE/MAGA tensions deepened with the appointment of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian American advisor close to both Musk and Trump, who supports easing restrictions on H-1B visas. MAGA activist Laura Loomer, a self-proclaimed “proud Islamophobe,” chimed in. Taking to X she insisted that H-1B jobs should go to American STEM graduates, not foreign workers.

“Our country was built by white Europeans… Not third-world invaders from India,” she posted on X. “It’s not racist against Indians to want the original MAGA policies I voted for.”

Which of course, rather overlooks the role of generations of black slaves, as well as the Chinese labourers, who laid America’s railways.

Democrats are already positioning themselves to capitalise on the divide, with a memo circulating among a group of entrepreneurs, lawyers, and academics seeking to unite factions of the Republican Party critical of Musk’s influence on tech and immigration. Concerns over Musk’s foreign ties, particularly with China and Russia, have also raised alarms within the defence community.

Progressive voices like Bernie Sanders have spoken out, accusing Musk of pushing for H-1Bs to secure “cheaper” labour, not more qualified workers.

Why does this all matter? Because while Trump’s people insist he won on a landslide and has a mandate that he will put in place on day one, his fragile coalition is splintering even before he takes office.

The immigration divide in Britain

More concerningly still from a UK perspective, the Republicans’ ideological battle has parallels within the UK right-wing, where immigration remains a major point of contention. Ironically, Elon Musk, the figure catalysing division within the MAGA movement, has become an unlikely lightning rod in Britain’s political discourse, commanding attention in news cycles and political debate.

In Britain, much like in the US, the right-wing is fracturing, with immigration at the heart of the conflict. For over a decade, successive Tory administrations promised to tackle illegal migration and reduce legal immigration, yet their failure to deliver infuriated many voters and further demonised immigrants to the UK. Despite ambitious targets and aggressive anti-immigration policies, immigration levels, both legal and illegal, have not decreased.

The Tories’ civil war

The civil war within the Conservative Party, ongoing for months – even years – intensified in the wake of their disastrous election defeat.

Liz Truss’s ‘Pop Con’ think-tank aims to pile pressure on the party, lobbying for more hardline measures on issues dear to the right of the party, such as immigration. Led by Mark Littlewood, former director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, which helped shape Truss’s ill-fated mini budget, the think-tank embodies the growing division within the party.

Kemi Badenoch, the first black woman to lead a major UK political party, remains a divisive figure, even within her own party. Known for her firm “anti-woke” position and no-nonsense style, she became a hero to many on the Conservative right. During her leadership campaign, Badenoch warned that Conservatism was “in crisis,” under siege from a progressive ideology and identity politics.

Yet, several months into her tenure, many Tories – and their supporting media – are questioning whether Badenoch has a plan, as the Spectator belligerently asked this week.

Despite Keir Starmer’s declining support, Britons remain unconvinced that the Conservatives are ready for government or that Badenoch is a prime minister-in-waiting.

Badenoch’s response to the ‘MAGA mania’ spreading across the Atlantic is also telling. As Guardian columnist Rafael Behr wrote on the matter, Badenoch had a choice, “police the boundary where reputable Tory tradition shades into racially aggravated nationalism or hasten the dissolution of that line.”

In other words, distance the Conservatives from growing nationalism in the US or endorse it for political gain. She opted for the latter.

Amid the resurfaced grooming gangs’ scandal, strategically fostered by Elon Musk, whose raft of erratic social media posts put a decades-long child sexual abuse scandal back under the political spotlight, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, and Badenoch’s rival in the Tory leadership race, suggested that migrants with “medieval attitudes to women,” should be barred from coming to Britain.

His comments were backed by Badenoch, who has previously said that all cultures are not “equally valid.”

Sadly, similar to the diehard MAGAs, the UK right’s approach to immigration is marked by hostile language which only serves to incite racial tensions.

What about Labour?

Like its predecessors, Labour has made a series of ambitious pledges on migration, to bring down net migration, reduce reliance on overseas workers, tackle smuggling gangs, clear the asylum backlog, and accelerate the removal of people without legal status in the UK.

But the Refugee Council has warned that unless Labour challenges aggressive Conservative rhetoric and reframes the debate, it risks perpetuating harmful attitudes toward refugees. The charity’s chief executive, Enver Solomon, urged Starmer to use the language of “compassion and humanity” to tackle the vilification of refugees.

In an exchange during a recent PMQs, Starmer and Badenoch clashed over the Tories’ record on immigration, with the PM accusing the previous government of overseeing “open borders” and record-high immigration levels. Badenoch fired back, questioning why cutting immigration wasn’t a priority for Labour.

Reform makes gains

As Labour and the Tories engage in a blame game over immigration, Nigel Farage’s Reform is reaping the rewards.

Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s Westminster leader, noted that Farage is the true beneficiary of these divisive discussions on immigration. Following the PMQs’ exchange, Flynn remarked:

“Only one person wins from PMQs being dominated by these race to the bottom arguments on immigration. And it’s neither Keir, nor Kemi.”

As reported in the National, Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s chief of staff, has instructed Labour MPs to talk about immigration more frequently, a move widely seen as an attempt to regain control of the debate from Reform.

Indeed, Farage’s Reform is making gains. Membership of the anti-immigration party has reportedly overtaken that of the Tories, described by Farage as a “historic moment.” However, some Tory figures, including Badenoch, have dismissed these claims as “fakery.”

Farage’s relationship with Elon Musk has also dominated the headlines. Last month, the Clacton MP was reportedly in talks with the world’s richest man about securing a donation for his hard-right party. Yet Musk and Farage’s relationship soured over the controversial figure of Tommy Robinson, the far-right former leader of the English Defence League. Musk had called for Robinson’s release, while Farage condemned him, stating, “he’s not what we need.”

Despite the rift, a split between Farage and Musk may not necessarily hinder Reform’s progress.

Farage’s party has risen rapidly, and he’s led successful campaigns on limited resources before. The party received a huge PR boost from Farage’s association with Musk, and distancing himself from the controversial figure may even enhance Farage’s credibility.

That said, the Clacton MP is flying to the US once again for Trump’s inauguration and has said he hopes to patch things up with Musk.

Dear oh dear, it seems whatever Farage does he can’t lose. And sadly, unless Britain truly distances itself from the racially charged nationalism emerging from MAGA mania across the Atlantic, the true victims will be immigrants, who will face an increasingly normalised wave of vilification.

Right-wing media watch – Conservative media deflects California wildfire blame, targeting Gavin Newsom over climate change

This week’s wildfires ravaging Los Angeles, causing fatalities and widespread destruction, made headlines around the world. Experts have pointed to climate change as a major factor behind the increasing intensity and frequency of these fires, with California particularly vulnerable due to prolonged dry spells following a hot summer.

According to Professor Stefan Doerr, director of the Centre for Wildfire Research at Swansea University, the region has seen some of the most drastic increases in “fire weather” globally, “largely driven by climate change.”

However, right-wing media, both in the US and the UK, have largely sidestepped the climate change angle. Instead, they’ve focused on political scapegoating, with California’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom bearing the brunt of criticism.

Newsom, who’s widely expected to be a potential Democratic presidential contender in 2028, has faced accusations of mismanaging the state’s land and forest policies, with some critics suggesting his focus on the “globalist climate change agenda” undermines his responsibility to manage natural resources effectively.

The Daily Mail has led the charge, running a headline decrying Newsom’s “terrible record of California forest management.” The article claims that Newsom’s time in office has been marked by criticism over his handling of forest fires. The Mail even quoted Breanna Morello, a right-wing social media personality, accusing Newsom of neglecting forest management and focusing too heavily on the “globalist climate change agenda.”

Donald Trump has, of course, waded in, insisting that California’s fires were exacerbated by Newsom’s unwillingness to “clean” the forest floors. Trump also claimed that Newsom had failed to act on water restoration initiatives. The Mail doubled down, publishing Trump’s earlier warnings about the governor’s forest management decisions, further fuelling the attack.

Naturally, Trump-endorsing Fox News jumped on the same bandwagon, amplifying Trump’s criticisms and framing Newsom as responsible for the devastation.

Sadly, with outlets like the Daily Mail, which doesn’t exactly have a good track record on climate reporting, with analysis finding that the newspaper continues to promote climate change denial, including headlines denouncing “climate hysteria,” the decision to focus less on the link between climate change and the fires, and instead blame Newsom’s policies and leadership, comes as no surprise.

Smear of the week – Sun in meltdown over civil servants celebrating ‘Juneteenth’

It’s January. It’s cold. It’s dark. It’s wet. And, if you live where I live, you’re shovelling snow. You’re not contemplating distant events in June.

But not the Sun, which decided to leap straight to summer – and not for the reasons you’d expect, or perhaps hope.

In its latest bout of woke-bashing smear, the Murdoch-owned tabloid took aim at civil servants celebrating ‘Juneteenth’.

Juneteenth (June 19^th) became an official US federal holiday in 2021, thanks to President Joe Biden. It’s a pivotal day in American history, which not only ended slavery but also helped ignite decades of struggle for racial justice, while reshaping the nation socially, politically and economically.

The Sun devoted an entire article to ‘quangocrats’ – which seems to be a new buzzword within right-wing media circle. Short for quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations, it’s used derogatorily to describe the civil service, apparently taking over Britain.

According to the Sun, “woke” officials in the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) have been commemorating Juneteenth, the American holiday marking the abolition of slavery in 1865.

You’d think that we’d be encouraged to celebrate the June 19 event. But not the Sun, which portrayed the Juneteenth celebrations among UK civil servants as something to mock.

And it doesn’t stop there. The same report also takes issue with civil servants observing the UN’s International Day of Indigenous Peoples, held in even longer away, on August 9. According to the IPO’s annual inclusion and diversity report, that by celebrating these events they had “broadened awareness and understanding” across the workforce.

This international day is about raising awareness for the rights and achievements of Indigenous peoples globally. But for the Sun, it’s just another example of those “quangocrats” wasting taxpayer money on irrelevant causes.

Hold on a second, though, who exactly is complaining? William Yarwood that’s who, media campaign manager at our old friends the Taxpayers’ Alliance, the secretly funded think-tank which cheered Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget,  opposes measures to combat climate change, among many other crimes.
Yarwood dismisses the celebrations as a sign that these “busybody quangocrats clearly don’t have enough work to do.”

“If these pen-pushers are able to find time to commemorate events that have nothing to do with their role or the country as a whole, taxpayers will be asking whether we need to employ many of them in the first place,” he said.

Let’s not forget, this is the same Sun and Taxpayers’ Alliance duo that tried to shift blame for the UK’s huge death rate during the pandemic. As LFF reported at the time, the Tufton Street think-tank and right-wing newspaper worked together on a hit piece, entitled: “Public Health England paid £60,000 bonuses to top execs before bungling Covid.”

In actual fact, no one got £60k. Six people received a bonus of between £5k and £10k.

It seems the Sun seriously needs to update its contacts’ book. Rather than relying on old, ideologically driven think-tanks like the Taxpayers’ Alliance, it and could definitely benefit from sourcing more informed, diverse opinions.

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is author of Right-Wing Watch

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