In this information-surplus/attention-deficit world, skepticism and division are more galvanizing than calls for solidarity. Only suckers believe playing by the rules of legacy institutions will get you anywhere.
This is what Nate Silver called the “Billboard Lawyer” communications style, and, like it or not, it was a clear winner in the 2024 presidential election.
(Sorry to bring it up.)
In 2024, the Trump campaign strategically aligned with influencers from the manosphere to engage and persuade young male “Barstool Conservative” voters who expressed an affinity for personal freedom and wealth hacks, and an antipathy for traditional institutions + the woke mind virus.
This strategic alignment worked. Young men moved 15 points to the right compared to the 2020 election, and that was part of a surprising coalition of racially diverse voters under 45 who swung in Trump’s favor overall by 6 points and by even more in Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania, where they helped put him over the top.
Riding that deluded wave, attention warlords RFK Jr., Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, and Elon came into positions of extraordinary power.
And what — besides megalomania, cartoon-villainy, and, save Bongino, alimony payments — do all of these guys have in common?
None of them built their influence by writing op-eds for the New York Times, making nice on Good Morning America, or even putting together a collaborative Instagram post with a mid celeb.
They built their influence by flooding the zone with TikTok videos, Twitch streams, and YouTube clips, relying on a core empowerment message — Don’t play by their dumb rules. Join me and I’ll tell you how to hack these elite organizations, legacy institutions, and mainstream culture creeps.
