On the evening preceding the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, prominent individuals from the right-wing community joined in a lavish celebration complete with beverages, dancing, and trays of McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Among the attendees, ring lights were commonly found, and physical depictions of tech magnate Elon Musk sporting cowboy hats provided a backdrop for countless photos. The initiative was backed by TikTok, entitled the ‘Power 30’ awards, and crafted to acknowledge the rise of right-wing digital domination. In the re-run election of 2024, the combination of TikTok collaborations and podcast revelations helped Trump and the Republicans secure their mission.
Major podcast personalities, adept digital strategists from the Republican side, and popular influencers spent the evening basking in their triumph and ensuring their online peers were appreciated. The festivities doubled as an opportunity to revel in their achievement and gear up for their efforts with the upcoming Trump regime. The role of content creators and influencers during the 2024 elections was striking. They covered both the Republican and Democratic conventions, presidential and vice-presidential dialogues alike.
Their presence permeated various fundraiser events and political rallies, with their voices echoing on every social media platform. Inclusive of radio channels, these influencers—transformed into podcasters—dedicated innumerable hours to endorse their preferred candidates. Notwithstanding their deep fundraising shortfalls, the Trump campaign formed alliances with crowd-pleaser podcasters and developed an engagement strategy focused on the ‘manosphere.’,
During the scheduled presidential debates, the presence of this familiar set of faces, among others, found shelter in conference rooms transformed into improvised influencer ‘command centers.’ Historically, right-wing political influencers have often been at loggerheads with platforms accused of ‘illegitimately’ barring or fact-checking them. However, the winds of change have been ushered in with Elon Musk gaining control over X and Mark Zuckerberg eliminating fact verification as well as multiple hate speech safeguards on Meta’s platforms.
Content creators and influencers, no longer confined to the peripheries, have reestablished their residence in mainstream platforms. Throughout the inauguration weekend, Silicon Valley was a hub for numerous creator-centric parties poised to commemorate Trump’s ascendency to the White House. At TikTok’s sponsored event, conservative content creators enthusiastically embraced their new patrons while dancing the night away.
Among the celebrated individuals was Alex Bruesewitz, a strategist from the Trump campaign and the mastermind behind the victorious online influencer strategy. Bruesewitz was honored with an award for his digital prowess. Prior to his role with the Trump group, he managed X Strategies, a political media agency, where he worked with dynamic, internet-savvy political candidates such as Matt Gaetz.
Bruesewitz recognized early how valuable podcasts could be to broadcast Trump’s political messaging to a wider audience. His view was shared by other party members who felt podcasts offered an unfiltered view of the candidates’ genuine selves. The recent triumph of conservative influencers is just the tip of the iceberg, as per the collective belief.
Earlier in the summer, a forum was organized with the intention of training an array of conservative creators on the art of bridging their political views with online voters. Since the year 2019, a unique program has managed to recruite and mentor at least 400 conservative influencers. These influencers have reaped the benefits of attending exclusive gatherings that feature speakers, networking platforms, and collaboration opportunities to help expand their influence.
Looking ahead, there are plans to host more influencer grooming events. The forthcoming Trump administration shows promising signs of assimilating them into the day-to-day media operations. Evidence of this trend was seen at the defense secretary confirmation hearing, with at least two conservative influencers marking their presence.
In the week up ahead, a select group of creators who powered Trump’s online campaign will grace the new president’s inauguration affairs. These moments are anticipated to not only signify the advent of a novel political era in the US, but also represent a cultural transition where ordinary citizens have the president’s attention.