The hottest Populism Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top U.S. Politics Topics

The Saturday Read: The velvet curtain

The Saturday Read • 119 implied HN points • 02 Nov 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. The rise of pop political movements, like MAGA and Thatcherism, show that they can reshape party identity and power dynamics in profound ways. This isn't just a short-term trend; it's likely to stick around.
  2. There's a real worry about the growing alignment of countries in the Brics group, which could change how global politics work. Many leaders aren't addressing this potential shift, leaving concerns about balance of power.
  3. North Korea sending troops to help Russia in Ukraine raises alarms, especially for neighboring countries like South Korea. It's a reminder of how tensions can escalate and lead to a larger conflict.

Is James Fishback the Future of the GOP?

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 3486 implied HN points • 13 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. James Fishback is the prototype of a new GOP archetype: loud, media-savvy, and willing to mix populist economics with racism and scandal.
  2. Young, online conservatives are especially vulnerable to flashy grifters, and polls plus big event turnouts show Fishback with strong support among 18–34 Republicans.
  3. The conservative movement is undergoing a human-capital decline as the right-wing press normalizes odious figures, risking a long-term drop in the quality and norms of Republican politicians.

Make America Gilded Again

Campaign Trails • 5064 implied HN points • 04 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Many people support Trump's idea of making America great again, but it's mostly based on nostalgic feelings about the past. They often don't really specify what that 'great' time is.
  2. Trump's idea seems to relate to the 1890s, a time known for wealth for a few and poverty for many. Most people were struggling to get by while a small number of rich people thrived.
  3. The 1890s also had serious issues with racism and restrictions on people's rights. For many, that period was quite harsh, showing that Trump's vision might not be good for everyone.

The Transitive Strongman

Thinking about... • 521 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Strength in strongman politics is mostly a performance that followers grant, not an objective quality. Once people accept that a leader is stronger than them, they often feel compelled to submit and tolerate public humiliation.
  2. Strongmen treat laws and institutions as stage props and then break them to display power, which ultimately weakens the country and hurts ordinary people. The spectacle of force can look like strength while undermining real security and prosperity.
  3. Everyday scenes — like sports stars being baited or courted by leaders — show how the cult of strength normalizes submissive behavior, but resistance is possible and the aura of the strongman is not irresistible.

Why Low Human Capital Obsesses over Pedophilia

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 4949 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. An obsessive focus on pedophilia has become a central identity and political weapon for lower-status groups, who widen definitions and invent conspiracies to feel morally superior.
  2. That panic produces extreme punitive instincts and public shaming, treating sexual offenses as uniquely monstrous in ways that would be odd and disproportionate for other crimes.
  3. The hysteria causes real social harm by infantilizing teenagers, encouraging extended childhood and therapy culture, and letting both left and right forces use the issue to push coercive agendas, so it should be resisted.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Gangster affordability

Noahpinion • 15117 implied HN points • 13 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. The administration is governing in a personalist, gangster-like way, using executive orders and DOJ threats to pressure independent institutions like the Federal Reserve.
  2. A main goal is to bring down living costs and boost affordability—pushing for lower interest rates and targeting specific prices like credit to improve popularity.
  3. That approach might give short-term price relief but risks big long-term costs. It can weaken institutional independence, raise inflation or instability, and lead to costly policy mistakes.

A Trump presidency could unite Europe - in obedience

Gulf Stream Blues • 59 implied HN points • 31 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. If Trump wins again, it could boost far-right parties in Europe. These parties are gaining popularity but not as much as Trump in the U.S.
  2. Some European leaders think a Trump presidency could shock Europe into becoming more independent. However, there's skepticism about whether this will really happen.
  3. It's likely that Europe's far-right might come together in support of Trump rather than against him, which could strengthen their power and influence.

Fiasco - the People’s Vote seven years on

The Path Not Taken • 551 implied HN points • 10 Mar 26
🌍 World Politics Populism
  1. The People’s Vote campaign mobilised many politically inexperienced people, which widened ideological engagement but also spread misunderstanding, conspiracy thinking and social division.
  2. There were serious ethical and democratic concerns because pushing for a second referendum felt like trying to overturn a clear public vote and risked inflaming anger and distrust.
  3. Strategically the campaign failed—by 2019 it fizzled into party politics, moved the goalposts instead of seeking compromise, and likely made repairing Britain’s relationship with the EU harder.

They need to make you hate some group

Noahpinion • 28235 implied HN points • 05 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. The political right is pushing a racial-collectivist view that judges whole ethnic or immigrant groups by the condition of their home countries to justify immigration restrictions and win power.
  2. When progressives emphasize group identity and race-conscious policies, it can weaken the public appeal of treating people as individuals and hand the right an opening to demand group-based judgments.
  3. Evidence shows immigrants usually adapt and often succeed in America because of selection and U.S. institutions, so the idea that migrants simply recreate the problems of their homelands here is false.

Thoughts on Elite Versus Populist Libertarianism

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 4998 implied HN points • 16 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Libertarianism splits into two tribes: elite libertarians who are idea-driven, socially liberal, and pro-democracy, and populist libertarians who seek mass support through culture-war, conspiratorial, and sometimes authoritarian tactics.
  2. Many people wear libertarianism as a form of vice signaling rather than from a sober understanding of economics, which lets grifters, conspiracy theorists, and hardline cultural agitators dominate the movement.
  3. Being part of the conservative coalition once helped libertarians advance pro-market policies, but the recent populist takeover has broken that bargain, so lasting success now requires persuading intellectual elites and idea-focused audiences.

Chartbook 430 After the thugs.

Chartbook • 4391 implied HN points • 22 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. A powerful, unpredictable figure at the event created a rupture in normal political norms that pressured others into defensive, co‑dependent behavior.
  2. The gathering felt more like a tawdry spectacle of wealth and cronyism, with boastful deals, branded patriotism, and family members hustling in plain sight.
  3. The overall atmosphere left attendees and organizers feeling sick, anxious, and morally uneasy, pushing many toward reluctant compromises to avoid confrontation.

Let's Make a Happy New Year

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 6487 implied HN points • 01 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. 2025 was a wildly turbulent year: political movements splintered at home and the post‑1945 international security order grew shaky.
  2. Many core beliefs and institutions no longer command consensus — people are openly questioning nation‑states, majority rule, markets, borders, education, and other basic systems.
  3. We need to get serious and work together now; communities and small institutions will have to try new ideas and support each other to make 2026 better.

The Ends and Means of Tucker Carlson

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 932 implied HN points • 23 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. He reframes ethnic grievance as a defense of American sovereignty, arguing that U.S. policy serves a transnational elite—particularly Jewish interests—instead of ordinary citizens.
  2. He stages interviews as political theater, using one-sided grilling and cross-examination to portray guests as part of a corrupt establishment while casting himself as the angry, polite citizen.
  3. His rhetoric masks ethnic grievance as patriotism, recycling anti‑Semitic tropes while recasting questions about foreign influence, espionage, and accountability as proof that the government isn’t serving its people.

The Unbearable Stupidity of Nick Shirley

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 4535 implied HN points • 09 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. A 23-year-old influencer’s viral confrontational videos are being praised as investigative journalism even though his methods were sloppy and produced unreliable evidence that led to harassment of targeted daycares.
  2. The right-wing influencer ecosystem often works backwards—starting from a belief and then hunting for so-called "receipts"—which prioritizes identity-based narratives over careful evidence and proper reporting.
  3. Conservative media frequently rewards low intellectual standards and nativist claims, elevating amateurs instead of rigorous journalists and making thoughtful, policy-focused debate harder.

MAGA is an ‘identity-centred’ political form - take it seriously

Brain Pizza • 331 implied HN points • 26 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. MAGA is best seen as an identity-centred political form rather than a single coherent ideology, and it now dominates large parts of the US government and a significant portion of the population.
  2. MAGA treats many other countries and groups as an out-group, which shows up in policies like tariffs on allies, threats to NATO partners, and outreach to hostile actors.
  3. Its strength comes from deep human cognitive, affective, and social dynamics, making it emotionally powerful, resilient, and a major influence on national security and international relations.

JD Vance Is the White Kendi

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 6022 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. He turns lower-class white grievances into an identity-politics playbook, using zero-sum and conspiratorial narratives that cast elites or foreigners as the root cause of most problems.
  2. He routinely blames immigrants, corporations, and experts for economic and social ills while downplaying personal responsibility and market explanations.
  3. If that style spreads, it could remake conservatism into a postliberal, grievance-driven movement that abandons free markets, individual agency, and traditional conservative principles.

"Heritage Americans" Is a Claim to Unearned Status

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 4218 implied HN points • 21 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Claiming 'Heritage American' status asks for unearned deference and is used to shut down debate instead of offering reasons for political positions.
  2. Identity politics on both the left and right often replaces evidence and logic with appeals to immutable traits, producing poor policy and irrational arguments.
  3. A civic, ideas-based definition of American identity is preferable, and disagreements—like over immigration—should be settled with facts, principles, and arguments rather than ancestry.

How Democrats Lost Men

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1465 implied HN points • 26 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. When men stop feeling respected or honored, they can become more likely to embrace far-right narratives that cast them as victims.
  2. In crisis situations many societies rely on traditional roles—men for defense and women for protecting children—so treating the sexes as fully interchangeable ignores how people actually behave under threat.
  3. Politically, mocking or dismissing men as "toxic" can push them away, so winning them back requires outreach that restores respect rather than derision.

Candace Owens, Real Conspiracy Theorist, Not "Performance Artist"

Default Wisdom • 210 implied HN points • 03 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. American conspiracy culture is a distinct tradition with its own media, communities, and an epistemology that tells people to ‘do your own research,’ and that worldview becomes hard to control once it becomes the language of state power.
  2. The culture runs in three modes — method (deep, obsessive investigation), spectacle (performative, attention-driven shows), and costume (influencers who borrow the look without the epistemology) — and the attention economy pushes everyone toward hotter, more sensational content.
  3. Policing or disciplining insiders often backfires because punishment confirms the movement’s basic suspicion that authorities hide the truth, so speakers are judged more by whom and when they accuse than by the content of their claims.

The anti-immigration backlash comes to Japan

Noahpinion • 18294 implied HN points • 22 Jul 25
🌍 World Politics Populism
  1. Japan is seeing a rise in anti-immigration feelings, similar to trends in other countries, partly due to a new political party pushing for 'Japanese First' policies.
  2. The country has opened up to immigration over the years due to labor shortages and a drop in birth rates, but this has created tensions and fears about cultural changes.
  3. Overtourism is also causing problems, as the influx of tourists can overwhelm local areas and lead to resentment, impacting perceptions of foreigners.

American Apotheosis, Lustration, and Conciliatism

Dr. Pippa's Pen & Podcast • 33 implied HN points • 17 Mar 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. A hidden transnational power structure of cartels, shadow financiers, and kompromat makes courtroom justice ineffective, so the public’s expectation of simple legal reckonings clashes with a much deeper, systemic problem.
  2. A political strategy aims for 'apotheosis by outcome'—becoming an untouchable icon by delivering undeniable global results like reintegration and stability, using insider knowledge rather than moral purity.
  3. Rather than regime change or courts, the approach relies on economic incentives and forensic audits—choking off cash flows and seizing server data and witnesses from foreign partners—to expose and dismantle covert systems of influence.

New Book, Founding Member Perks, and Hegelian Dialectics with Myself

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 3340 implied HN points • 19 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. A forthcoming book called Kakistocracy offers a cross-national theory of populism, arguing it has harmful effects in Western democracies while explaining why it rises and what consequences it produces.
  2. The piece explains a break with MAGA-era conservatism, claiming modern right-wing populism rewards grifters, conspiracy, and nativism and undermines serious conservative intellectual life.
  3. To fund continued independent writing, the creator is seeking more Founding Members at a raised $500 tier, promising perks like direct Signal access, a group chat, occasional meals, and extra personal articles.

Get ready for the Ursulawave

Wrong Side of History • 584 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Populism
  1. The European project is built on openness and free movement, which makes a conservative, nationalist united Europe hard to sustain and lets migrants move freely to the continent's most attractive welfare states.
  2. The new EU–India mobility deal will create legal routes that are likely to bring many low and semi-skilled workers to Europe, which can reduce job opportunities for local young people and fuel a political backlash that benefits the radical right.
  3. Migration acts as a social safety valve for sending countries like India, and European leaders continue to push open migration policies for ideological reasons despite the clear political and social risks.

We Taught Fascism Wrong

Erik Examines • 1075 implied HN points • 18 Jan 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Fascists usually win by scaring sensible people into choosing them as the "lesser evil," so moderates often enable brutal leaders rather than being converted to extremism.
  2. Communist revolutions tended to succeed where democratic options were blocked, while democratic socialism in Western countries has repeatedly governed without ending democracy, so fears of the democratic left are often overstated.
  3. In the modern information age, movements win by pumping out lies and weaponizing fear, so schools should teach what not to fear and society should hold large media actors accountable for deliberately spreading big, systematic falsehoods.

Rubio Calls For The End Of A Tolerant, Democratic Europe And The Crowd Goes Wild

Phillips’s Newsletter • 357 implied HN points • 14 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Marco Rubio urged Europe to abandon its tolerant, liberal democratic model in favor of smaller, nationalistic, Trump-aligned states, and his remarks were met with enthusiastic applause.
  2. He portrayed the pre-Trump, rules-based international order as a dangerous 'delusion,' blaming migration, trade, and liberal tolerance for Western decline and pitching a Trump-led renewal as the solution.
  3. Rubio downplayed Russia and China as central threats and signaled willingness to accept a Ukraine settlement that keeps Russia content, implying a U.S. pivot away from guaranteeing European security.

The Age of Jackson

Unpopular Front • 145 implied HN points • 18 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Jesse Jackson was a major political figure in the 1980s and 90s who was ultimately sidelined by savvy political maneuvers like the "Sister Souljah" moment.
  2. He bridged the Black Church civil-rights tradition with unapologetic New Deal–style social democracy and influenced later leaders and multiracial progressive movements.
  3. He was a masterful, classical public speaker who embodied the cultural and rhetorical traditions conservatives claim to defend, and his decline left the modern left noticeably poorer in persuasive, beautiful rhetoric.

Should Republicans Be More Explicitly Racist?

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 2925 implied HN points • 17 Nov 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Opposition to low-skilled immigration often leads to faulty economic beliefs, like thinking that immigrants take away jobs from locals. This can create a toxic mindset that sees hard work as harmful only when done by foreigners.
  2. As racism becomes more explicit in political discussions, it may prompt some conservatives to make more irrational economic arguments. Being honest about motivations can help clarify these issues and promote better economic thinking.
  3. The tendency to oppose immigration can have serious economic consequences. While some people may not accept this due to racial biases, it's important to highlight the benefits of immigration for everyone, including tech innovation and economic growth.

From Plato to NATO to MAGA: Marco Rubio’s Myths & the Real "Western Alliance"

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 192 implied HN points • 17 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. The idea of a continuous "West" stretching from Plato to NATO is mostly a post‑WWII political invention, and mythmaking can inspire good aims but also hide inconvenient truths or enable authoritarian projects.
  2. Cold War actions like the Marshall Plan were not primarily about creating markets for American goods; economic arguments were secondary to strategic, security, and ideological goals aimed at containing the Soviet Union.
  3. The American "city upon a hill" story emphasizes breaking with the Old World, and the U.S. played a decisive rescuing and restructuring role in Europe after WWII, though Britain and other European actors also had important agency in shaping that outcome.

Humilitism

In My Tribe • 1184 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Humilitism is the view that no one can have a highly accurate understanding of complex social systems, so people should be humble about their political knowledge and judgments.
  2. It rejects confident technocratic elites and crisis-driven politics, preferring to treat social issues as problems with trade-offs rather than urgent calls for sweeping solutions.
  3. Humilitism is distinct from labels like conservative, libertarian, or populist — you can hold strong opinions yet still accept fallibility and worry about the fragility of social order.

What the state of the US economy can tell us about Trump's populist appeal

Econ Populi • 19 implied HN points • 24 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Bad economies can help populist candidates win elections. When people's lives are hard, they may choose someone who promises big changes, even if that candidate has been less successful.
  2. Populists like Donald Trump can be popular even when the economy is doing fine. Many voters don't rely on economic indicators and instead follow narratives that make them feel understood.
  3. Good economic governance might not be enough for traditional parties to win against populists. They need to connect with voters on a personal level and address their feelings about the elites and the current system.

Dan Davies Demonstrates for Immigrants: He Returns Home Worried About How Hopelessness Powers Xenophobia

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 345 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
🌍 World Politics Populism
  1. Hopelessness, not just cruelty, is powering much anti-immigrant sentiment: people often accept refugees' humanity but believe their society is too broken to help.
  2. Policy-makers tend to assume institutions can be improved, so they miss that many citizens have lost belief in agency; that gap makes people vulnerable to cynics and grifters.
  3. Real leadership rebuilds justified agency by solving visible, solvable problems in public rather than relying on speeches or messaging, giving people repeated reasons to regain optimism.

About Those Onesies

TK News by Matt Taibbi • 16872 implied HN points • 31 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Senator Sanders had a tense exchange with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which seemed surprising given they agree on many issues. It raised questions about why there was such hostility.
  2. The Virality Project labeled both Sanders and Kennedy as 'censored,' showing how the content moderation system can target people for their overall views, not just specific statements.
  3. Sanders once had a strong populist appeal but lost some of that by not defending free speech for those with differing views, which goes against the core of liberal values.

The Backwards Populist Narrative on Covid

Richard Hanania's Newsletter • 1487 implied HN points • 10 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. The usual right-wing story that elites forced harsh COVID rules on a freedom-loving public is backwards; polls showed most people wanted more and longer restrictions than governments actually implemented.
  2. Many non-pharmaceutical measures like masking, school closures, and lockdowns caused serious harm and were not justified by a proper cost-benefit analysis, especially after vaccines became available.
  3. The pandemic didn’t mainly radicalize people against elites; it helped pull high-profile influencers toward Trump while the general public continued to favor more government control in the name of safety.

The Death of British Conservatism

Striking 13 • 3833 implied HN points • 22 Mar 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. The Conservative party in Britain is facing potential annihilation with its support dropping drastically in polls.
  2. Populist conservatism has replaced traditional conservatism in the UK, leading to a significant ideological shift.
  3. There is a call for true conservatives to regain control and fight for the core values within the Conservative party to prevent complete ideological loss.

Trump’s Voters Will Back an Iran Strike

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 241 implied HN points • 05 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. MAGA leaders push a noninterventionist line, but many of their voters don't actually share that view.
  2. Recent polls show large support among Trump voters for military action: about half would back action in Iran, 61% of 'MAGA Republicans' favored intervention there, and 65% supported military action in at least one country.
  3. American attitudes toward foreign intervention shift with events, so the political right can be isolationist at times and interventionist at others, surprising its ideologues.

In which Marco Rubio receives a standing ovation from the Eurotards for his speech attacking mass migration, "the climate cult" and liberal universalism

eugyppius: a plague chronicle • 178 implied HN points • 15 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Marco Rubio attacked mass migration, what he called the “climate cult,” and liberal universalism, and his speech at the Munich Security Conference drew a standing ovation.
  2. His remarks indicate that nationalist and right-populist critiques of migration, climate policy, and liberal norms are finding sympathy among some European elites.
  3. That applause signals shifting transatlantic dynamics, where alliances and domestic leaders may face harder choices about migration, climate policy, and the limits of liberal universalism.

Backlash: Seek Truth from Facts

Bet On It • 155 implied HN points • 10 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Populism
  1. The idea that higher immigration inevitably triggers a political backlash that sharply reduces future immigration is speculative and often overstated; real-world outcomes can surprise predictions.
  2. People are overconfident about both the direction and size of political effects: populist victories can happen without high immigration, and when they happen they don’t always lead to big cuts in immigration.
  3. If you truly support open immigration, treat it as a core moral and practical priority and demand strong empirical evidence of massive political blowback before changing course, because many nominal supporters are easily swayed by minor events.

Centrism's Anger Problem

The Ruffian • 215 implied HN points • 07 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Populism
  1. Centrism is an attitude that prizes calm, proportion, competence and evidence-based, practical problem-solving over emotional reactions.
  2. Because centrists avoid strong emotion, they struggle to express or channel public anger and can seem politically impotent when scandals or populist fury take hold.
  3. Focusing on episodic scandals or old revelations can distract from bigger, concrete problems like the economy, housing and public services, and some issues legitimately demand anger.

Migration Mess

Diane Francis • 959 implied HN points • 24 Jun 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Populism
  1. Immigration is a hot topic in elections, with many people feeling overwhelmed by the number of migrants and their needs.
  2. Historically, immigrants have faced challenges, and the perception of them has often been mixed, depending on their ability to fit in and contribute.
  3. Today's migration is influenced by global conflicts and human smuggling, leading to a rise in populist reactions against migrants.

Trump’s Best Friend in Europe May Lose His Election

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 217 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🌍 World Politics Populism
  1. Viktor Orbán has built a right‑wing supermajority and ruled for years, but his hold on power looks vulnerable and opponents could beat him in the April election.
  2. Péter Magyar and his Tisza party have been doing grassroots relief like delivering firewood and shovels in poor villages, showing they can fill gaps left by the government and gain political momentum.
  3. Orbán is a key European ally of Donald Trump, so his potential defeat would have implications beyond Hungary and could reshape international political alignments.