Rupert Myers: What is it about Reform’s obsession with Trump and, of all things, Penguins?
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Rupert Myers is a former conservative association deputy chairman and conservative council candidate.
Reform’s apparent obsession with Donald Trump has reached almost comic levels.
The party seems determined to import MAGA-style messaging into British politics, ignoring the widening political and cultural gulf between Britain and America. Reform’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham recently recreated Trump’s bizarre “penguin” meme as part of her campaign on social media.
One young Reform backer proudly claimed “I stand with ICE” before deleting the post following backlash in the wake of the shooting of VA hospital nurse Alex Pretti.
The White House caused a stir by posting an AI-generated image of President Trump strolling through a snowy landscape alongside a penguin holding a US flag as part of its clumsy campaign to obtain Greenland.
Incredibly, Cunningham thought this was worth mimicking, sharing a photo of herself trudging across a frozen, post-apocalyptic London with a penguin in tow, urging voters to “choose a new path for London” before “it’s too late”.
The original meme was mocked by many who pointed out that penguins don’t live in Greenland. Odder still is the belief that Londoners would find a copycat of Trump’s tone persuasive. Reform’s tilt towards Trumpism is unlikely to slow down with the defection of Suella Braverman from the Conservatives; earlier this month she published an article claiming that “Trump’s triumph offers a new blueprint for Britain” and it may yet cause Reform to hit an iceberg.
Reform is far too eager to ride Trump’s coattails, seemingly convinced that whatever worked for Trump in America will work here. Farage himself has spent years cozying up to Trump, proudly touting his status as Trump’s favourite Englishman despite not getting into the room for his inauguration. Even Farage, to his credit, appears aware of Trump’s excesses and has recently taken to quietly distancing himself from Trump’s wildest ideas, publicly warning that Trump’s musing about invading Greenland would spell the end of NATO. It’s quite something when Britain’s leading Trump cheerleader feels compelled to play the grown-up and tell the US President not to act like a comic book villain, but can he tame Trump-mania in his party?
While Farage does his best to soft-pedal Trump’s more Penguin-brained impulses (the fat crazy Batman villain not the delightful bird) Reform as a whole can’t quit Trump. The enthusiasm with which figures like Cunningham latch onto Trumpian memes and culture-war gimmicks shows many in Reform are determined to re-create the MAGA movement on this side of the Atlantic whether or not British voters are interested. This is a miscalculation. The Britishmedia ecosystem is nothing like America’s. In the US, Trump’s …
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Rupert Myers is a former conservative association deputy chairman and conservative council candidate.
Reform’s apparent obsession with Donald Trump has reached almost comic levels.
The party seems determined to import MAGA-style messaging into British politics, ignoring the widening political and cultural gulf between Britain and America. Reform’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham recently recreated Trump’s bizarre “penguin” meme as part of her campaign on social media.
One young Reform backer proudly claimed “I stand with ICE” before deleting the post following backlash in the wake of the shooting of VA hospital nurse Alex Pretti.
The White House caused a stir by posting an AI-generated image of President Trump strolling through a snowy landscape alongside a penguin holding a US flag as part of its clumsy campaign to obtain Greenland.
Incredibly, Cunningham thought this was worth mimicking, sharing a photo of herself trudging across a frozen, post-apocalyptic London with a penguin in tow, urging voters to “choose a new path for London” before “it’s too late”.
The original meme was mocked by many who pointed out that penguins don’t live in Greenland. Odder still is the belief that Londoners would find a copycat of Trump’s tone persuasive. Reform’s tilt towards Trumpism is unlikely to slow down with the defection of Suella Braverman from the Conservatives; earlier this month she published an article claiming that “Trump’s triumph offers a new blueprint for Britain” and it may yet cause Reform to hit an iceberg.
Reform is far too eager to ride Trump’s coattails, seemingly convinced that whatever worked for Trump in America will work here. Farage himself has spent years cozying up to Trump, proudly touting his status as Trump’s favourite Englishman despite not getting into the room for his inauguration. Even Farage, to his credit, appears aware of Trump’s excesses and has recently taken to quietly distancing himself from Trump’s wildest ideas, publicly warning that Trump’s musing about invading Greenland would spell the end of NATO. It’s quite something when Britain’s leading Trump cheerleader feels compelled to play the grown-up and tell the US President not to act like a comic book villain, but can he tame Trump-mania in his party?
While Farage does his best to soft-pedal Trump’s more Penguin-brained impulses (the fat crazy Batman villain not the delightful bird) Reform as a whole can’t quit Trump. The enthusiasm with which figures like Cunningham latch onto Trumpian memes and culture-war gimmicks shows many in Reform are determined to re-create the MAGA movement on this side of the Atlantic whether or not British voters are interested. This is a miscalculation. The Britishmedia ecosystem is nothing like America’s. In the US, Trump’s …
Rupert Myers: What is it about Reform’s obsession with Trump and, of all things, Penguins?
This feels like a quiet policy shift.
Rupert Myers is a former conservative association deputy chairman and conservative council candidate.
Reform’s apparent obsession with Donald Trump has reached almost comic levels.
The party seems determined to import MAGA-style messaging into British politics, ignoring the widening political and cultural gulf between Britain and America. Reform’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham recently recreated Trump’s bizarre “penguin” meme as part of her campaign on social media.
One young Reform backer proudly claimed “I stand with ICE” before deleting the post following backlash in the wake of the shooting of VA hospital nurse Alex Pretti.
The White House caused a stir by posting an AI-generated image of President Trump strolling through a snowy landscape alongside a penguin holding a US flag as part of its clumsy campaign to obtain Greenland.
Incredibly, Cunningham thought this was worth mimicking, sharing a photo of herself trudging across a frozen, post-apocalyptic London with a penguin in tow, urging voters to “choose a new path for London” before “it’s too late”.
The original meme was mocked by many who pointed out that penguins don’t live in Greenland. Odder still is the belief that Londoners would find a copycat of Trump’s tone persuasive. Reform’s tilt towards Trumpism is unlikely to slow down with the defection of Suella Braverman from the Conservatives; earlier this month she published an article claiming that “Trump’s triumph offers a new blueprint for Britain” and it may yet cause Reform to hit an iceberg.
Reform is far too eager to ride Trump’s coattails, seemingly convinced that whatever worked for Trump in America will work here. Farage himself has spent years cozying up to Trump, proudly touting his status as Trump’s favourite Englishman despite not getting into the room for his inauguration. Even Farage, to his credit, appears aware of Trump’s excesses and has recently taken to quietly distancing himself from Trump’s wildest ideas, publicly warning that Trump’s musing about invading Greenland would spell the end of NATO. It’s quite something when Britain’s leading Trump cheerleader feels compelled to play the grown-up and tell the US President not to act like a comic book villain, but can he tame Trump-mania in his party?
While Farage does his best to soft-pedal Trump’s more Penguin-brained impulses (the fat crazy Batman villain not the delightful bird) Reform as a whole can’t quit Trump. The enthusiasm with which figures like Cunningham latch onto Trumpian memes and culture-war gimmicks shows many in Reform are determined to re-create the MAGA movement on this side of the Atlantic whether or not British voters are interested. This is a miscalculation. The Britishmedia ecosystem is nothing like America’s. In the US, Trump’s …
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