A who’s who of MAGA influencers you should know about by now

Over the weekend I went to DC to meet everyone right-wing influencers and the content creators they made To President Donald Trump Possible profit for 2024 They were everywhere.

The 2024 elections were influencer polls and opening was no different: There were dozens of parties and balls before and after the opening this weekend, as well as the big event itself. Theo Von sat in front of Jake and Logan Paul under the rotunda of the Capitol (well, until the podcaster’s chair collapses). Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh and Brett Cooper walked the Turning Point USA red carpet and posed for selfies with fans. Jessica Reed Krauss, author of the HouseInhabit newsletter, hung out with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Make America Healthy Again Ball on Monday night.

In August I published a guide for influential Republicans and Democrats shaping the 2024 election. Influencers and content creators still matter, and they will communicate and guide policy decisions for years to come.

Welcome to Trump 2.0, where these creators have the ear of not only their audience, but the president as well. Here are some of them to keep an eye on over the next four years.

Podcasters and streamers

The 2024 elections were the breakout cycle for podcasters in politics. Most of the shows that Trump did served the manospherea loose network of creators pushing misogynistic, racist and pro-male ideology online. This includes people like Joe Rogan, Andrew Schultz, brothers Paul and Adin Rosswho shared their interviews with Trump with millions upon millions of their fans. There is also a second branch composed of creatives who have marked themselves as the intellectual wing of the modern Republican Party, such as Ben Shapiro, Dave Rubin, and Lex Friedman. Friedman’s podcast on YouTube reaches millions of viewers every week. Shapiro’s show is one of the most popular ones on Spotify.

These podcasters have pushed Trump and his agenda with very little, if any, pushback. They are likely to be key to rallying support for the Trump administration’s decisions.

I spoke briefly with Shapiro on Sunday night, asking what’s next for the GOP and podcasting. “The force continues to grow,” he said. “Legacy media has completely blown itself. We’re focused on expanding, not just our brand, but there are so many other brands that need to expand, I think it’s going to be a very rich time for the podcast industry.”

The meme pages

DC Draino, the quintessential liberal, RagingAmericans and Snowflaketears are one of the biggest pro-MAGA meme pages on Instagram. Combined, these accounts have over 6 million followers. They act as a conduit between GOP leadership priorities and platforms like X and Instagram.

Think of their accounts as news aggregators for people who might not otherwise use them.

The organizers

Although Democrats worked with influencers throughout the last election cycle as well, no PAC or campaign organized them as effectively and efficiently as the right. Because of Turning Point USA and its leader, Charlie Kirkmany of the GOP’s most popular creators are seen at least a few times a year at the organization’s summits and trainings. According to interviews with some of the top right-wing organizers, this infrastructure will only be developed in the next four years. Organizers themselves have also become influencers to watch.

I wrote about high-profile party (and victory lap) thrown over opening weekend which was placed by CJ Pearson and Raquel Debono. Pearson, a conservative creative with more than 500,000 X followers, co-chairs the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council. He played a key role in the party’s adoption of influencers and plans additional trainings with organizations such as the Heritage Foundation.