On Wednesday, researchers from People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch project joined PFAW members for a telebriefing on their work tracking extreme Right movements and activists in the age of Trump.
Senior Fellow Peter Montgomery opened by discussing the deal that Trump made with Religious Right leaders to gain their support after their preferred candidate Ted Cruz lost in the primary: “If they helped put him in the White House, he would give them what they wanted. The Supreme Court of their dreams, an end to Planned Parenthood funding… He won their trust by picking one of their own, Mike Pence, as his running mate.”
Of one of the newer offshoots of the Right Wing, Research Associate Jared Holt said that “alt-right is an umbrella term to describe a movement that existed primarily digitally that fed off support for Trump in the 2016 election.” He explained its connection to the misogynist online harassment campaign called Gamergate, and noted that it’s incorrect to say that the alt-right doesn’t exist anymore—“the vitriol and hate have just gone to separate corners and they resent each other.”
Research Director Miranda Blue discussed one of Right Wing Watch’s main tactics to hold the Trump administration accountable: the Freedom of Information Act. She referenced PFAW’s FOIA requests that have been ignored and led to our lawsuits against the Departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development. When host Drew Courtney asked what PFAW members and Right Wing Watch readers can do to help with the work, she replied: “Read the blog, share with friends, and get the information out. And always feel free to send us tips.”
Listen to the full audio of the call below: