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Trump 'Meme Team' Troll Brenden Dilley Spews Racism, Sexism, And Homophobia

Content warning: This article contains anti-LGBTQ, ableist, and misogynistic commentary and slurs, and other profane language.

Brenden Dilley, a far-right podcaster who previously pushed the QAnon conspiracy theory, leads a “meme team” that creates pro-Trump content that The New York Times says “traffics freely in misinformation,” “racist stereotypes,” and “demeaning tropes about L.G.B.T.Q. people.”

Media Matters conducted a monthslong review of Dilley’s show, which regularly streams on right-wing video-sharing platform Rumble, and found that the Trump ally regularly traffics in misogynistic, discriminatory, and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. There are dozens of examples so far this year in which he made comments like saying he wished women would “focus on their pretty dresses and their house and their children and making me sexually satisfied all the time, and food” instead of focusing on politics, claiming that Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was a “DEI” hire, and saying that transgender people were “fucked in the head.”

Dilley has also bragged on his show about his ties to Republican officials, including former President Donald Trump and Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, and called for his followers to aid them, including by targeting their political opponents with “psychological warfare.” Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly shared material from Dilley’s “meme team” and supposedly said he “loves” Dilley, while his campaign has reportedly shared footage for Dilley’s team to use and given Dilley press passes for a campaign event.

Dilley has also threatened and spread baseless claims about former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and other people he disagrees with.

Dilley is a former Republican congressional candidate turned online show host who has pushed conspiracy theories and formed a “meme team”

On his show, Dilley has repeatedly played up his ties to Republican politicians, consultants, and staff, including Trump and Kari Lake

Dilley has called for his followers and “meme team” to aid Trump and Lake, including targeting their political opponents with “psychological warfare”

Dilley has repeatedly spread extreme misogyny on his show

Dilley has made racist, anti-immigrant, bigoted, and antisemitic comments on his show

Dilley has repeatedly made anti-LGBTQ remarks and used hateful slurs on his show

On his show, Dilley has used threatening rhetoric against certain figures he opposes

Dilley threatened to “punish that bitch” Taylor Swift if she made the “wrong choice” and endorsed Biden. Said Dilley, “As long as Taylor Swift remains — we’ll call it a free agent — we will behave a certain way. The second she makes … the wrong choice, it is absolutely incumbent upon us to punish that bitch for … doing that.” [The Dilley Show, 1/30/24]
Dilley called for “asymmetrical warfare” against a Georgia judge and his family after his ruling in Trump’s Fulton County case. After Fulton County, Georgia, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled against disqualifying Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference and racketeering case, Dilley slammed the ruling, saying, “You see him in public, you mock him. You see him online, you mock him. You see his sister online, his mom online, his brother, his wife, his fucking kids. Doesn’t matter … Asymmetrical warfare. That’s how you do it. You wanna fucking condemn the nation? We will condemn your fucking entire lineage.” [Media Matters, 3/19/24]
Dilley called for pro-Palestinan college protesters to be “curb stomp[ed].” Added Dilley, “I hope they literally jackboot thug the shit out of you because you are not protesting. This is not — this is not what the First Amendment is about.” [The Dilley Show, 5/1/24]
In response to Trump’s criminal conviction in New York, Dilley called for “the fucking destruction of every motherfucker that had their hands involved in this entire bullshit collapse of this country.” Of the possibility that “cities will burn” if that happens, Dilley said, “I don’t give a fuck. I don’t give a fuck. Blind justice must return.” [The Dilley Show, 5/31/24]
Dilley called for people in the DOJ and FBI who he claimed “committed treason” against Trump to “be thrown in prison.” Dilley, addressing “FBI agents who overthrew the government,” said, “You should have everything you fucking ever earned taken from you also. Your pension should have to be paid back, your retirement funds should cease immediately, your assets should be seized, and, yes, you should be thrown in prison.” He added, “This country would be so much safer if the majority of these corrupt FBI cunts were behind bars.” [The Dilley Show, 6/6/24]
Dilley called for “every bad thing that’s possible to happen to” Dr. Anthony Fauci. He added that he wanted “everything that he [Fauci] ever loved to be gone” and that a “jail cell wouldn’t be enough for that guy.” Dilley also claimed that “anybody with Fauci blood fucking coursing through their veins is inherently going to have some type of evil in them” and expressed hope that Fauci’s “entire lineage” would be “gone.” [The Dilley Show, 6/19/24]

Dilley has spread false claims and conspiracy theories about those he opposes

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Daily Wire Claims New Vitamins Will Boost Sperm Counts (And End Wokeness!)

The Daily Wire announced the launch of a new “men’s lifestyle” company named Responsible Man on May 1, promoting its only current product — a men’s dietary supplement that it says is “designed to help … sharpen brain cognition” and that it suggests will help address what the outlet calls the “increasing health risk” of declining “sperm concentration.”

On April 30, The Daily Wire’s parent company Bentkey Ventures registered the assumed name “Daily Wire Ventures.” The next day, on May 1, it debuted Responsible Man, a new company for men’s health products.

The Daily Wire is promoting Responsible Man as an alternative to “woke” companies and by fearmongering about some of the outlet’s frequent targets, namely gender-affirming care and drag queens, asking its readers, “Do you want to buy your men’s health products from a company that partners with drag queens and supports radical organizations that push gender procedures on children?” Responsible Man’s website uses similar language, promising its customers that “together, we can reclaim masculinity” and claiming that “Emerson’s Vitamins are a simple step towards improving yourself, creating order, and building the future.”

The Daily Wire’s promotion suggests Responsible Man’s products can help address various health issues, including the purported “increasing health risk” of declining “sperm concentration” worldwide, promising to help men stay healthy “for the survival of the human race.”

The company’s only product, a men’s multivitamin, is marketed as being “professionally engineered by medical doctors” to “support your immune system, maintain energy production, sharpen brain cognition, and support the health of your heart and muscles.”

Claims made by The Daily Wire’s new company are not FDA-approved

According to disclaimers on Responsible Man’s website, the claims made to promote the company’s vitamins “have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.” Multivitamins do not need to go through an evaluation process prior to entering the marketplace, and have generally proved ineffective in reducing the risk of heart disease and mental decline.

In the past, The Daily Wirehas targeted certain medications used in gender-affirming care for trans youth for their use off-label without FDA approval, even though this is a common practice in prescribing pediatric medications. The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh has been particularly fervent in wielding this point to target gender-affirming care.

The Daily Wire is promoting the new company by targeting Men’s Health magazine

The Daily Wire’s previous ventures into consumer goods have been framed in opposition to specific companies it deemed too “woke,” such as Harry’s Razors and Hershey’s Chocolate, for refusing to advertise with The Daily Wire and featuring a trans woman in an advertisement, respectively. (Jeremy’s Razors and Jeremy’s Chocolate, The Daily Wire’s answers to Harry’s and Hershey’s going “woke,” have received poor feedback from customers.)

The Daily Wire’s promotion of Responsible Man singles out for criticism Men’s Health, the largest men’s lifestyle magazine in the United States. Claiming that Men’s Health was “afraid of manhood itself,” The Daily Wire has declared itself “here to give you a better option.” The lone source of outrage cited by the outlet is a Men’s Healtharticle from November 2021 on “LGBTQ+ Language and Media Literacy.”

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Will North Carolina's Extremist Republicans Drive Away Business -- To Connecticut?

Will all North Carolinians pay the price for Republicans nominating a gubernatorial candidate who favorably quotes Adolf Hitler, compares LGBTQ+ people to “maggots” and “flies,” and thinks a six-week abortion ban is awesome but not quite awesome enough?

In a less benighted time, we might have confidently said, “Hell yes. That’s not the America I know. The America I know overcharges everyone for prescription drugs, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.” But MAGA has metastasized to the point where the morally outrageous is now just more of the same.

Of course, there are outrages and then there’s “holy fuck, what did that dude just say?” North Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson’s public pronouncements fall squarely in the latter category. And at least one blue state looking to boost its tax base has noticed.

As much of America continues to devolve into a “Mad Max”-style dystopia where every character is played by Mel Gibson, Connecticut has decided it’s time to call bullshit and coax some Tar Heel State businesses north.

WRAL-TV, Raleigh, North Carolina:

Democratic Senate leaders in the Nutmeg State wrote to officials in Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development, urging them to “explore opportunities to attract businesses from the state of North Carolina to relocate to Connecticut.” They cited North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s Republican gubernatorial nomination, his history of inflammatory comments about LGBTQ people and women, and his desire to restrict abortion access as the impetus for the effort.

In the letter, Connecticut Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney and other legislators stated, “We are constantly looking for chances to diversify and strengthen our state's economy, and we believe there is a unique opportunity to reach out to businesses in North Carolina.”

To review, current North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whom the state’s Republicans overwhelming chose earlier this month as their gubernatorial candidate, is a font of feral nonsense. He’s quoted Hitler favorably on Facebook. He’s called women who get abortions—even if they’ve been pregnant for just 24 hours—murderers. And he’s advocated for a complete ban on abortion, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

And that’s not all!

The Washington Post:

There was the time he called school shooting survivors “media prosti-tots” for advocating for gun-control policies. The meme mocking a Harvey Weinstein accuser, and the other meme mocking actresses for wearing “whore dresses to protest sexual harassment.” The prediction that rising acceptance of homosexuality would lead to pedophilia and “the END of civilization as we know it”; the talk of arresting transgender people for their bathroom choice; the use of antisemitic tropes; the Facebook posts calling Hillary Clinton a “heifer” and Michelle Obama a man.

Okay, then!

Of course, Democrats, both in North Carolina and nationwide, naturally see Robinson’s bid as a boon for their own electoral prospects. So it stands to reason that business-minded progressives outside the state would see an opportunity as well.

WRAL-TV:

The LGBTQ community is a frequent target of Robinson’s speeches; he said last year that “God formed me” to fight against the push for LGBTQ rights and visibility. He has also questioned whether women can be leaders, whether the Holocaust was as bad as is commonly accepted, and whether Jewish bankers secretly control much of the world economy.

“These remarks not only undermine the values of inclusivity and tolerance of our nation, but should also raise significant concerns about the business environment and social climate in North Carolina under potential leadership that condones or ignores such divisive rhetoric,” the Connecticut lawmakers’ letter said. “In contrast, Connecticut prides itself on its commitment to diversity, equality, and fostering an environment where businesses can thrive while upholding ethical standards and respect for all.”

And it’s not just Democrats who are noticing the bitterly cold winds of change that could soon force North Carolinians to both winterize and Hitlerize their homes. The far-left North Carolina Chamber of Commerce is alarmed, too, calling the recent primary results a “a startling warning of the looming threats to North Carolina’s business climate.”

In a post-primary newsletter, the Chamber wrote, “While we celebrate the victories of Chamber-backed candidates, many of the races we were watching turned for candidates that do not share our vision for North Carolina.”

And the Chamber has good reason to be alarmed. According to one analysis, before it was repealed, North Carolina’s 2016 anti-trans bathroom bill was poised to cost the state $3.76 billion in business over the span of a little more than a decade. And one recent study found that having more LGBTQ+ people in a state is associated with higher economic growth. Meanwhile, there’s also compelling evidence that diversity within companies leads to improved innovation and market growth.

Of course, Robinson isn’t the NC GOP’s only headache. CNN reporter Shimon Prokupecz recently cornered Republican superintendent of public instruction nominee Michele Morrow, who both hates public schools and has called for the public execution of former President Barack Obama.

Needless to say, outside her skeevy echo chamber, Morrow wasn’t nearly as forthcoming about her outré views on presidential executions:

— (@)

So Morrow wants to kill a former president and thinks public schools are socialism centers. That’s nitpicking and nothing a newly anointed Robinson couldn’t smooth over with a bit of well-placed promotion.

If he wins, maybe he can try out one of these slogans:

Come to North Carolina, Where the Tax Breaks Are Real but the Holocaust Isn’t
North Carolina: First in Flight From That Gay Conversion Camp Your Parents Sent You To
North Carolina: 120 Years of Regress, From Kitty Hawk to Shitty Talk Radio
Kiϟϟ Me, I’m From North Carolina
North Carolina: You Will Carry Your Incest Baby to Term, Peasant!

Okay, maybe those need some workshopping.

Meanwhile, Connecticut—and presumably other blue states as well—is ready to jump in and take advantage of the yawning decency gap between its own government and North Carolina’s.

“Connecticut is an open and welcoming community, proud to protect our socially progressive values and boasting an incredible quality of life,” said Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner-designate Dan O’Keefe in a statement. “We invite companies of any size to come to Connecticut and make it here.”

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Mike Johnson Will Speak At Christian Nationalist Confab With Far-Right Extremists

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is set to receive an award and speak at the National Association of Christian Lawmakers annual meeting and awards gala alongside a range of right-wing media figures who have pushed extreme anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, and Christian nationalist rhetoric.

On December 5, NACL — an organization that promotes model legislation at the state level to undermine LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, and public education and boasts a board of advisors filled with right-wing extremists — will hold its annual meeting and awards gala. The conference is expected to feature the group’s founder Jason Rapert, who identifies as a “proud” Christian nationalist, and right-wing commentators and activists, including some who have advocated for conversion therapy, blamed gay people for biblical floods, and warned that Democrat-controlled states are “demon possessed.”

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers seeks to undermine LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, and public education at the state level

Johnson has extensive ties to Christian nationalist figures and a history of endorsing extreme ideas, including on his own podcast

NPR documented Johnson’s ties to fringe Christian right leaders, including to the National Apostolic Reformation and self-proclaimed right-wing “apostle” Jim Garlow. Johnson has worked “very closely” with the National Apostolic Reformation, a once fringe movement that suggests conservative Christians are in a “spiritual war” against “satanic” opponents. Johnson has repeatedly associated with NAR-linked pastor Jim Garlow, who ahead of January 6, 2021, “hosted dozens of online global prayer sessions for ’U.S. election integrity’" which promoted false claims of election fraud and hosted prominent figures in the effort to overturn the election. In a 2021 prayer call, Johnson described Garlow as having “a profound influence” on his life. In a prayer call earlier this year, Garlow said that Johnson “ranks up there in the top 1 percentile” in Congress and has “worked with us very closely.” [NPR, 11/15/23; The Bulwark, 10/30/23]
Rolling Stone reported that Johnson displays an “Appeal to Heaven” flag outside his office, which “has come to symbolize a die-hard vision of a hegemonically Christian America.” [Rolling Stone, 11/10/23]
CNN detailed examples of Johnson discussing anti-democratic and anti-science Christian policy priorities as the host of a local radio show called God & Country. CNN investigative team KFILE reviewed dozens of episodes of God & Country and found that some of the show’s topics included “‘creation science’ in public schools; how to ‘fight the porn industry’; God’s ‘design for government’; and ‘the true meaning of ‘separation of church and state.’” [CNN, 11/21/23]
The Texas Tribune reported that Christian nationalist activist David Barton “has the ear of the new U.S. House speaker.” Barton has worked for decades to end the separation of church and state through his organization WallBuilders. [Texas Tribune, 11/3/23]
From 2002 to 2010, Johnson served as an attorney for the extreme anti-LGBTQ legal group Alliance Defending Freedom and was involved in its anti-LGBTQ litigation. ADF is an influential “conservative organization that carries out much of the Christian right’s legal agenda,” and has historically supported the criminalization of sodomy, and the group was involved in cases that overturned Roe v. Wade and ruled in favor of discriminating against LGBTQ couples and individuals. [Mother Jones, 10/26/23; Media Matters, 10/26/23]

NACL’s annual meeting is expected to feature speakers and award recipients who have used extreme Christian nationalist, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-abortion rhetoric in right-wing media

NACL’s founder is a “proud” Christian nationalist and several extremists sit on the group’s board of advisors

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

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Claims made by The Daily Wire’s new company are not FDA-approved

The Daily Wire is promoting the new company by targeting Men’s Health magazine

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers seeks to undermine LGBTQ rights, abortion rights, and public education at the state level

Johnson has extensive ties to Christian nationalist figures and a history of endorsing extreme ideas, including on his own podcast

NACL’s annual meeting is expected to feature speakers and award recipients who have used extreme Christian nationalist, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-abortion rhetoric in right-wing media

NACL’s founder is a “proud” Christian nationalist and several extremists sit on the group’s board of advisors

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