Authored by Scott Pinsker via PJ Media,
"The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture."
- Alfred Hitchcock
MAGA needs a new common enemy ASAP. Without one, three things will happen before the end of 2026:
MAGA infighting will escalate. When conservatives lack a common enemy, we cannibalize our own — and that’s gonna be our fate, because the Groyper/Tucker Carlson “purity test” is incompatible with the rest of the MAGA movement. Which means we’ll be clawing at each other’s throats while the Dems cruise to victory.
Our trajectory won’t change without a PR change, and right now we’re headed for a 40+ seat blowout in the House. We lost every meaningful race on Election Day 2025; President Trump’s approval rating has dropped to the mid-30s; and by a 2-to-1 margin, more Americans blame Trump for raising prices than give him credit for lowering them. Ignore these warning signs at your own peril.
The Democrats — and their sycophants in the media — will set the PR agenda, and their focus will be on affordability (more specifically, Trump’s failure to lower prices). From the mayoral race in the Big Apple to the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, the common denominator for the Dems was affordability. It’s the one issue that worked for far-left radicals, semi-left radicals, and radicals posing as moderates. And if we know anything about the Democrats, we know they simply can’t resist taking a good idea… and running it into the ground.
(Of course, the Dems also take BAD ideas and run ‘em into the ground, too. It’s what they do.)
Was the Biden administration responsible for runaway inflation? You betcha. Do the American people see it that way? No, they don’t.
We need to change our trajectory, and the quickest way is to cast a new common enemy.
Pinsker’s Law of PR #102: When your current trajectory leads to ruin, don’t be an idiot: Change your trajectory!
If you’re a PJ Media VIP member, this was a topic we discussed yesterday. (And if you’re not a VIP member, shame on you: Our blockbuster Black Friday bonanza ends at midnight.) The question we debated was, “As of today, who’s MAGA’s common enemy?”
Don’t simply say, “It’s the Democrats.” That’s already baked into the cake. In a two-party system, it’s ALWAYS gotta be one or the other.
We need more than that.
Over the past few decades, Republicans have — temporarily, at least — embraced all kinds of different, far-reaching missions. And each mission had at least one great enemy: There was the Cold War mission (bad guys: Russians, commies, and “useful idiots”). There was the Reagan Revolution mission (bad guys: country club Republicans, RINOs, and non-conservatives). There was the post-9/11 mission (bad guys: radical Islam and/or “the Axis of Evil.”). There was the Tea Party mission (bad guys: government waste, bloat, and debt).
Then, of course, came the MAGA mission (bad guys: politicians and policies that put “America Last” instead of “America First”).
But the MAGA mission has been around for over 10 years now. Donald Trump has either been running for president — or living in the White House — every day since June 16, 2015. And in some ways, he’s a victim of his success. He’s already closed the border, stopped illegal immigration, and reversed countless “America Last” policies.
And today, the globalists are no longer the biggest threat to America’s well-being.
Which is why, as of Dec. 2025, we’re holding casting calls for MAGA’s next Big Bad. If political marketing is the art of strategic storytelling, then selecting our villain is just as important as choosing our hero, because it’s the villain who sets the stakes.
Not the hero.
Strategic storytelling demands it!
(Or, to quote Doctor Who, “You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies.”)
And the telltale sign of a high-quality political villain is:
The contrast is clear, dramatic, and easily understood. Ambiguity must be avoided.
It’s something that re-unites our side — but stresses the faultlines of our opponents.
It’s gotta be based on something real and tangible. (That’s why the radical left’s “Trump is Hitler” PR campaign fell flat: it’s a fake argument.) And the #1 indicator that it’s a real, tangible issue is when the other side takes the bait and argues back on our terms.
The solution, I believe, is staring us in the face: Donald Trump and the MAGA movement must declare total, absolute political warfare on socialism.
It’ll re-unite our base. From free market-loving Reagan Republicans to Groypers to MAGA, the threat of a socialist takeover supersedes any disputes over Jews, Zionism, Trump, or tariffs. The ethos of capitalism — and rugged, risk-taking individualism — still resonates across the GOP.
Capitalism vs. socialism is a winning issue for Republicans.
It’ll fracture the Democratic Party, because not all Democrats want to be socialists. (At least, not yet.) They might want MORE socialism, but they don’t want the government to seize their personal property and “socialize” their industries.
(Especially the corporate kingpins who pull the DNC’s strings. They’re paying big bucks for crony capitalism and sweetheart deals — not a government takeover!)
And just as importantly, leftists won’t be able to resist taking the bait. It’s not gonna be like their dopey “Trump is Hitler” PR campaign, where Republicans rolled their eyes and mocked the absurdity of the allegations.
The socialists in the Democratic Party will 100% engage with us!
I mean… have you ever met a socialist?! Their favorite thing in the whole wide world is arguing about socialism. They WANT To have this debate!
They’re DESPERATE to have this debate!
Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders (and so on) aren’t gonna shake their head and say, “That’s just crazy — we believe in free markets, limited government, and private property, too.”
Instead, the opposite is true: With very little pushing, they’ll make our argument for us.
Besides, socialism is un-American. It’s theft. Socialism necessitates the government takeover of wealth, private property, industry, and opportunity. You don’t own anything; it’s all controlled by the big, powerful government.
But right now, socialism is ascending. Its popularity is on the rise — mostly because socialism has positioned itself as a solution to the affordability crisis — and the danger is snowballing.
From Rasmussen Reports: “Democratic Socialism 2028? Most Young Voters Say ‘Yes’”
A majority of voters under 40 want a democratic socialist to win the White House in the next presidential election.
A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and the Glenn C. Haskins Emerging Issues Center of the Heartland Institute finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters ages 18 to 39 would like to see a democratic socialist candidate win the 2028 presidential election. Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t want a democratic socialist to win in 2028, while 17% are not sure.
It’s a helluva storyline: A generational divide! A plot to steal private property! A high-stakes battle for the soul of our country!
The radical left is on the side of big government. And the only thing standing in their way is Donald Trump, the MAGA movement, and the Republican Party.
Pick a side, ladies and gentlemen: Gotta be one or the other.
It’s the smartest PR pivot that MAGA could make.
The opinions of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.
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