The Influencer Who Wants Democrats to Fight Dirty

Among the many areas of American life democratized by the internet, few have been more transformed than political commentary.

Instead of being restricted to an old boys’ club of op-ed writers and Sunday-talk-show guests, punditry is now open to anyone with an internet connection.

This shift has created abundant opportunities for once-neglected voices and broadened public discourse beyond a narrow establishment-media consensus.

But lowering the barrier to entry has also had its downsides, mainly in the rise of political influencers.

Like talk-radio hosts of yore, charismatic social-media commentators are skilled at forming a personal relationship with their listeners.

Many of the most successful, however, pay next to zero attention to the details of policy or governance and gain followers mostly by calling the other side names.

Consider the case of Jennifer Welch, author of the new book Not Today, Fascists .

A co-host of the left-wing podcast I’ve Had It , Welch commands millions of followers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms.

Multiple times a week, she delights her legions of fans by mocking Donald Trump, whom she calls “America’s dumbass dictator,” and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, whom she derides as “Chuckles,” for his insufficiently ardent resistance to the “fascist” GOP.

She has called Erika Kirk, the widow of the murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an “absolute grifter,” and the MAGA movement an “anti-family, pro-pedophilia death cult.” Her response to Lindsey Graham’s death was to say, “He liked cock, as we all know.” (No, we don’t.

No evidence that the bachelor senator was gay has ever surfaced .) To people who do not already share her politics, Welch’s coarseness can be off-putting.

But it clearly has a cathartic appeal for many disillusioned liberals.

Ironically, a major component of Welch’s appeal is inspired by the man she so despises.

“I disagree with everything he says, I think he’s a compulsive liar, et cetera,” Welch told National Public Radio last year, “but the way we talk is really the way Trump has been doing it the last 10 years.” [ Read: Megyn Kelly’s extreme makeover ] As a rule, when a book of political commentary has a big picture of the author on the front cover, readers should expect little substance and a lot of righteous certainty.