My travels in Trump’s Florida: Maga superstars, gen Z Republicans – and the shame of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’
Is the US in a new gilded age of inequality? On a 400-mile journey from a triumphant conservative youth summit to a hastily constructed immigration detention centre, the answer became clearer ...
The mezzanine floor of the Tampa Convention Center buzzes chaotically with rightwing chatter: conspiracy theories, grievance politics and Christian nationalism. Look in any direction and someone in front of you, washed in sharp studio lights, is drawing a crowd and creating content.
Ahead of me, Russell Brand sits on a white sofa, broadcasting live on the conservative video-streaming service Rumble - his guest is the alt-right" influencer Jack Posobiec. To the left, along an alleyway lined with small broadcast booths, is the longtime Donald Trump adviser and self-proclaimed dirty trickster" Roger Stone, who is holding court on a podcast. To the rear, on a large metal scaffold, is Steve Bannon's War Room channel, busy cutting between live footage of a small protest outside the event and adverts for various Trump-aligned products.
Continue reading...