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Though the mainstream MAGA movement denies any misogynistic undertones in its message, a new meme percolating among the base has a clear sentiment attached to it.
Men no longer need to listen to women.
The meme stems from a trio of heated news cycles, all where women in the media and Congress grilled men in Trump’s orbit.
Last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth faced pointed questions from Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) about his statements objecting to women serving in combat roles in the military
Then this week, CBS News’ Margaret Brennan had a heated back-and-forth with Vice President JD Vance about immigration.
And on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) grilled Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about potentially profiting in his position as the country’s top health official by suing vaccine manufacturers.
The three men were screenshotted looking saintly and serene, with Hegseth even resting his weary eyes, while the three female interlocutors were depicted as harried and frenzied as possible: A hollering Warren, a sneering Brennan, and an incensed Gillibrand.
The message of the meme that exploded on sites like Gab was simple. To save America, men like these must never kowtow to the concerns of women (let alone duly elected officials and media members exercising their constitutional rights).
“The future of America depends on how many men are willing to scoff at the shrieks of liberal women,” read the caption.
Like everything in Trump’s online America, the fight took on a Christian subtext, with commenters deeming the women satanic and possessed.
“SATAN’s HANDMAIDENS AT WORK,” wrote one.
“I suggest we hire an exorcist to stand in the front, holding a large, shiny cross in front of them, while reading the bible,” said another.
“DEEEMON POSSESSED KARENS….. from the 9th circle of hell.”
But others were happy to skip the pretense of a biblical clash and just use it to harp on women in power.
“Seethe more b*tches,” said one.
“sneering, disrespectful leeches,” added another, deeming them “misleading, vapid, repetitive, condescending.”
The meme got a big boost from the founder of Gab, Andrew Torba, who posted it with what appears to be his own version of Dylan Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that good night.”
“Do not bend to the hollows’ whispers. Do not yield to their fevered cries. Fight, fight against the fading of the light,” he wrote.
The meme is already getting remixed, with further anti-women undertones, Vance recast as a 1950s husband smoking a pipe, reading the newspaper, and ignoring his wife.
“I don’t really care, Margaret,” the image macro reads, using one of his most viral quotes from the interview.
Over on Patriots dot win, male posters used the meme not to drag women in power but to harp on their wives.
“I’d describe my wife as ‘intelligent and mentally stable,’” said one in response to a person deeming the trio crazy. “That doesn’t mean I don’t make that face sometimes… most times… pretty much just all of the time.”
“I’m married and the wife is usually very nice, but she does act in the manner of the meme with some regularity,” wrote another.
That said, the meme achieved one victory for liberal women, taking at least one MAGA supporter out of the dating pool.
“Now ill never have another erection..thanks.”
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