The far right defines itself by railing against political correctness and the establishment. What happens now its hero, Donald Trump, has triumphed?

The 'alt-right' thrives in opposition. What happens now it's the establishment?

You will have seen Patriotic Pepe’s tweets.

They are set up to automatically reply whenever Donald Trump tweets; more often than not, they are the very first reply. After Trump’s first tweet as president-elect, in which he described his meeting with Barack Obama, Patriotic Pepe again responded first.

‘A sense that white identity is under attack’: making sense of the alt-right Read more

Patriotic Pepe is part of the alt-right, a loosely defined rightwing part of the internet firmament.

It lives, among other places, on 4chan’s political message board – /pol/ – on several boards on Reddit including r/the_donald, and in media organizations like Alex Jones’s Infowars, and Breitbart News.

Its adherents are, by instinct and philosophy, a group of outsiders, defined by their opposition to things – feminism in video games, say, or the “political correctness” of “social justice warriors” on the left – and of course, the political establishment itself.

But now the alt-right’s anarchic style, born of the anonymity of boards like 4chan and 8chan, is having something of an identity crisis.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Trump supporter holds a Pepe the Frog sign, a symbol that has become an emblem of the alt-right movement. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters

A search for the term “mainstream media” on Breitbart returns more than 10,000 results – but their contemptuous use of the term seems odd now that Stephen Bannon, the CEO of Breitbart, has been appointed a senior adviser to the White House. Breitbart itself was ranked top for the most shared Facebook content on the day of the third presidential debate.



Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist, is now in the bizarre position of being a cheerleader for the same federal government he has long treated as his ultimate nemesis.

We might of been mistakenly memeing him in ... Just a tad bit of regret settling in 4chan user

The alt-right can no longer hit out at the establishment. They are the establishment now.



“Before Trump, the Alt Right could be criticized for being a ‘head without a body’; it was engaged in meta-political and scientific discussion, but lacked a real connection with practical politics and the hopes and dreams of average Americans,” wrote prominent white nationalist and self-described alt-right member Richard Spencer the day after the election.

“In turn, Trump’s populism – with its half-baked policy ideas and sketchy vision of the future – could be criticized as a ‘body without a head’. Now we are the whole man.”

Bill, who requested his last name not be used, is a regular poster on /pol/ and a moderator of the 4chan subreddit. “I use /pol/ to troll, have some laughs (it can be funny), and from a morbid curiosity, not because I agree with their politics,” Bill said. “For God’s sake, they don’t think women should vote.”

He told the Guardian that he was personally devastated by Trump’s election. “I’m deeply disappointed in my countrymen for electing a person so colossally unfit for the position,” he said.

But he also thinks that /pol/ played a big role in helping to mainstream the far-right political ideas that Trump adopted into his campaign, including several memes which Trump tweeted during the campaign.

The operator of the Patriotic Pepe account speaks of his glee at the response of those around him – he declined to give his identity but said that he was in his 20s and lives in a “large, diverse … liberal city”.

People around him, he said, were in a “fugue state. Dazed looks, thousand yard stares.” Their tears, he said, “are delicious”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The alt-right and Donald Trump: ‘Now we are the whole man.’ Photograph: Scott Eisen/Getty Images

On election night, after Trump’s victory was declared, the Guardian asked how he was feeling. Patriotic Pepe returned to echo the original catchphrase of the cartoon character that has become his avatar, and an emblem of the alt-right.

“Feels good man.”

Others are less sure.

Pepe the Frog: yes, a harmless cartoon can become an alt-right mascot | Oren Segal Read more

On 4chan’s /pol/ board, a sweaty hive-mind of anonymous users, some with genuine extreme rightwing views and others whose aim is just to make mischief, the realization of their preposterous success began to dawn on users, separating – in some cases – the trolls from the true believers.

“We might of been mistakenly memeing him in. Those empty eyes, the yesterdays victory speech,” one user posted. “Just a tad bit of regret settling in. I can’t be the only one.”

Many posters still supported their candidate. “Give it time,” one user replied. “We won bitch,” another wrote.

For others, the situation was wholly farcical. “Election over > Trump shills have no idea what to do,” one posted. “This is hilarious. Honestly I think its funnier that he won, now /pol/ has to come to terms with the reality that their candidate isn’t going to do jack shit over the next 4 years.”

Yet another said: “Look, I understand the comedic value of electing the first meme president, but if you actually thought he was going to do ANYTHING positive for the presidency, you’re a fucking retard.”

“The true is he doesn’t have a fucking clue how to make america great, never had, never will … he’s fucked, the memes are over,” another wrote.