In saner times, a compliment from a political supporter might’ve meant you’d done something sensible, struck a balance, shown leadership, or stood up for principle. Not anymore. In today’s upside-down landscape, if the flag-waving, foam-flecked ranks of MAGA or Reform UK backers are singing your praises, it’s time to take a long, hard look in the mirror and possibly set it on fire.
Because the truth is, these aren’t ordinary voters. They are a coalition of grievance and delusion, united by culture war talking points, nostalgia for an imagined past, and a burning resentment of anything that smells like progress. Their cheerleaders, from Donald Trump to Nigel Farage to Lee Anderson, have cultivated a movement that sees decency as weakness, cruelty as strength, and facts as negotiable.
When a MAGA or Reform type says, “You’re one of the good ones,” it rarely means, “You’ve shown moral clarity.” It more often translates to: “You’ve confirmed my biases, insulted minorities, and probably said something weird about flags.” That’s not an endorsement— it’s a warning.
Let’s look at the MAGA crowd first.
Donald Trump, once a punchline, now a global cautionary tale, still commands slavish devotion among those who believe he alone speaks the “truth.” Never mind that he’s been indicted more times than most people have been to the dentist. To his supporters, this makes him a martyr; a misunderstood prophet who’s bravely telling it like it is.
If Trump or his followers are applauding you, it’s worth checking your policies for a light sprinkling of fascism. After all, this is a man who praises autocrats, mocks the disabled, and told white supremacists to “stand back and stand by”. The MAGA faithful lap it up. Their idea of patriotism is a gun in one hand and a “Let’s Go Brandon” bumper sticker in the other.
On this side of the Atlantic, the Reform UK tribe is every bit as unhinged—just with worse teeth and a fondness for Greggs.
Nigel Farage is their spiritual guide, a man who’s spent decades chipping away at the social fabric, one innuendo about immigrants at a time. Lee Anderson, now Reform’s lone MP and self-appointed everyman, is Farage with fewer vowels. His entire schtick revolves around being “anti-woke,” which usually means being loudly and proudly offensive, then sulking when people call him out.
Reform UK supporters, like their MAGA cousins, don’t admire competence. They worship vibes — as long as you’re angry, reactionary, and prone to bellowing in a car park, you’re their hero.
So when this crowd calls someone “a true patriot” or “one of the last sane voices”, it’s time to panic. Because they said that about Donald Trump. And Tommy Robinson. And, more than once, Piers bloody Morgan.
But, and here’s the good news, the reverse also applies.
If you’re being shouted at by red-faced Reformers or lambasted by an American in a bald eagle T-shirt yelling about “deep state globalists”, congratulations. You’re doing something right. If a Reform UK voter thinks you’re “part of the problem”, odds are you’re standing up for minorities, defending democracy, or using actual evidence in your arguments. That’s the stuff bunting is made for.
Meanwhile, Racists Are Still Confused Why Everyone’s So Mean to Them
While we’re on the topic of political victimhood, let’s check in on Britain’s racists, who’ve had a bit of a wobble lately. They’d just started feeling accepted, emboldened, even, in the post-Brexit climate of dog whistles and deportation flights. But now? People keep calling them names for being unapologetically awful, and they don’t like it one bit.
English Defence League foot soldier Wayne Hayes spoke for many of his ilk:
“After Brexit, the Windrush scandal, and the ‘hostile environment’, I thought society was finally accepting me for the incredibly horrible twat I am.
So imagine my shock when someone online called me ‘racist scum’. All I’d said was Muslims are ‘a disease on England’. Why do people have to be so mean?”
It’s a real head-scratcher. Say something grotesquely hateful; expect a standing ovation. Isn’t that how free speech works?
Retired shopkeeper Mary Fisher is also wounded.
“I was harmlessly pointing out how ‘blacks’ do all the crime when my granddaughter launched into the hate-filled tirade, ‘Oh don’t be ridiculous, Nana’.
It’s racism against racists, and I won’t stand for it.”
This is the new entitlement: the belief that being racist is not just a right but a lifestyle choice that must be respected. They want to shout bigotry from the rooftops and be met with applause, not pushback.
But society, slowly and unevenly, is getting better at recognising the game. Tolerance doesn’t mean indulging the intolerable. And being nasty to racists isn’t prejudice, it’s progress.
So here’s the bottom line:
- If MAGA and Reform UK are clapping, ask yourself what you’ve done wrong.
- If they’re spitting feathers and calling you a “woke snowflake”, well done—you’re probably on the side of decency.
- And if racists feel uncomfortable, keep going.
Because if you’re upsetting all the right people, it might be time to put the kettle on, hang the bunting, and raise a toast — to being exactly the kind of person they can’t stand.
