Alex James
 | |
| Era | Tweeter Is Not Real Life (cast) |
|---|---|
| Age | 45-60 |
| Home | Austin, TX |
| Demographic | broadcaster, white, conspiracist |
| Lean | Strong Republican |
| Race | white |
Alex James is a broadcaster in Austin, Texas, who treats every official account of events as a cover story for a larger plot. His audience buys the emergency supplies he advertises during his programme, and he represents the paranoid edge of the Republican coalition.
Who they stand for
Alex James stands for the conspiracy-minded wing of the political right. This wing inherits the militia movement's beliefs from the standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco, beliefs that revived during the Obama years and moved into the political mainstream after Republican presidential candidates began appearing on shows like his in 2015. His audience is mostly older, rural or exurban, and male, and it distrusts every federal agency by default. It treats the 2020 election as stolen, the Covid-19 vaccines as an experiment, and the prosecutions following the January 6 riot as politically motivated. This group of voters is larger than its reputation suggests, because most Republican voters told pollsters in 2021 that the 2020 election had been taken from them.
Tucker Carlington argues from policy positions, while Alex James argues from claims of hidden plots. John Brogan mostly asks questions about official accounts, while Alex James states his conclusions directly. This bloc of voters supports Republican candidates in every general election, but its loyalty belongs to whichever candidate presents himself as an outsider. It turns against any Republican who, once elected, appears to govern like a member of the establishment.
Playing to them
A president wins Alex James's support by taking action against federal agencies, for example by firing officials, declassifying files, withdrawing from international health bodies, defending gun ownership without any qualification, and pardoning people his audience regards as political prisoners. Attacks on pharmaceutical companies and food regulators earn as much support from him as tax cuts do, and a president who treats the press as an enemy appeals directly to him. He does not forgive a gun-control measure, a vaccine mandate, the renewal of a surveillance law, or any cooperation with technology platforms to remove online speech, because he interprets each of these as evidence of the plot he believes in.
Winning his support costs the support of Simon Harrisson, William Maha and Daniel Tetris, who treat public-health authority as a sign of a serious and competent government, and the support of Barbara Wise, who does not want to be associated with him publicly. Ben Shindler supports the same broad coalition but is uncomfortable doing so. Brian Einstein and John Brogan share his views on health policy and free speech and remain with him on those issues. Tucker Carlington shares nearly all of his views.