Meet MAGA’s Favorite Communist

The New Right’s appropriation of Gramscian and Frankfurt School tactics in America’s ongoing culture war, and the existential tension this creates with the U.S. Constitution.

Introduction: Christopher Rufo’s Gramscian Moment

On a brisk spring morning April 17, 2025, Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and one of the most influential strategists on the American political right, took to social media with a declaration that sent ripples through the political establishment.

“The Right is learning new polit…