Within the wake of Donald Trump’s reelection as U.S. president, a rising refrain of voices is looking on liberals to toughen up and tone down the ethical excessive floor. If the left desires to claw again energy, they argue, it’s time to play soiled. Enter: darkish woke.
The time period started circulating on-line quickly after Trump was sworn in for his second time period. A video of somebody sprinting as much as a Cybertruck and spraying its silver shell with spray paint? Darkish woke. New York Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling the brand new Republican authorities “rapists” and, in response, telling critics to “cry extra”? Darkish woke.
#DarkWoke is rising. pic.twitter.com/2taP6TzHo2
— Proper Wing Cope (@RightWingCope) February 3, 2025
Even elected Democrats appear to be testing the waters. California Consultant Robert Garcia lately claimed he’s borrowing from Home member Marjorie Taylor Greene’s playbook by bringing a “dick pic”—a photograph of Elon Musk—to a Division of Authorities Effectivity subcommittee assembly.
It’s not only a terminally on-line development. TikToker and self-described “Regina George liberal” Suzanne Lambert echoed the sentiment in a CBS interview, urging Democrats to “be meaner.” Her reasoning: “You combat fireplace with fireplace: I need folks to really feel extra comfy combating again, and I need them to see somebody combating for them.”
It’s the most recent evolution of what was as soon as identified, throughout Trump’s first time period, because the dirtbag left—a label for younger progressives who ruthlessly mocked their political enemies. Through the 2024 election, then-President Joe Biden’s marketing campaign additionally briefly embraced the Dark Brandon meme, which reimagined the 81-year-old Democratic nominee as a cooler web alter-ego. “I believe the “darkish woke” stuff needed to occur ultimately as a result of the liberal aspect of the tradition conflict has not been overtly merciless sufficient to suit into American politics,” one X person mused final month.
I believe the “darkish woke” stuff needed to occur ultimately as a result of the liberal aspect of the tradition conflict has not been overtly merciless sufficient to suit into American politics
— Liv (@Liv_Agar) February 1, 2025
Nevertheless, one interpretation of “darkish wokeism” basically boils all the way down to slurs however stated in a leftist manner. On X, that is framed as a backlash towards the “namby-pamby language policing that nobody likes” in liberal politics. “Most individuals suppose ‘darkish woke’ simply means utilizing slurs/adopting inherently regressive proper wing positions,” journalist Taylor Lorenz posted on X. “Most ‘darkish woke’ sorts have simply adopted conservatism however refuse to acknowledge that bc they’re nominally towards Trump or need to consider themselves as ‘good” ppl.”
Most individuals suppose “darkish woke” simply means utilizing slurs/adopting inherently regressive proper wing positions. Most “darkish woke” sorts have simply adopted conservatism however refuse to acknowledge that bc they’re nominally towards Trump or need to consider themselves as “good” ppl
— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) February 2, 2025
This shift towards meaner, nastier politics isn’t precisely stunning. Trump’s rise—constructed on a method of saying absolutely anything, irrespective of how offensive or plain improper—didn’t simply win him a second time period. It set the tone for world politics. For now, darkish woke is extra gallows humor than any type of severe organizing power. Whether or not it turns into one thing extra? That is still to be seen.
