Transnational Trumpism: Memory Disputes and the ‘Yankification’ of the British Right

This essay examines the transnational diffusion of Trumpism and its impact on the contemporary British Right. While Trumpism originated in a specifically American political context, its rhetorical style, populist strategies, and culture‑war framing have migrated across the Atlantic. As a consequence, this uniquely American ideological formation is reshaping right-wing discourse in the UK. British right-wing actors- including populist figures, Conservative Party factions, and digital influencers- have increasingly adopted Americanized scripts around cancel culture, free speech, and national identity, embedding them into domestic debates over immigration, sovereignty, and multiculturalism. In a departure from soft anti-American attitudes previously expressed by British conservative figures, the British Right has adapted itself to reproduce the ideological imaginaries of MAGA Republicans. This process, termed ‘yankification’ in online spaces, is best illustrated in debates over collective memory in both the UK and US. The essay argues that significant sections of British Right have become ‘Yankified’ through the adoption of a conservative cosmopolitan vocabulary. This vocabulary can be transplanted into any Western society so as to advance anti-democratic, reactionary politics with little regard for the particulars of local political contexts.