Groypers try to position themselves not as white supremacists but rather as “Christian conservatives”.
The so-called “Groyper army” (the term “Groyper” is explained below) is a white supremacist group that presents its ideology as more nuanced than other groups in the white supremacist sphere. While the group and leadership’s views align with those held by the white supremacist alt right, groypers attempt to normalize their ideology by aligning themselves with “Christianity” and “traditional” values ostensibly championed by the church, including marriage and family.
Like the alt right and other white supremacists, Groypers believe they are working to defend against demographic and cultural changes that are destroying the “true America”—a white, Christian nation. However, Groypers differ in a number of ways from the alt right. They identify themselves as “American nationalists” who are part of the “America First” movement. To the Groypers, “America First” means that the U.S. should close its borders, bar immigrants, oppose globalism and promote “traditional” values like Christianity and oppose “liberal” values such as feminism and LGBTQ+ rights. They claim not to be racist or antisemitic and see their bigoted views as “normal” and necessary to preserve white, European-American identity and culture, however some members have expressed racist and antisemitic views on multiple occasions. They believe their views are shared by the majority of white people.
A November 2019 article included a video highlighting the racist and antisemitic nature of the Groypers’ questions at an October 2019 TPUSA event at Ohio State University. One Groyper told the audience to Google the term “dancing Israelis,” a reference to an antisemitic conspiracy theory that claimed that Israelis carried out the 9/11 attacks and then celebrated as they watched the Twin Towers fall.
Another Groyper commented that “whites will account for less than 50% of the population in the United States” by 2045. He went on to claim that most groups other than whites, including immigrants, vote for Democrats, and added, “Can you prove that our white European ideals will be maintained if the country is no longer made up of white European descendants?”
At the Groyper Leadership Summit in Florida in December 2019, Groyper leader Patrick Casey, head of the white supremacist American Identity Movement, focused his remarks on changing demographics in the U.S. and the “downsides to diversity.” Casey said, “Now one of the main things we discuss when we’re talking about demographics is the effect that mass immigration from non-Western countries is having on our political institutions.”
Nick Fuentes, who runs the American First podcast and also spoke at the Groyper Leadership Summit, was even clearer in his remarks in terms of the Groypers’ wanting to maintain a white, Christian country. Fuentes asserted that “Los Angeles today is the epicenter of what the country will look like in the future.” He went on to argue, “Culturally, demographically, if you’re a white person and you go to Los Angeles, you’re a minority. If you go to a shopping mall, if you walk down a street, you are a minority. You had different people from different countries come into ours and they changed the texture of life.”
Fuentes rejected the white supremacist label and asserts that when others call him and the Groypers “racist,” it is “an anti-white slur.” He adds, “I am tired of caring what the left thinks. I care about the future of the country. We have to [say] what we mean. We have to do what we think is right.”
The Groypers’ focus on Turning Point USA stems primarily from their dislike of founder Charlie Kirk, who they consider insufficiently pro-white. Among their grievances: Kirk has spoken out against white supremacy and dismissed Ashley St. Clair, a TPUSA associate who was photographed at a dinner event attended by Fuentes.
Kirk is pro-Israel, and Groypers oppose Israel and are generally antisemitic. Groypers are also angry that Kirk has invited black conservatives and gay conservatives to TPUSA events as speakers. They believe Kirk is a hypocrite who doesn’t truly want to advance an “America First,” agenda which, for the Groypers, means “whites first.” And finally, they believe Kirk does not support free speech.