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I first gained national attention at 19 when Congressman Matt Gaetz decided to body-shame me online. To make a long, repetitive story short, I turned his insult into a fundraising opportunity, raising over $2 million for abortion funds. Since then, my body and weight have been a consistent topic of conversation among the hundreds of right-wingers in my comment section every single day.
Lately, large accounts on X have started using me as rage bait for their audiences. They take photos of me and add captions that are just creative ways to call me fat.
The most recent example was last night when an account called “Bad Hombre” claimed I was “threatening a hunger strike” if USAID wasn’t restored. I saw it, chuckled, and decided to respond. I posted that I had actually lost 50 pounds because I “can’t afford to eat in Trump’s economy.” I woke up to find out I was trending on Twitter.
Countless right-wing accounts were arguing over whether I was on Ozempic, claiming it was impossible for me to lose 50 pounds that quickly, or trying to "catch" me in a lie by pointing to past posts about my journey with GLP-1 medications. Over 20,000 posts were made, all dedicated to dissecting my weight. While I’m flattered that they find me so relevant that I can be used to stir up engagement, I can’t help but notice a pattern—none of these large accounts ever engage with me when it comes to policy.
No engagement when I talk about how corrupt and moronic Donald Trump is. No comments on Trump’s pointless trade war with Canada and Mexico. No sarcastic quips about Elon Musk and his barely legal cronies infiltrating the Treasury. The truth is, they know they can’t defend any of this against someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.
But that is exactly the point– they don’t want to. Because that doesn’t get attention.
This new brand of rage bait centered politics is part of the extremism pipeline—designed to lure people in with non-substantive viral moments, only to push them deeper into radical content over time. Both the far-left and far-right specialize in this, which is why so many people today have developed frankly disturbing ideologies. This is especially a problem for young people.
I would know—because I’ve been a source of rage bait for both factions. Right-wingers attack me often for my looks, and left-wingers have attacked me for any number of reasons. Including my criticisms of singer Chappell Roan who declined to endorse Kamala Harris, making a lukewarm “both sides are the same” type of argument just weeks before the election.
I’ve realized that your ideology doesn’t matter to the internet anymore. You could be a Democrat who denounces communism and passionately condemns mass deportations—and you’d still be considered evil by both the far-left and far-right. Being sensible in modern American politics is nearly impossible because social media algorithms are designed to spark outrage. They push people to extremes because it’s profitable—because anger is addicting.
Technology has completely transformed politics, and most people don’t even realize it. I do—because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen young people I once knew as anti-Trump libertarians turn into “America First” nationalists—smiling gleefully at mass deportations. I’ve seen Pete Buttigieg-loving progressives become self-proclaimed communists, convinced that violent revolution is the only way forward. I’m woman enough to be honest and say that in my earlier adolescence I myself even fell into some of these extremes.
And as politics has changed, so have our expectations for politicians. The 2020 Joe Biden brand of decency and kindness is dead. People don’t want decency anymore—they want someone who will fight for them fearlessly and viciously. Look at who’s been leading the charge in the last two weeks online with anti-Trump messaging: Jasmine Crockett and Chris Murphy. Both of whom have ditched the calm toned fluffy outrage so many of us grew accustomed to.
They aren’t playing nice. They aren’t delivering measured outrage. They are calling things out for what they are, and doing so boldly and unapologetically. This is why they have more media appearances, more social media impressions, and more attention than most elected officials, including leadership, in the Democratic party.
The sooner Democratic leadership understands this new landscape, the sooner we win. The sooner we take back majorities in legislative chambers, build momentum going into the midterms, and set the stage to defeat MAGA in the next Presidential election.
If Democrats don’t course correct and steer away from 2008-2012-2016 brands of “we’re the good guys!” messaging we will continue to lose. The fear of being labeled as mean or hateful has only hindered our ability to reach people who rightfully are outraged at what is happening not just here in America, but across the globe.
Enough Mr. Rodgers, we need more Regina George.
Democrats are Too Nice
If I had a nickel for every time my weight trended nationally on Twitter, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice, right?I first gained national attention at 19 when Congressman Matt Gaetz decided to body-shame me online. To make a long, repetitive story short, I turned his insult into a fundraising opportunity, raising over $2 million for abortion funds. Since then, my body and weight have been a consistent topic of conversation among the hundreds of right-wingers in my comment section every single day.
Lately, large accounts on X have started using me as rage bait for their audiences. They take photos of me and add captions that are just creative ways to call me fat.
The most recent example was last night when an account called “Bad Hombre” claimed I was “threatening a hunger strike” if USAID wasn’t restored. I saw it, chuckled, and decided to respond. I posted that I had actually lost 50 pounds because I “can’t afford to eat in Trump’s economy.” I woke up to find out I was trending on Twitter.
Countless right-wing accounts were arguing over whether I was on Ozempic, claiming it was impossible for me to lose 50 pounds that quickly, or trying to "catch" me in a lie by pointing to past posts about my journey with GLP-1 medications. Over 20,000 posts were made, all dedicated to dissecting my weight. While I’m flattered that they find me so relevant that I can be used to stir up engagement, I can’t help but notice a pattern—none of these large accounts ever engage with me when it comes to policy.
No engagement when I talk about how corrupt and moronic Donald Trump is. No comments on Trump’s pointless trade war with Canada and Mexico. No sarcastic quips about Elon Musk and his barely legal cronies infiltrating the Treasury. The truth is, they know they can’t defend any of this against someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.
But that is exactly the point– they don’t want to. Because that doesn’t get attention.
This new brand of rage bait centered politics is part of the extremism pipeline—designed to lure people in with non-substantive viral moments, only to push them deeper into radical content over time. Both the far-left and far-right specialize in this, which is why so many people today have developed frankly disturbing ideologies. This is especially a problem for young people.
I would know—because I’ve been a source of rage bait for both factions. Right-wingers attack me often for my looks, and left-wingers have attacked me for any number of reasons. Including my criticisms of singer Chappell Roan who declined to endorse Kamala Harris, making a lukewarm “both sides are the same” type of argument just weeks before the election.
I’ve realized that your ideology doesn’t matter to the internet anymore. You could be a Democrat who denounces communism and passionately condemns mass deportations—and you’d still be considered evil by both the far-left and far-right. Being sensible in modern American politics is nearly impossible because social media algorithms are designed to spark outrage. They push people to extremes because it’s profitable—because anger is addicting.
Technology has completely transformed politics, and most people don’t even realize it. I do—because I’ve seen it. I’ve seen young people I once knew as anti-Trump libertarians turn into “America First” nationalists—smiling gleefully at mass deportations. I’ve seen Pete Buttigieg-loving progressives become self-proclaimed communists, convinced that violent revolution is the only way forward. I’m woman enough to be honest and say that in my earlier adolescence I myself even fell into some of these extremes.
And as politics has changed, so have our expectations for politicians. The 2020 Joe Biden brand of decency and kindness is dead. People don’t want decency anymore—they want someone who will fight for them fearlessly and viciously. Look at who’s been leading the charge in the last two weeks online with anti-Trump messaging: Jasmine Crockett and Chris Murphy. Both of whom have ditched the calm toned fluffy outrage so many of us grew accustomed to.
They aren’t playing nice. They aren’t delivering measured outrage. They are calling things out for what they are, and doing so boldly and unapologetically. This is why they have more media appearances, more social media impressions, and more attention than most elected officials, including leadership, in the Democratic party.
The sooner Democratic leadership understands this new landscape, the sooner we win. The sooner we take back majorities in legislative chambers, build momentum going into the midterms, and set the stage to defeat MAGA in the next Presidential election.
If Democrats don’t course correct and steer away from 2008-2012-2016 brands of “we’re the good guys!” messaging we will continue to lose. The fear of being labeled as mean or hateful has only hindered our ability to reach people who rightfully are outraged at what is happening not just here in America, but across the globe.
Enough Mr. Rodgers, we need more Regina George.
