Right-wing populism isn't new. It has been around forever, and its popularity has come and gone multiple times. Donald Trump winning the 2016 election has brought this political ideology back into the mainstream and helped it become a part of the Western society's collective consciousness. It has also redefined the political stances of today's youth. Is Trump moving Millennials to the right?
Right-wing authoritarianism
Right-wing propagandists are evidently working very hard on blurring the line between patriotism and xenophobia, and it seems as if they have done a great job so far -- they have convinced a large chunk of an entire generation that patriotism equals nationalism and that nationalism equals racism and intolerance. While Donald Trump's political stances might be nothing more than a rather populist way to appeal to his target demographic, the man has shown that he is not merely a demagogue -- he has already delivered or at least tried to deliver, on quite a few of his campaign promises.
Donald Trump is, without a shadow of a doubt, a skilled persuader, but he is also in the right place at the right time. The current socio-political climate in the United States has helped create the perfect storm for Mr. Trump and his campaign team. Trump is in the eye of the hurricane, but this anti-politician becoming the president of the most powerful country in the world has inspired and motivated like-minded populists all over Europe to try and change the political scenery of their countries.
Youthful rebellion or something more?
The youth has an inherent tendency to rebel against their parents. Millennials are a generation with arguably more liberal parents than any other generation before, could this be the reason they are moving to the right?
Youthful rebellion may play a part, but the current generation seems to be extremely divided - with two extremes and opposites being the most prominent socio-political narratives: quasi-liberal political correctness and right wing conservatism.
While these two different ideologies may seem completely contradicting at a glance, they have quite a few common denominators, with the most important ones being censorship and exclusivity. The noise that these two echo chambers make is deafening and constructive dialogue is non-existent. Perhaps that is the cause of all our problems - we may need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.