Republicans are deepening their party’s ties to illiberal, pro-extremist movements around the globe this week at a Turning Point USA-hosted summit in Washington.
Last week, Donald Trump’s State Department allowed British extremist Tommy Robinson to visit its official headquarters, in a separate example of MAGA world’s efforts to prop up far-right forces abroad.
This week, conservative activist group Turning Point USA’s political arm, Turning Point Action, is hosting a summit it is calling the “Alliance of Sovereign Nations.” It’s essentially a three-day gathering for representatives of some of the world’s most extreme, far-right political movements to link up and strategize with GOP operatives, influencers and lawmakers.
For example, the website for the event says featured guests will include House Speaker Mike Johnson; Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., a Florida gubernatorial candidate; and Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., who has pushed unabashedly Islamophobic rhetoric. The list also includes a member of Germany’s Nazi-aligned Alternative for Deutschland party, or AfD — which top Trump allies have boosted — and a member of Austria’s Freedom Party, which was literally founded by former Nazis.
Politico published a report on the event’s Wednesday kickoff, which featured the event’s honorary chair, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. The Florida Republican’s role in the event underscores the gaslighting at play, given the framing around “sovereignty.”
Luna joined Romanian far-right figure George Simion at the Kennedy Center in a trolling spectacle intended to support Trump’s imperial threats of acquiring Greenland. Simion was also invited to speak at this week’s summit.
You can see the two of them carving up a Greenland-shaped cake in the post below. Nothing says “we love sovereignty” like promoting an imperialistic takeover, right? The event’s mission statement says in part: We stand for the sovereign rights of nations, against the authoritarian overreach of transnational institutions, and for reforming global organizations so they respect national identity and help – not hinder – the innate interests of freedom-seekers everywhere. It’s a statement totally contradicted by the MAGA movement’s actions, particularly its ongoing support for a wannabe king who has threatened to take over foreign nations and is leading an administration that is hell-bent on deposing world leaders through militaristic means.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. 
