Gabriel Gatehouse on the coming storm…

Journalist and broadcaster Gabriel Gatehouse has reported extensively from the United States on the rise and fall of Donald Trump. His podcast, The Coming Storm, launched in January 2022 to critical acclaim, and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Journalism. His book of the same name was published in September last year. Both the podcast and book engage with how conspiracy theories have come to shape a radical new kind of politics in America. Gabriel shares his thoughts with us before he visits Bath this month for the Curious Minds festival.

Q. What is the central idea of your book?

The title The Coming Storm comes from QAnon, this sprawling conspiracy theory that emerged from a dark corner of the internet in 2017. It started off under the surface and then exploded into mainstream awareness as we got closer to the 2020 presidential election, and especially during the storming of the Capitol on 6 January 2021. The conspiracy claimed that America’s power had been seized by a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles, and that Donald Trump was secretly fighting to expose them.

This figure, ‘Q’, posted anonymous messages on the 4chan message board, talking about the coming storm – a moment when the cabal’s crimes would be revealed, with show trials and even executions of the worst offenders. Those who believed in it thought that January 6th was the storm; it had finally arrived.

There’s also another layer: the storm of how conspiracy theories have taken over American politics. The 2024 election, in particular, became the conspiracy theory election. Trump ran on a platform of taking down a vague ‘deep state’. Many of the people he’s chosen to lead key government agencies, like Kash Patel for FBI Director, are open conspiracy theorists. This storm is now headed straight for Washington – and for the world.

Q. You describe the loose alliance between tech entrepreneurs, internet trolls and white supremacist groups. How have their interests become aligned so they can create a political force?

Back in 2016, people didn’t fully grasp how much trolling and the internet culture from sites like 4chan and 8chan played a role in Donald Trump’s election. There was a radio programme, This American Life, where one of their reporters went to a Trump supporters’ inaugural ball the night before his inauguration in 2017. It was called ‘The Deplorable’, a play on Hillary Clinton’s comment about Trump supporters, saying half of them belonged in a ‘basket of deplorables’. In videos from the event, people were openly calling themselves internet trolls. One of the guys they interviewed even said about Trump, “We memed him into the presidency.”

What he meant was that they helped create a new culture of trolling and memes, using winks and nods to the alt-right and white supremacy. This culture was a big part of Trump’s first election success. And now, that trolling culture has been embraced by some powerful figures in Silicon Valley, like Elon Musk, with his takeover of Twitter (now X), and Peter Thiel, a Silicon Valley investor who’s been interested in these alt-right political currents for a long time.

Q. In your experience, what is the motivation of the many people who subscribe to conspiracy theories?
Over the past few years, while researching my book, I’ve spoken to a lot of people who you could call conspiracy theorists. Most of them are good, decent people. I think people turn to conspiracy theories during turbulent times – times when things feel like they’re changing, when their lives feel out of control, or when something happens that completely overturns their expectations.

It’s not just people on the right, like the MAGA Trump supporters, who believe in conspiracy theories. During Trump’s first term, there was a widespread belief among the liberal left that his election was orchestrated by the Russians, and that he was a Kremlin agent. That was also a conspiracy theory, but many people on the left believed it. Why? Because something happened that they were told could never happen. According to all the polls, Donald Trump was never supposed to become president, so when it did happen, they thought, “It must have been a conspiracy.” And the Russians were an easy scapegoat, because if you place the blame outside of yourself, you don’t have to look in the mirror.

Q. In what ways do you believe Facebook, YouTube, and X have fuelled the spread of conspiracy theories? And does this make the role of responsible journalism more crucial?

Well, yes, I would say that, wouldn’t I? Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, X, TikTok and Instagram have obviously reshaped the political landscape. The internet culture that started on 4chan and 8chan has now gone mainstream, and this toxic trolling culture has shifted politics.

But it’s also completely transformed journalism and how information flows in society. When I first started in journalism over 25 years ago, organisations like the BBC and mainstream newspapers were the gatekeepers of the national conversation.

We decided what topics were discussed and largely framed those discussions – that’s all changed now. At one point, this shift seemed like it could be a force for good, a way to democratise information and take control of the narrative away from a narrow elite. Unfortunately, this has happened alongside the decline of professional local journalism, where trained reporters cover local issues that matter to people across the country. On top of that, the business model of many social media companies – fuelled by outrage-driven clickbait – has turned the whole situation into something like a raging forest fire.

Q. How do you view Trump’s role in amplifying conspiracy theories and helping them become a mainstream force? And what do you think of some of the key players in his new cabinet, such as Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Junior?

Donald Trump has certainly been a catalyst, but he’s also a product of the deep divisions in America. I don’t think that without him we’d be living in some utopia, but he definitely amplified conspiracy theories. He deliberately boosted QAnon, as did many of those around him leading up to the 2020 election, which ultimately contributed to the storming of the Capitol. I go into this in my podcast and my book.

The conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen by a ‘deep state’ conspiracy – despite having no credible evidence – has now become an accepted truth within the Republican Party, thanks largely to Trump and his allies.

As for the key players in Trump’s cabinet, they’re interesting, nuanced figures. Take Elon Musk. He’s undoubtedly played a role in promoting conspiracy theories. We saw him do this explicitly at rallies in Pennsylvania before the last election, where he said things like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were ‘puppets’. Then he added, “It would be interesting to see the crossover between their puppet masters and Jeffrey Epstein’s client list” – a clear nod to the paedophile conspiracy theory.

But Musk is also a groundbreaking businessman, a risk-taker who’s been incredibly successful and has disrupted institutions like NASA. He’s done things differently, so his role is more complex. He’s a strange character, and we could talk about him for hours.

The same goes for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. On one hand, he holds some pretty out-there views, like claiming that Covid originated from a secret American biological weapons programme at the Department of Health and Human Services, which he now runs. But he also makes some reasonable points about America’s health and obesity crises, particularly around ultra-processed foods. Instead of addressing food quality through better legislation, Americans have turned to the pharmaceutical industry, pushing drugs while there’s a revolving door between regulators, the food industry and Big Pharma. In that sense, he’s a bit like Chris Van Tulleken in American politics. These figures aren’t entirely misguided, but they do have some pretty extreme ideas, often expressed in damaging ways.

Q. How should the international community, especially European nations like the UK, respond to this?

I’m speaking just a day after Donald Trump sent his new defence secretary, Peter Hegseth, to a NATO meeting in Brussels, where he essentially told European nations, “The party’s over. You’ll have to handle your own defence from now on. As for Ukraine, we’re pulling support and we’re not interested in Europe anymore – we’re focusing on China in the Pacific.” At the same time, Trump is claiming he’ll negotiate with Putin to give up some of Ukraine’s territory.

For nearly a decade, it’s been clear that America’s priorities are shifting. Their military focus is moving away from Europe – once centered on defending against the Soviet Union – and towards China, a new rival. This shift in focus has been building for a while, with both Republicans and Democrats supporting it across multiple administrations. However, until now, the U.S. hasn’t fully cut its ties with Europe or made the move to prioritise the Pacific. That change, I believe, is happening right now. The world is going to change in major ways, and Europe, especially the UK, will have to adjust.

For the UK, it’s particularly interesting because of Brexit. We’ve left the European Union, so we’re no longer part of that bloc. We thought we had this special relationship with America – or at least some people did. But it’s becoming clear that not only does the Trump administration have little regard for the current UK government, but America also doesn’t really care about the ‘special relationship’. It’s not a priority for them. In fact, it’s even less of a priority than defending Europe.

This is something Britons have clung to, trying to hold on to a sense of our former global power. But now, the UK feels somewhat adrift – like a small island off the coast of Europe, no longer in the European club, and with our American ally seemingly turning its back. It’s going to be interesting to see how the UK deals with this shift.

Q. Climate change denial is a feature of many of the conspiracy-driven movements. Why do you think so many in these circles are so resistant to accepting the scientific consensus on climate change?

I think part of the resistance to accepting the scientific consensus on climate change comes from culture wars. For many, when climate change is discussed, it’s often tied to climate justice, which links into broader social justice movements like Black Lives Matter and reparations. This creates a political battleground, and as a result, some people reject it purely because they associate it with those movements.

But there are also very straightforward business interests at play. Take Trump, for example – he’s a big supporter of the oil industry. He often says, “Drill, baby, drill”, and oil drilling clearly doesn’t align with the belief that fossil fuels are contributing to climate change, or that we need to do something about it. So, there’s a financial incentive behind denying climate change as well.

I should also point out that people like Bobby Kennedy Jr. are strong advocates for addressing climate change. So, it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation – there are varied perspectives on this.

Q. What do you think the future holds? Are we witnessing a temporary political storm in the US, or have we entered a new era of politics? Can we be optimistic about the future?

I don’t think this is a temporary political storm. I believe we’re in the middle of a fundamental, epoch-defining shift – on the same scale as the printing press, the Gunpowder Revolution, or the transition from feudal society to the modern world. It’s a once-in-half-a-millennium kind of societal change, and it’s going to be very bumpy. We don’t really know what the future will look like, but I think change will happen much faster than it did, say, 500 years ago. There will be both good and bad things, but it will definitely be a rough ride.

Take a peasant in mid-15th-century Europe, for example. They could never have imagined the kind of life we have now, or our current systems of government, society and administration. The changes we’re witnessing today will happen much more quickly. I honestly can’t even imagine what kind of world my children will live in when they’re my age.

Will there be bad things? Absolutely. Will there be good things? Probably. But, as I said, we can be both optimistic and fearful at the same time. Change is coming, for better or for worse.

Q. Are you looking forward to visiting Bath for the Curious Minds festival?

Yes, I’m really looking forward to visiting Bath. I’ve got a strong connection to the city through a good friend of mine, Xavier Alford, who lives there. He’s a documentary director, and we’ve worked together on a Channel Four series called Searching for Satoshi. I’m excited to spend time in Bath, catch up with Xavier, and engage with people at the festival. It’s going to be great to speak with folks there and experience the city again.