How Donald Trump gave rise to the strange and gross right-wing insult 'cuckservative'
Are you a cuckservative?
Well, that depends. Are you, nominally, a conservative? Do you support policies that run afoul of ultra-right-wing orthodoxy? Then, yes, you might be a cuckservative, which is like a RINO (Republican In Name Only) but so much worse.
The epithet, a combination of "cuckold" and "conservative," has been gaining in popularity in fringe conservative circles thanks to the rise of Donald Trump, according to Matt Lewis. Lewis, a frequent contributor to The Week, helpfully explained the term's lurid origins in a post at The Daily Caller:
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A cuckold, of course, is a legitimate word for the husband of an adulterous wife — but that doesn't really do justice to what they're suggesting here, either. The people who throw this term around are most likely referencing a type of pornography whereby a (usually, white) man is "humiliated" (or ironically thrilled) by being forced to watch his wife having sex with another (usually, black) man. I'm not going to link to this, but feel free to Google it.So what does this have to do with conservatism or politics? By supporting immigration reform, criminal justice reform, etc., a white conservative is therefore surrendering his honor and masculinity (and it won't be long before his women folk are compromised, as well!). A cuckservative is, therefore, a race traitor. [The Daily Caller]
As Lewis notes, the term is a slur against conservatives used by white supremacists — yet another gift for which we have The Donald to thank.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.
-
The return to the stone age in house buildingUnder the Radar With brick building becoming ‘increasingly unsustainable’, could a reversion to stone be the future?
-
Rob Jetten: the centrist millennial set to be the Netherlands’ next prime ministerIn the Spotlight Jetten will also be the country’s first gay leader
-
Codeword: November 4, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations