Bannon, Carlson and... Liz Truss? A Look Inside the Former PM's Audition for the Maga Movement

Britain's shortest-serving prime minister, began the first edition of her online program with a promise to reveal "malicious actors" working to undermine Western democracies. She explained she would reveal how an "global web of liberal activists function to undermine democracy and the electorate's mandate."

"We're going to look at the Trump revolution and see how this can be replicated in Britain," she said. "We'll be talking to the leading lights of the Trumpist political sphere."

In advance of the series premiere, there was a strong advocate. "This is the beginning of a type of political shift," remarked veteran reporter John Solomon. His conservative Just the News platform will host the Truss's new audio shows.

Building Connections in the Maga Media Ecosystem

Compatriot supporters, including a advisor linked to Reform UK, have also helped her launch the Truss's program. The production is professional, if somewhat rudimentary. Truss has amassed a subscriber base of 10k in her initial seven days and her first episode achieved sixty-seven thousand views in that timeframe.

This marks a humble beginning, but in aligning with John Solomon, she is being pushed into a well-developed political media sphere producing and amplifying Make America Great Again themes. Key fixations encompass claims of media suppression by the traditional news outlets and a goal to eradicate a so-called administrative state – a force that the ex-PM holds responsible for the swift end of her calamitous premiership.

"Just the News is not well-known outside of the Maga-verse, but it does have influence there, mostly due to John Solomon, who gives commentary on Maga platforms like Steve Bannon's War Room and has even interviewed Donald Trump," commented Alex Hinton, who has closely studied the Make America Great Again phenomenon.

A Controversial Partner

Truss's attempt to import the pro-Trump media model to the United Kingdom has pushed her closer to divisive personalities such as John Solomon.

He founded his media outlet after criticism when allegations surfaced of circulating false stories about Joe Biden's anticorruption effort in the Ukraine, as well as contentious articles about the former US ambassador to Ukraine.

These allegations were repeated across the conservative press, with Solomon featuring as a common interviewee on Sean Hannity's influential Fox News show. Trump himself endorsed the journalist's work.

Solomon made the reports about Ukraine in a set of articles for the outlet the Hill, where he had already been re-labelled as a columnist when staffers raised concerns about his work. His claims were central in Trump's demand for the Ukrainian government to look into the Bidens in 2019. This pressure led to impeachment charges against Trump. The US Senate later acquitted the commander-in-chief.

Weeks after Solomon left the Hill in autumn 2019, the news organization stated it was conducting a review of his columns about Ukraine. It concluded the journalist had used unreliable sources and stated he "omitted crucial information about key Ukrainian sources, including the reality that they had been charged or were under investigation."

Entering the Ecosystem

Solomon's own media appearances are a example of the political media environment Truss is entering. He talked about his endorsement of the program on a broadcast he helps run on the conservative cable network, a rightwing cable channel that is the base for the Maga influencer Steve Bannon and on which commentator Tucker Carlson also features. The ex-PM has already spoken with Bannon on an early episode.

In linking up with this media figure, the former leader has become a niche participant in a extensive web of conservative media outlets that often amplify each other's content.

Solomon's own programs have repeatedly hosted personalities such as commentator Mike Benz, a conservative commentator whose criticism of the US Agency for International Development was cited by the X owner as grounds for shutting down the foreign aid agency.

An International Strategy

Even though Truss's stilted style and political travails have invited ridicule at home, certain American analysts do not dismiss her attempts to revamp her image as a British branch of the pro-Trump media ecosystem.

"It is necessary to treat folks like that as significant, although you may not want to accept their words at face value," said a former Biden White House aide, who worked in the Obama White House.

"You saw how in 2024 Donald Trump leveraged that ecosystem to spread his narrative. Undoubtedly that network exports and influences debate overseas. It appears quite apparent to me that the circumstances in the UK are similar to what permitted this alternative media ecosystem to thrive in America."

Alan Finlayson, said the online conservative ecosystem was already exerting influence in the UK.

"Online platforms transcends national boundaries," Finlayson remarked. "There exists a sort of milieu within which ideas travel – at times manifesting in radical ways and other times more moderately – but which is networked."

Professor Hinton said the growth of the online right in the UK lately meant the "chance to have a increasing influence is substantial."

Cross-Atlantic Aspirations

"Liz Truss along with the Reform UK leader recently were featured at the CPAC, where I watched as they echoed Maga talking points ahead of the {king of Maga|

Tamara Salazar
Tamara Salazar

Elena is a technology strategist with over a decade of experience in IT consulting and digital transformation, passionate about helping businesses leverage tech for growth.