As I arrived at New York’s largest cryptocurrency and art-adjacent edgelord election watch get together, a younger man in a shaggy blonde wig and swimsuit was pulled previous an expansion of chilly McDonalds to ship a mediocre Trump impersonation earlier than a set of flash-on iPhones, talking of how yuge the evening was going to be and the knowledge of a GOP victory. It marked the type of informal confidence that outlined the night for Downtown’s dissident proper wing—a confidence that in the end proved warranted.
His was the one apparent wig within the room, however the crowd of the night can, I believe, be pretty described by their headgear. Greater than half the room had been carrying a hat: a mixture of MAGA (each the traditional crimson and new “Darkish” varieties), at the very least one fedora, and dozens of the trucker hats being given away, which learn: “I’m resistant to propaganda, and the deep state fears my swag.”
J.M. Kettle
The get together was at Sovereign Home, a subterranean venue on the Decrease East Aspect, proper by Chinatown, within the neighborhood generally known as Dimes Sq., a nightlife district that has additionally turn into a curious metonymy for a heterodox right-leaning scene. One sponsor of the occasion was Polymarket, an cryptocurrency-based on-line prediction market the place folks can wager on something, together with politics. The trucker hats had been being given away by Remilia, the opposite co-host and sponsor, a gaggle described by the journal Dazed as an “anti-woke crypto neighborhood.”
The latter sponsor gave the impression to be a very massive draw, dominating the get together’s 500-person RSVP record. Remilia attendees had been essentially the most on-line folks within the room: In the event you think about a kind of vaguely goth man who spends plenty of time on 4chan, with an anime profile image, who would additionally vote for Trump—you’re in all probability fairly shut. However there have been additionally a number of cute younger girls amongst them, too, nonetheless displaying an affinity for e-girl aesthetics: heavy winged eyeliner, choker necklaces, pleated mini skirts.
Few revelers had been keen to talk for attribution. Lots of these in attendance, Remilia, MAGA, or in any other case, are higher (or solely) identified by their on-line personas. Some others, whose full names I do know, nonetheless understandably didn’t need to be quoted. However a number of folks, after they had been advised that I used to be there writing concerning the occasion for GQ, requested me if I wished them to say a slur for the report.
