The Trumps haven’t exactly done much to earn themselves a lot of fans while in the White House. Recently, the president’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump tweeted glibly about taking the “red pill,” which is an expression used in far-right circles to refer to having some kind of grand epiphany about the supposed rightness of far-right politics. The expression is derived from the Matrix film series, in which a character is presented with a choice of taking either a blue or a red pill. Matrix co-creator Lilly Wachowski publicly derided Ivanka Trump in response to her post, which was itself a reply to the strangely increasingly right-wing tech CEO Elon Musk.
Musk had posted an admonishment for his followers to take the “red pill,” and Ivanka proudly replied that she’d “Taken!” it already.
Wachowski bluntly replied:
‘Fuck both of you.’
Fuck both of you
— Lilly Wachowski (@lilly_wachowski) May 17, 2020
Current day conservatism as expressed by those behind the popularization of the expression to take the “red pill” has, of course, little to do with actually coming to terms with the precarious nature of one’s reality, as the characters do in the Matrix films via taking a red pill. Donald Trump could barely be more disconnected from reality at this point, in fact. While tens of thousands of Americans die in total due to the Coronavirus pandemic and interests like the University of Washington estimate an eventual total of tens of thousands more, Trump keeps trying to convince observers that he’s doing a great job with virus response.
Meanwhile, Variety reports:
‘[The] phrase “take the red pill” has taken on a new meaning in Internet subculture, and it usually refers to conservative political beliefs. It can now mean shifting one’s political alignment to the right, and it’s often used in Internet forums related to Donald Trump or men’s rights groups.’
And this is the nonsense that a top adviser to the president of the United States is occupying themselves with amidst a deadly global pandemic.
One Twitter user quipped:
‘I’m guessing Lilly Wachowski had enough of right wingers appropriating The Matrix and Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump were what pushed her over the edge.’
I'm guessing Lilly Wachowski had enough of right wingers appropriating The Matrix and Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump were what pushed her over the edge.
— SJWJamesBond Wants Nazis Banned ︽✵︽ Agent of GIRL (@mvbrat91) May 18, 2020
Check out replies to Wachowski below:
