Despite liberal appeals to the contrary, the right wing is not going anywhere after Trump’s loss and the January 6 Capitol riot. Instead, right-wing organizations will use the coming years to mobilize and radicalize while seeking to take advantage of divisions in the Republican party to change the US political landscape. Understanding the dynamic between the mainstream right and their more radical counterparts is vital to stopping their growth.

In the US context, this means contrasting figures like Trump and his imitators, like Senator Josh Hawley or Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, with right-wing militias and fascist organizations, like the III%ers or the Proud Boys, and comparing their different priorities and tactics. Different right-wing coalitions must be fought with different strategies, from government chambers to the streets, which means that the Left must pay careful attention to the nuances of right-wing politics and adjust its strategies accordingly. The same rhetoric and campaigning that worked against the mostly law-abiding right will not fare so well if it turns further toward violence.

One of the clearest differences between the mainstream right wing and the radical right is their policy priorities. For all his bombast about “draining the swamp” or forging an entirely new way forward in US politics, Trump’s actual policy commitments weren’t far from what the Republican Party has advocated for the last fifty years. From his crass nationalism to his terrible record on LGBTQ issues to his unflinching pro-business and anti-tax stances, Trump governed more or less like most of his opponents would have. Trump, like most conservatives, was fundamentally focused on maintaining the status quo.