On November 15, nearly two weeks after Former President Donald Trump’s reelection curbed Democrats hopes of an era for left-wing causes, the UChicago College Republicans and The Chicago Thinker held a joint press conference to discuss the future of their organizations and free speech. Held on the university’s main quadrangle, a couple dozen people attended. 

The presidential election results were a significant setback for Democrats, raising questions about the stability of even their core voter base. Meanwhile, Republican politicians and supporters nationwide celebrated, viewing the victory as a new direction for America after four years under President Biden’s administration.

The goal of the Friday afternoon press conference was to convey this message of excitement to the university’s students and to express what a Trump administration means for the two organizations. Christopher Phillips, President of UChicago College Republicans, and Tyler Shasteen, President of the Turning Point Chicago, spoke at the event. 

Phillips, dressed in a shirt depicting the assassination attempt on Trump during his rally in Butler, Pa. and a red MAGA baseball cap, greeted listeners and passerbys while country music played at top volume. “We believe that there is an American renaissance that is set to occur. There is a great, great feeling of excitement among all of us,” he said. 

Despite Donald Trump being the first court-adjudicated sexual abuser to assume the presidency, Phillips stated Trump is a leader for all people of America, whether or not you voted for him. When outlining his vision for Trump’s first 100 days in office, Mr. Phillips proposed controversial reforms, including immediate tax cuts and immigration policies that, if passed, could marginalize large segments of the nation. “That’s [tax cuts] something we have goodwill for. I think everybody agrees on that, at least in the Republican camp,” he said regarding tax cuts. “We have a tradition of legal immigration and it has to be on our terms. People who come here and they don’t have permission, and we just have to regulate immigration on our terms.”

Phillips argued that these policies resonate with many Americans, citing Chicago’s 5th Ward—which includes Hyde Park, Woodlawn, and Kenwood—as an example. The ward observed a 23 percent shift toward the Republican Party, making it one of the largest ward shifts in the city. “This ward in specific is frustrated with migrants coming in and taking every last resource,” Phillips said. “They remember how great Trump’s economy was prior to covid and how much easier it was, relatively speaking, to live and people want to return to that.” Phillips suggests that this behavior is synonymous with a nationwide rightward shift, specifically in cities such as New York and San Francisco that saw an unprecedented loss in their core Democratic voter base.

The Thinker asserts that left-wing ideology dominates mainstream media and only publishes conservative content. Phillips condemned The Chicago Maroon, claiming that the publication does not support free speech or diversity of thought. “You’ve seen a lot of continued issues with The Maroon such as a DEI board just completely slashing people’s articles making it very difficult to publish if you have a thought that is outside the accepted norms,” he stated. The comment was met with pushback, as a reporter from The Maroon questioned Mr. Phillips’s position, noting that The Thinker recently expelled leading members over editorial and financial reasons. Phillip avoided directly answering the question. 

But for the UChicago College Republicans and The Chicago Thinker, nothing could stop their momentum. They felt they had not only won the White House but also the culture war on campus.