Caviar. Oysters on a half-shell.
Warm, welcoming faces lit the dim room. Everyone seemed to be holding a hand-crafted cocktail from the curated menu. The open bar was packed.
The Conservateur, the “brainchild of style aficionados and conservative politicos,” had quite a showing at D.C.’s hottest conservative bistro, Butterworth’s. Their sold-out event, “America Is Hot Again,” brought in White House staffers, Capitol Hill staffers, and influencers such as CJ Pearson and Link Lauren.
Everyone at this party can define what a woman is pic.twitter.com/jHTDglLCtv
— Link Lauren (@itslinklauren) April 13, 2025
One of the most noteworthy parts of evening was how many mainstream media journalists flocked to cover the event. From the moment attendees walked up the staircase into Butterworth’s, reporters from the New York Times, The Washington Post, and other mainstream media outlets would request an interview or snap a photo for their article.
Washington Post writer, Kara Voght covered the event and wrote: “Banning trans women from participating in women’s sports? That’s hot. Getting red dyes out of processed food? That’s hot. Slashing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives? That’s hot.” It was as if Voght was attempting to mock the attendees, but she was right on the money: These causes are hot.
Photo by Bethany Miller/The Conservateur
The media loves to cover the hot, young conservatives having a ball, but even they don’t seem to know why. Why are these events so enticing that they would travel across multiple states for a several-hour soirée?
Three months ago, The Intelligencer attempted to answer this question by branding a group of conservative influencers the “Cruel Kids’ Table” during a pro-Trump inauguration party. The party, co-hosted by influencer CJ Pearson, didn’t feature attendees dunking Colyar’s head in a toilet or shoving him in a locker. So what did they do to evoke Colyar’s wrath in such a scathing article?
“It was disconcerting how often a normal conversation with one of these so-called normal people could cannonball from politics and policy into, at the very least, a not-so-PC joke and, at worst, something hateful,” reporter Brock Colyar whined.
At Trump’s second inauguration, a new breed of post-MAGA conservative was on display: young, wealthy, very online, and viciously attuned to the TikTok era. https://t.co/3pXUi4h3yg
— Intelligencer (@intelligencer) January 27, 2025
Maybe Colyar’s discomfort came more from the fact that conservatives just aren’t being quiet anymore. Gone are the days where youngsters are scared to don a MAGA hat in public for fear or being harassed or socially exiled. There is safety in numbers, and these young conservatives are proud to be a part of the cool kid’s club.
“For far too long, the Right became comfortable with being the silent majority. As my own event proved, along with this event hosted by The Conservateur, we’re no longer allowing the Left to relegate us to the shadows,” Pearson told me.
Perhaps socials such as “America Is Hot Again” and other conservative events draw in the mainstream media because their political counterparts have been unsuccessful in captivating audiences. As much as the left whines about western beauty standards and “diet culture,” even they cannot resist the allure of a room full of attractive, well-dressed 20-somethings. (RELATED: Latest Democrat Gaslighting Is Laughably Shameless)
Photo by Bethany Miller/The Conservateur
In a time where conservatism is culturally trending and Democrats lost the popular vote for the first time in twenty years, mainstream media should reevaluate where their predictions went amiss. Legacy media is finally on the outside looking in, begging to be invited to the party. (RELATED: ROOKE: If Reporters Ignore Reality, Of Course We Can’t Trust Them To Report On It)
Co-founder of The Conservateur, Jayme Franklin, told me, “We are building a new culture here for women. Everyone in that room is a testament to that. We are the future of America, and I couldn’t be happier to join together in taking our country back.”
