Bulwark Takes: "Nick Fuentes Turns Down Girls While His Friends Do Nazi Salutes" (Jan 21, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Tim Alberta of The Bulwark is joined by Will Sommer, author of the False Flag newsletter, for an incisive and darkly comedic breakdown of a viral night out involving several notorious far-right and "manosphere" influencers: Andrew and Tristan Tate, Nick Fuentes, Sneako, Myron Gaines, Justin Waller, and "Clavicular." The two dissect the group's troubling antics—live-streamed Nazi salutes, misogyny, and more—in a Miami club, and reflect on the broader dangers, the culture of online far-right masculinity, and the consequences of platform algorithms that amplify these figures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Who Are the "Party Bus" Crew?

• The Lineup:
  • Andrew and Tristan Tate: Infamous for ongoing sex trafficking charges.
  • Nick Fuentes: Alt-right “Groypers” leader and internet provocateur.
  • Sneako: Young, live-streaming influencer who mixes misogyny, racism, and anti-Semitism for a massive teen and pre-teen audience.
  • Myron Gaines: Real name "Amur Fadl," former DHS agent, runs a misogynist podcast.
  • Justin Waller: Tate acolyte, “disregard women, acquire money” mantra.
  • Clavicular: Youngest, obsessed with "looks-maxing," bone-smashing for aesthetics, and rumored meth use for facial structure.

"That's a party bus. There's a handful of men in there all dressed up a little overdressed, just a little gay, really, for the club." — Tim Alberta [01:22]

"I mean, look, the boys went out on the town. I mean, it's the Hangover 4 or whatever. I mean, this is a true... the leading lights of the manosphere, as you said. I think the man children, they got together." — Will Sommer [03:43]

2. The Pipeline of Influence: Why It Matters

• These influencers seem ridiculous, but their reach is alarming—especially among adolescents and even inside government circles.
• Nick Fuentes’ audience is not just fringe; GOP figures, up to J.D. Vance, follow or interact with these personalities.

"The people that are in this party bus doing Heil Hitler, these man boys, they have followers at the highest levels of the government." — Tim Alberta [12:21]

"You got Justin Waller, who's... like, disregard women, acquire money, you know. At one point he advises Clavicular to like never dine with a woman... because women are so boring." — Will Sommer [03:59]

3. Party Bus Antics: Nazi Salutes & Kanye’s “Heil Hitler”

• Viral video inside the party bus shows the crew saluting to Kanye’s antisemitic song. Myron Gaines does repeated Nazi salutes on camera.
• Fuentes, though uncomfortable, is complicit in the spectacle.
• They openly flaunt their bigotry for their audiences.

"Let's play it here. All right, so there you go. We see... The Man Boy Hitler posse. Sing along. That's Kanye's newest song. 'Heil Hitler.' Not subtle. They're not really going for subtlety here." — Tim Alberta [09:08]

4. Aura Farming: Masculinity, Image, and Insecurity

• The group's obsession with "aura farming": curating coolness, status, and desirability online, especially among young men who feel left behind.
• In reality, their night out is awkward and revealing—their attempts to project dominance fall flat.

"A lot of this world sort of relies on what young people call aura, right? And kind of coming off as cool, coming off as glamorous, powerful, attractive to women." — Will Sommer [16:04]

"You're trying to project online like a coolness... Nick Fuentes was trying to aura farm off of some of these other guys... But we reached the limits a little bit of his ability to aura farm off of these masculine men." — Tim Alberta [17:02]

5. Nick Fuentes Turns Down Women

• In a key on-camera moment, Clavicular offers to bring girls to Fuentes. Fuentes awkwardly declines.
• The hosts frame this as both potentially closeted behavior and as further evidence of the mixed, often contradictory values fueling the incel and far-right online spheres.

"Yo, Nick, I'm gonna bring some girls over for you... Fuente standing in the back in kind of his dad's suit, being like, 'I'm good. I'm good.'" — Tim Alberta [18:13]

6. Sterility, Sexism, & Hypocrisy

• The group’s misogyny blends with a palpable discomfort around real women.
• Their rhetoric around women (“never dine with a woman... what a waste of time”) is at odds with their supposed mastery over masculinity and sex.

"There's this real kind of like, you know, girls, step aside, let's not hang out with the girls... The vibe is very sterile in general." — Will Sommer [19:15]

7. Online Radicalization & Algorithmic Amplification

• The episode returns frequently to the dangers of social media algorithms promoting these figures.
• Even if “hate-watched,” their antics reach millions, seeding more bigotry and nihilism.

"The algorithms are a huge problem... these guys are responsible for their own actions... But, like, in 1992, nobody would know who any of these people are, right?... their menacing would be contained to their friend group... And that is the biggest problem we've got." — Tim Alberta [27:41, 28:59]

"Obviously, X, among others, clearly really likes this content, likes these guys, and pushing them. And that's why they're in front of all of us." — Will Sommer [29:20]

8. Connection to Mainstream Conservatism & Society

• Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and other prominent right-wing media figures have platformed or excused these influencers, rationalizing their behavior as a reaction to society “leaving men behind.”
• The hosts stress this mainstreaming as profoundly dangerous for both individuals and society.

"Tucker and Megyn Kelly... they've been rationalizing their behavior by talking about how young men have been left behind... They've got a responsibility. This is only leading to basically internal despair... but also just like real societal rot and a threat to our society." — Tim Alberta [21:03]

9. Club Fallout & Public Backlash

• Vendome, the Miami club, released a statement disavowing the events and reportedly fired staff involved.
• The irony of a supposedly “white power” crew with very few ~Aryan~ members, featuring mixed-race, Hispanic, and Muslim men adopting neo-Nazi imagery, is not lost on the commentators.

"If you're Hitler, you've got to be wanting to commit suicide again right now to know that these are your heirs... Like, there's not a blonde, blue-eyed, representative of the master race in the whole crew." — Tim Alberta [24:17]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the absurdity of the spectacle:

  "How is this my life, you know, that I'm sitting here like, talking about these fucking pathetic man boys doing the Heil Hitler." – Tim Alberta [27:41]

• On contradictory bigotry:

  "Only in a liberal society... could we raise a group of closeted gay, Muslim, mixed race boys to decide that they want to adopt the ideology of Hitler and feel comfortable doing it in a free society." – Tim Alberta [26:09]

• On aura farming’s failures:

  "I think it was not... I don't think there were really any epic Chad moments that emerged. I don't think anyone was truly mogged, as they say..." – Will Sommer [26:39]

• On the dangerous power of the online right:

  "In 1992, nobody would know who any of these people are... their menacing would be contained to their friend group, you know, and that, to me, I think, is the biggest problem we've got." – Tim Alberta [28:59]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introducing the Party Bus & Cast: [01:00–05:30]
• The Appeal and Influence of the Manosphere: [06:47–10:00]
• Party Bus Heil Hitler Video Dissection: [09:08–11:00]
• Aura, Insecurity, and Nick Turning Down Girls: [16:04–19:15]
• Algorithmic Amplification & Radicalization: [27:41–29:30]
• Irony, Hypocrisy, and Wrapping Up: [24:17–26:39]

Tone & Style

The episode is laced with gallows humor, blunt language, and a mixture of exasperation, irony, and genuine concern. The hosts maintain a skeptical, eye-rolling posture while still articulating the seriousness of the threat and the cultural vacuum being exploited by these figures.

Conclusion

Tim and Will’s conversation peels back the online spectacle to reveal the very real, very worrying cultural and political dynamics fueling the rise of figures like Fuentes, Tate, and their acolytes. They underscore the need to recognize how algorithms, legitimate power structures, and cultural malaise intersect in disturbing ways—making what might have been pathetic subcultural weirdness increasingly mainstream and influential.

Quote for the times:

"There's always going to be dudes that are misogynist. [But] in 1992, nobody would know who any of these people are... their menacing would be contained to, like, their friend group, you know, and, and that, to me, I think, is the biggest problem we've got." – Tim Alberta [28:59]