Conservative Women's Divergence: From Sarah Longwell to MAGA Influencers and the Compassion Debate

The conservative movement in America is experiencing a notable fracture among its female leaders and influencers. While established figures like Sarah Longwell, a prominent conservative pollster and organizer, alongside former Nancy Reagan speechwriter Mona Charen and ex-Representative Barbara Comstock of Virginia, have distanced themselves from the Trump-aligned direction of the Republican Party, a different cohort of conservative women has risen to fill the void on the right.

This shift has opened the door for a new generation of female activists and online personalities to shape conservative messaging—and according to recent analysis, their approach differs fundamentally from their predecessors. A January report from The Guardian examined this phenomenon through the lens of emerging MAGA female influencers like Riley Gaines and Allie Beth Stuckey, who are promoting narratives that challenge what they frame as counterproductive ideals.

The Rise of the “Womanosphere” Movement

The emerging movement among conservative female influencers has been termed the “Womanosphere”—a network primarily composed of white Christian conservative women who advocate for traditional gender roles and anti-feminist positions to their online audiences. These figures have become vocal supporters of aggressive immigration enforcement policies, with particular emphasis on the Trump Administration’s ICE operations targeting immigrant communities across cities like Minneapolis.

Riley Gaines has emerged as a leading voice within this sphere, consistently defending the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s immigration enforcement actions and framing them as morally justified, despite documented evidence of harsh treatment of migrant populations. Alongside her, Allie Beth Stuckey, a conservative podcaster and author, has gained prominence for her vocal advocacy—including through her 2024 publication titled “Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion.”

The Rejection of Emotional Restraint

A defining characteristic of this emerging conservative women’s movement is its explicit rejection of what members frame as excessive compassion and empathy. According to The Guardian’s reporting, these influencers argue that sympathy and emotional engagement pose genuine threats to the advancement of MAGA political objectives and to what they characterize as authentic evangelical Christian values.

Stuckey’s book title itself encapsulates this worldview—positioning empathy as a vulnerability that progressives exploit. Rather than viewing compassion as a universal good, these figures present emotional restraint and ideological focus as essential to achieving their policy goals. This represents a stark philosophical departure from the approach championed by figures like Sarah Longwell, whose career reflects a more nuanced engagement with conservative principles.

The Cost of Ideological Conformity

However, this emphasis on ideological purity and unwavering loyalty to the MAGA agenda carries its own consequences. Former evangelical Christian April Ajoy, who had been embedded in this movement, revealed to The Guardian that the Womanosphere demands absolute alignment with the positions promoted by its key figures. She recounted being ostracized from her community after declining to support every single stance advocated by movement leaders.

“If you are not fully aligned with every position these figures promote, you risk being cast out from the community,” Ajoy explained in her account to the publication. This pattern suggests that the new generation of conservative female influencers—distinct from established political operators and commentators like Sarah Longwell—has constructed a movement based not just on policy positions but on strict adherence to a particular ideological framework with little room for dissent or independent thought.

The evolution from the conservative women who openly opposed the Trump direction to this new cohort of MAGA-aligned female influencers reflects broader transformations within American conservatism and the rising influence of digital-native activist movements in shaping political narratives and community enforcement mechanisms.