References to “political correctness” in the public discourse aren’t as common as they used to be, but the idea has long been about recognizing the power of words and encouraging people to be responsible when using language that might be insulting or offensive. It’s a concept that has traditionally been associated with the left.
Though conservative political correctness is far less recognized, it exists, too.
A few years ago, for example, then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made some pointed comments about the Jan. 6 attack. “We all were here; we saw what happened,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters. “It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”
Soon after, Sen. Ted Cruz took issue with the comments — not because McConnell was wrong, but because the Texas Republican said the word “insurrection” was “politically charged.” McConnell, in other words, was expected to avoid certain words and phrases, regardless of accuracy, to protect the sensibilities of his party’s more delicate members.
As Donald Trump’s second term as president gets underway, we’re seeing all kinds of fresh evidence of conservative political correctness. Take newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first weekday on the job, for example. The former conservative media personality told reporters:
Every moment that I’m here, I’m thinking about the guys and gals in Guam, in Germany, in Fort Benning and Fort Bragg, on missile defense sites and aircraft carriers. Our job is lethality and readiness and warfighting.
His choice of words appeared quite deliberate: Fort Benning and Fort Bragg no longer exist, because their names were changed. As a HuffPost report noted, the former was originally named after Henry L. Benning, a racist judge and Confederate brigadier general, while the latter was named after Braxton Bragg, a slave owner and Confederate leader “who is widely considered one of the worst generals of the Civil War.”
But when it comes to Republican politics in 2025, it’s apparently important that partisans use the words and phrases that make partisans feel better — even if that means honoring those who took up arms against the United States roughly 160 years ago.
Alas, it’s not the only recent example. For example, Customs and Border Patrol officials last week directed officers to start using the term “illegal alien,” apparently because the Trump administration likes it.
Similarly, Team Trump has decided that people are supposed to start calling the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” just as Team Trump also expects people to refer to Denali as “Mount McKinley” — whether Alaskans like it or not.
Conservative political correctness might seem bizarre, but it’s likely to get worse in the very near future.
