The War of the Trad Wives

Why even conservative influencer hosts are rebelling against the GOP’s treatment of women

Welcome back to The Red Letter.

I hope you’ve had a restful, and maybe reflective pause as we head into the New Year.

My latest conversation on The Tara Palmeri Show with Elina Shirazi, a senior correspondent at the Daily Mail, was illuminating. I’ve been reporting on how conservative women inside Washington have grown increasingly frustrated with Speaker Mike Johnson—who they say doesn’t take them seriously—and with Donald Trump, particularly over his indifference to Epstein’s victims.

But what’s happening now is bigger and louder.

Conservative influencers are starting to break ranks.

Figures like Brett Cooper, Tomi Lahren, and Alex Clark are openly pushing back as MAGA rhetoric veers further into extremism. This comes as some voices on the right are now floating the idea of repealing the 19th Amendment—the constitutional guarantee of women’s right to vote. And conservative women who built platforms by defending the movement are suddenly realizing where this road leads.

They can see through sermons from men like Transportation Sean Duffy, who romanticize the idea that women should stay home, raise families, and enjoy sunsets with their husbands instead of pursuing careers or financial independence. That vision isn’t just nostalgic, it’s coercive. It concentrates economic power in the hands of men and leaves women with little leverage, little security, and even less autonomy. Oh and by the way, he doesn’t even practice what he preaches. His wife Rachel Campos-Duffy is a host at FOX News.

It’s one thing when a political figure like Marjorie Taylor Greene turns on her former allies. It’s another when the influencers—the megaphones of conservative culture—start to rebel. These are the people who shape opinion, normalize rhetoric, and translate ideology into lifestyle. When they start raising alarms, the movement should pay attention.

Trump himself has shown us this lesson before: political movements don’t move without media. And right now, parts of conservative media are flashing red.

The war over “trad wives” isn’t just a culture war sideshow. It’s a power struggle over who gets to speak, who gets to choose, and who gets to control the future of women inside the conservative movement.

And this time, the loudest critics are coming from inside the house.