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The Right Stuff: Conservative dating app founded by former Trump staff mocked online

The Right Stuff is a new app for Republicans in the US (The Right Stuff)
The Right Stuff is a new app for Republicans in the US (The Right Stuff)

The Right Stuff, a dating app for Conservatives backed by Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel, has launched in the US.

The invite-only app designed for Republicans was first announced in August, with an ad featuring former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany’s younger sister, Ryann.

It was designed by the staff of former US president Donald Trump, including Daniel Huff, who served in the Trump administration in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

When the app was first announced, Huff told political newspaper/website The Hill that The Right Stuff “has really not been done before”.

“It’s an important, underserved market,” Huff said. “Liberals own the education, media corporations, and we can’t let them control our personal relationships.”

According to John McEntee, the app’s co-founder and former director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office (in the Trump administration), the former US president “thought it was a great idea”.

In an op-ed for Newsweek, McEntee wrote that Trump “was super excited about it and loved the name”.

Ryann McEnany, sister of former press secretary Kayleigh, announced the launch of The Right Stuff (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Ryann McEnany, sister of former press secretary Kayleigh, announced the launch of The Right Stuff (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Its website invites people to “Connect with people who aren’t offended by everything”, and “View profiles without pronouns”, while the app’s prompts include “January 6th was…” referencing the US Capitol Riots, and “Favourite liberal lie…”

Upon launch, The Right Stuff released an ad featuring Conservative women who said they were looking for “masculine men” or men with an “alpha-male vibe”.

Their other requirements included wanting children and their faith being important to them. The women also say that Conservative men “have better manners” and “understand their role in the relationship as a man”.

All of the women featured in the ad agreed that being a Democrat would be a red flag.

Women are incentivised to join the app with access to a premium membership for free – a benefit men have to pay extra for.

Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel backed the Conservative dating app (Marco Bello/Getty Images)
Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel backed the Conservative dating app (Marco Bello/Getty Images)

However, there are reports on social media that the app is predominantly full of men, so they have no women to match with. (The app is currently only geared for heterosexual couples.)

While the app is allegedly failing to attract Republican women, it has caught the attention of young liberals who are taking to social media to relentlessly mock it.

Social-media users were stunned by a TikTok video by Cheyenne Hunt-Majer, which claims that one of the first reviewers of The Right Stuff (which is only available in the US), said that using the aforementioned January 6th prompt resulted in a call from the FBI.

The reviewer, who alleged that they were contacted by the FBI, also claimed that the app was created by the “deep state” — a right-wing conspiracy theory about a secret network within the government that has been purported by Donald Trump.

Liberal social-media users are delighted with the idea that there appear to be no women on the app, and that the initial reviews suggest that the January 6th prompt is somehow a honey trap.

(However, the reviewers claiming to have been contacted by the FBI could very well be mocking the app’s members, too.)

John McEntee, who worked for Trump, co-founded The Right Stuff (Al Drago/Getty Images)
John McEntee, who worked for Trump, co-founded The Right Stuff (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Dean Obeidallah, a US comedian, joked about the type of person who might sign up for the app, referencing the Ku KluxKlan, and said: “The new conservative dating app called The Right Stuff has now launched. I hear your profile picture can be with hoods on or off. It’s your choice.”

Other liberals are choosing to see the benefits of having a Conservative-only dating app and welcoming the launch of The Right Stuff.

Twitter user Matt Perkins said: “I mock the conservative dating app The Right Stuff but there is one potential plus to it which is hopefully those conservative men stop going on other dating apps and stop harassing women who don’t share their beliefs.”

Meanwhile, Twitter user @7Veritas4 said: “In the News: Conservatives launch a dating site called ‘The Right Stuff’. Finally, there is a national registry of every guy you’d never want to be with.”