Trump Is Leading a Global Surge to the Right

At the start of his second term President Trump has positioned himself at the crest of a global wave of hard-line conservative populism, offering fuel and inspiration to surging nationalist parties in the European Union and beyond.

Those parties are generally united by tough stances against immigrants, support for what they call “traditional” values in opposition to L.G.B.T. rights, aversion to climate regulations and pugnacious critiques of establishment politicians and parties.

To varying degrees, some, though not all, have also sought to weaken or undermine existinginstitutions, such as courts or an independent media, in what critics have called efforts to erode democracy and maintain authoritarian grips on power.

It is a wide spectrum that includes the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which is trying to broaden its appeal before elections next month but still winks at Nazi slogans; the Brothers of Italy, which grew from post-Fascism but has moderated after it won power; the National Rally, which has more lawmakers than ever in France after a prolonged attempt to soften its image; and the Freedom Party of Austria, which was founded by former Nazi soldiers decades ago and embraced a combative image en route to winning elections last fall.

But the parties differ from one another, and from Mr. Trump, in critical ways. Rhetorically, Mr. Trump falls at a far end of the spectrum of right-wing politicians and parties that have not been shy about using openly racist or incendiary language to disparage immigrants and political opponents.

In some cases, like his calls to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, Mr. Trump has promised changes that many of his most adoring fans in Europe have stopped well short of.