If you’ve spent any time over the past few weeks listening to former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s podcast, you’ve likely heard the term “Marxist jihadist.” MAGA influencer Benny Johnson prefers the term “jihadist communist.” Other right-wing media programs have chosen the phrase “red-green alliance” — that is, a supposed pact between communists and Islamists.

Overt Islamophobia is not a new phenomenon in right-wing media. It has been deployed for years alongside broader nativist and xenophobic narratives. But a trio of factors is driving more openly politicized Islamophobia in right-wing media. All three are expressions of Muslims exerting their constitutionally protected political rights, especially when pursuing progressive policy goals.