Opinion by Mathew Carr

A stronger push against this testicular red-mist mindset the past two decades — at UN level —- might have stopped the normalisation of extreme violence by the time we got to 2025.

Dec. 17, 2025 — Dame Jacinda Ardern, in her BBC The Interview podcast episode this week, was right when she said empathetic leadership can work wonders amid rising populism and strongman politics:

“You can be human, kind, decisive and a mother, and still do a reasonable job,” she said.

The full interview is available on BBC Sounds: Jacinda Ardern: why world leaders need empathy.

The likes of President Trump need to acknowledge the downside of magnified machismo, violence (or tolerance for violent rhetoric), and selfishness.

A counter-trend toward empathy, cooperation, and inclusivity is now sorely needed, as seen in Ardern’s dignified juggling of pregnancy and crisis management.

Her work now at UN level offers some hope for better political culture globally.

For instance, Ardern’s “Christchurch Call” project could put stronger guardrails on tech giants and help provide better crisis response because everyone is now better connected with each other.

Four examples:

• Elevate Project: New initiative addressing terrorist exploitation of emerging technologies, with a focus on AI.
• Partnerships: Collaboration with the ROOST consortium (involving Google, OpenAI, Roblox, Discord) for open-source AI tools to enhance safety.
• Crisis Response Enhancements: Improved protocols for real-time coordination during incidents.
• Funding: eg Canadian investments strengthening community resilience that promote the elimination of terrorist content online or that which incites extreme violence.

Official website: christchurchcall.org

Trump missiling Venezuela’s alleged “drug boats”, Putin death-droning Ukraine hospitals, countries’ brutal theft of others’ rightful carbon budget and Israel snipering brown babies in Gaza requires the same, or a similar, mindset to that apparently adopted by the rifle-bearing killers on Bondi Beach earlier this week.

A stronger push against this testicular red-mist mindset the past two decades — at UN level —- might have stopped this normalisation of extreme violence and racism by the time we got to 2025.

Such a push, even at this late stage, need not require national governments to give up sovereignty.

Yet ….there is clearly a need to better balance “security concerns” with human rights protections.

The Christchurch Call continues to evolve amid challenges like AI misuse and evolving extremist tactics.

And it should. (It’s just one example.)

Let’s realise that the pendulum has swung too far and reckless violence has become way too acceptable.

NOTES

Evidence of Increased Machismo

The rise of right-wing populism has been caused by exaggerated masculine stereotypes: aggressiveness, competitiveness, risk-taking, and traditional views on gender roles.

Leaders like Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin, and Rodrigo Duterte have embodied “macho politics,” blending strongman authoritarianism with misogyny and appeals to male voters feeling displaced by economic or cultural changes.

Studies show this style resonates particularly with men facing labor market shocks or threats to traditional manhood, contributing to a more confrontational political tone.

Evidence of Increased Violence

Political discourse and threats have grown more toxic, especially since the mid-2010s. In the U.S., threats against officials surged, with record levels reported in 2024, disproportionately targeting women and minorities.

Globally, dehumanizing rhetoric from leaders normalizes violence, fueling stochastic terrorism and events like the January 6 Capitol attack.

Surveys indicate rising acceptance of political violence, driven by polarization, social media algorithms rewarding outrage, and “culture war” issues (e.g., migration, LGBTQ+ rights) proving especially divisive.

Evidence of Increased Selfishness

Polarization has deepened perceptions of politics as zero-sum, with parties viewing opponents as hypocritical, selfish, or morally inferior.

Nationalist populism prioritizes “me-first” policies (e.g., withdrawing from international agreements), framing global cooperation as weakness.

Affective polarization—emotional hostility over policy differences—exacerbates this, making compromise seem like betrayal.

Counter-Trends and Nuances

Not all trends point downward. Research shows women leaders often foster more collaborative, inclusive styles, prioritizing issues like healthcare, education, welfare, and gender equality, leading to “more equal and caring societies.”

Greater female representation, such as Adhern’s leadership, correlates with cross-party cooperation and better outcomes for vulnerable groups.

Empathy-based approaches can reduce animosity: perspective-taking exercises increase bipartisan support and openness to opposing views, though they’re less effective among strong partisans. Some evidence suggests empathy paradoxically fuels polarization by intensifying ingroup loyalty, but interventions highlighting its utility for persuasion can bridge divides.

Globally, polarization varies—some countries show declines during crises (e.g., early COVID-19)—and not all populism is macho or violent.

Overall Assessment (Grok)

In many established democracies, political culture has indeed become more macho (via populist strongmen), violent (in rhetoric and threats), and selfish (via nationalism and identity-driven hostility), amplified by social media and economic insecurity.

However, this isn’t inevitable or total: increasing women’s leadership, deliberate empathy-building, and institutional reforms (e.g., quotas, caucuses) offer paths toward greater cooperation and civility.

The question highlights a real tension in modern politics, but one with potential for reversal through conscious effort.

Hate speech examples

ChatGPT:

Here are verified, direct quotes attributed to Donald Trump in 2025 where he disparaged other nations or groups associated with foreign countries, based on reliable reporting and transcripts.

I’ve focused on direct quotations used in 2025 (not earlier years), and I’ve cited the sources for each.

🇸🇴 Somalia & Somali People

From multiple speeches in December 2025:

“Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.” Referring to Somalia while complaining about migrants from what he called “Third World” nations.  “They contribute nothing. I don’t want them in our country.” Referring to Somali migrants and urging them “to go back to where they came from and fix it.” 

These remarks drew international condemnation from Somali leaders and communities. 

🇪🇺 Europe & European Countries

At the United Nations General Assembly (Sept 23, 2025):

“They’re destroying your countries.” In the UN speech, Trump said European nations that were more welcoming of immigrants were destroying their countries.  “Your countries are going to hell.” Also from the same UN address.  “Europe is in serious trouble. They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before.” Alleged comment about Europe’s immigration situation. 

🌍 General Attacks on Other Nations/Foreign Leaders

Trade & Foreign Nations (summarized remarks from April-May 2025):

“Foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once-beautiful American Dream.” Describing unnamed foreign countries in a trade speech. 

🏛️ United Nations (General Broader Remarks)

In his UN General Assembly address, beyond specific countries, Trump made sweeping comments that were widely characterized as disparaging:

“The United Nations … doesn’t solve war. All they seem to do is write a really strongly-worded letter.” (Criticizing the UN as an institution.)  “I’m really good at this stuff … Your countries are going to hell.” (Direct to representatives of other nations.) 

📌 Notes on Context

Many of these remarks were made during campaign stops, speeches to supporters, or at major international forums like the UN General Assembly and were widely reported in international media.  Some quotes (like attacks on Somali migrants) were tied to immigration policy announcements or responses to incidents involving foreign-born individuals. 

While Trump often frames such remarks as criticisms tied to policy (e.g., immigration, trade), the language in several instances has been widely characterized as disparaging toward nations or their people. 

….

The Christchurch Call (Claude AI)

The Christchurch Call is a global initiative to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content (TVEC) online. Here’s what you need to know:

Origins

The initiative began as a summit on May 15, 2019 in Paris, organized by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron, two months after the Christchurch mosque shootings where a gunman killed 51 people and live-streamed the attack on social media. The video was viewed millions of times in the days following, even as tech companies took extraordinary efforts to reduce its virality .

What It Does

The summit aimed to bring together countries and tech companies to end the ability to use social media to organize and promote terrorism and violent extremism . It’s a voluntary, non-binding agreement with commitments for:

• Governments – to develop policies and frameworks
• Online service providers – to remove extremist content proactively
• Joint cooperation between governments and tech companies

Current Status

In May 2024, the Christchurch Call transitioned to a charitable foundation to continue its work. The community has grown to include 55 governments, the European Commission, two international organizations, 10 online service providers, and a dedicated advisory network .

Key Activities

Recent initiatives include:

• Crisis Response Protocols for rapid takedowns of attack content
• AI and New Tech focus to counter misuse of emerging technologies
• Support for smaller platforms to help them detect and remove extremist content
• Algorithmic auditing to understand how algorithms contribute to radicalization

Canada’s Role

Canada joined as a founding signatory in 2019 , and the recent $1.3 million investment announced in October 2025 supports this ongoing work through the Christchurch Call Foundation.

The official website is: christchurchcall.org