"The term "cuck," a shorthand for cuckold, was aggressively co-opted by the alt-right during Trump's first presidential run in 2016 and then picked up steam within the manosphere, evolving from its 13th-century origins as "the husband of an adulterous wife." When used by the alt-right, the word becomes a pejorative — a weaponized insult for anyone perceived as weak, emasculated, or insufficiently committed to the cause of white supremacy. As Maureen Kosse explained, "What [the far-right] is actually saying when they use the term 'cuck' is that white men are being humiliated or undermined by Black and brown men, who are taking what is rightfully theirs — namely, white women."
Thus, "cuck" became a litmus test within right-wing circles, used to measure one's dedication to the preservation of white male dominance. The use of "cuckservative" further cemented this insult within the political lexicon, specifically targeting those on the right who were perceived as betraying their race or conservative values.
Kosse notes that figures like Jeb Bush, who faced the insult frequently due to his marriage to Columba Bush, born in Mexico, and his relatively moderate stance on immigration, became prime targets. For the far-right, interracial relationships symbolize the ultimate threat to white male supremacy. To a lesser extent, the same problem has been happening to current Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance and his wife Usha, who is of Indian descent.
"Control over white women is as central to white supremacy as whiteness itself," argued Kosse. "White men have always been obsessed with the idea of Black men having sex with white women because it inverts their entire worldview, creating a kind of erotic charge that they both fear and fetishize."