Maga has a problem, in the form of Donald Trump. In a nutshell: Maga wants to define what Maga (or “America first”) means, and Donald Trump wants me to mean what he says at any given time.
It should offer some clarity of definition and political nuances. Making the United States again means different things for different people. The Trump coalition is not monolithic, it contains factions that are not necessarily considered magic. But as a shorthand, Maga is an identifier block differently than the right, and is the dominant faction in the widest coalition of the Republican Party. Despite its internal diversity, it still has a worldview or an ideology. And the faithful of Maga are increasingly frustrated by the fact that Trump does not always share or prioritize that ideology.
They believed that if you could “let Trump be Trump”, he would follow his conception of Maga. In Ronald Reagan's first term, many conservatives of the movement were frustrated by what they perceived as the drift of Gipper towards centrism. They blamed the moderate to the administration. “Let Reagan be Reagan” became a scream of meeting to the right.
“It is a piece of conventional wisdom about the new American right that Donald Trump fought in his first mandate because he hired the wrong people: Old Bush Republicans, figures such as Rex Tillerson and Steven Mnuchin, who did not have a populist bone in their bodies,” offers the SemaFor's Ben Smith Semafor News Website in a Cunning analysis.
As a result, Smith continues: “Trump's most passionate supporters were not going to make that mistake again. They created initiatives such as American Moment, Project 2025 and others aimed at preparing and accrediting a picture of the Maga named. When Trump assumed the position, the Forsters America moved to the defense of Big Tech Avengers.
“And yet, as Trump often ignored his conventional advisors in the first period, the loyal ones were surprised on the edge of a carefully gathered device in 2025”.
Triumph He said so much to Atlantic magazine last month: “I think I am the one who decides” what “America first.”
“It turns out that the staff is not political,” the executive director of the American conservative Curt Mills, “Glumly.” The idea that “staff is political” is another mantra of the era of Reagan; Put Reaganites in important positions and get Reaganita policies. Putting Trumpists in powerful positions does not produce the same results.
Immigration hawks have been panicked by the president suggestion that farm and hotel workers must be excluded from their deportation schemes. As Trump told him Fox News“I am on both sides of the thing.” The “restricants” of foreign policy were received for their support for Israel's attacks on Iran and their apparent more expensive to help Ukraine.
In China, Trump has been a hawk as promised, except when he has not done so, allowing Nvidia Sell chips To China, and ignoring the law by refusing to sell or close Tiktok.
Then there is Jeffrey Epstein's Fiasco, who has attacked Trump for weeks. Its intensity and durability can be better explained by the fact that they divide those who define triurism as Trump's loyalty and those who believe that loyalty would be, must be rewarded by a cleaning of the corrupt global elite, or something.
In summary, there is no “Trumpism” that is an analogous to reaghanism. Reaganism is a philosophical approach. What defines Trump's reign is better understood as a psychological phenomenon as an explanation of his behavior and the allegation of cult and performative of his fans. To the extent that Trump has a philosophy, is to follow their instincts, which are more powerfully informed by their own ego, but also the dramaturgy of Professional fightreality shows and Normando Vincent Peale's Gospel of prosperity.
He said many times that unpredictability considers a virtue in itself, which, by definition, means that it will disappoint anyone who expects philosophical coherence. When Trump was a bull in a porcelain store, people more excited about the sound of rupture vases and the dishes assumed that there was a broader method for madness. But now the same people are learning that Trump will not be charged by his fans more than what is for the rules.
This was always going to be the case (like me noted in 2017), but what adds to the frustration of Maga is that anyone can see and copy the bull management techniques that are more likely to work. Congratulate it, call it “dad” celebrate His genius and experience, and you can also manipulate it with at least a moderate success.
Perhaps the most significant, it is becoming that a movement defined by loyalty to a mercurial personality is destined to separate once that personality leaves the stage, if not before.
X: @jonahdispch
Perspectives
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Perspective
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Ideas expressed in the piece
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The author argues that Maga faces a fundamental problem with Donald Trump himself, since the movement seeks to define what “America first” means, while Trump insists that he means what he declares at any given time. This creates an inherent tension between the ideological consistency and Trump's mercurial leadership style.
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The piece argues that Maga Faithful has been frustrated more and more with Trump's failure to constantly share or prioritize his vision of the world, despite his belief that allowing Trump “Trump” to be naturally aligned with his conception of the movement. This frustration derives from Trump's trend to disappoint supporters in various political areas, including immigration, foreign policy and relations with China.
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The author argues that the principle of the Reagan era of “staff is politics” does not apply to Trump, since placing committed triumphs in powerful positions does not guarantee the implementation of magician coherent policies. Instead, Trump often ignores or bacies his carefully selected advisors as he did with conventional Republicans in his first mandate.
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The analysis suggests that there is no coherent philosophy of “Trumpism” comparable to Reaganism, which describes Trump's approach as fundamentally psychological instead of philosophical. The author characterizes the Trump government style mainly driven by the ego and influenced by the professional struggle, reality television and the prosperity of the Gospel.
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The piece concludes that any movement defined by loyalty to a mercurial personality is destined to fracture once that personality leaves the political stage, if not before, since Trump's unpredictability prevents the philosophical coherence necessary for lasting political movements.
Different views on the subject
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Contrarian perspectives suggest that Trump has successfully consolidated control over the Republican party, with its Maga Movement that has effectively enrupted the establishment of the Republican Party and has become the new institutional power structure[1]. This point of view emphasizes Trump's political dominance instead of internal fractures or ideological inconsistencies.
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Some observers argue that Trump's influence within his own coalition remains strong, noting that his ability to intimidate journalists and maintain the loyalty of supporters, the influencers of social networks and the hosts of Fox News demonstrates the continuous political power[2]. This perspective suggests that apparent divisions can be temporary instead of signs of fundamental weakness.
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Alternative views recognize tensions within the magician coalition, but frame them as natural political evolution instead of fatal defects, which suggests that political movements often experience internal debates and realignments without necessarily fracturing[1]. These perspectives emphasize Trump's history to successfully navigate the challenges prior to his leadership.
