Two Events that Rocked MAGA in 2025
Has MAGA changed, for good?
Donald Trump has everything he wanted. Instead of sitting in a prison cell, he’s back at the White House. His administration is staffed by sycophantic loyalists who cater to his every whim, and he’s consolidated power at a speed most of us wouldn’t have thought possible, with institutions and elites caving to him as soon as he came back to the Oval Office. Trump has both majorities in Congress and a Supreme Court that seems happy to hand him even more power each time he asks.
So why are Trump and MAGA all so miserable?
This week, Trump took over primetime television to give what I can only describe as an old man yells at cloud speech. Mike Allen wrote in his Axios newsletter that the speech was “closer to a Festivus airing of grievances than a Christmas message of hope.” For 18 minutes, Trump berated America, claiming that the economy was good, actually, and where it wasn’t, well, that was all Joe Biden’s fault.
It’s such an interesting disconnect. On the one hand, MAGA won, and they’ve spent the past year dismantling and looting America, enriching themselves at our expense. They’ve been able to do as they please, say what they like, with no guardrails, and cause irreparable harm to millions of people in America and around the world. America is in freefall, which is what they wanted.
And yet the fractures are obvious. Trump’s approval rating continues to tank, and he’s not polling well on any issue. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Trump’s former #1 fan, resigned from Congress, announcing via a Why I Divorced Him video. Greene is the most high-profile rat fleeing the sinking ship, but she’s far from the only one. NOTUS reports that in addition to the retirements we know are happening, dozens more House Republicans are refusing to say on the record if they’ll run for reelection in the midterms. MAGA’s media ecosystem is consumed in a very online civil war, which feels more and more like a proxy fight for who takes over should Trump’s health decline to the point he can no longer serve.
How did MAGA get here? There are two, possibly three, moments that have redefined the MAGA coalition this year. And I believe those changes are permanent. Let’s dig in.
Trump’s attempts to bury the Epstein files
Ever since Pam Bondi had her nothing to see here moment this summer, I’ve been waiting and watching for MAGA to come back home and circle the wagons around Trump. Usually, these folks would concoct some maddening narrative to convince themselves that what they saw wasn’t actually what they said and that somehow Trump was the hero of the story. That never happened. Many of Trump’s closest allies defected, appearing at press conferences with Epstein’s victims and forcing a vote in Congress that they won overwhelmingly. Donald Trump did everything he could to block the release and failed spectacularly – thanks to the MAGA faithful. These folks aren’t coming back home, at least not fully. This week’s heavily redacted file release will likely make the problem worse for Trump.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination
Political violence is nothing new, even political violence aimed at the Right. Trump himself survived an assassination attempt on the 2024 campaign trail. But Kirk’s death was a watershed moment for many in the Trump orbit. The same people who mocked violent incidents such as the attacks on Paul Pelosi suddenly realized the violence they incited could be turned against them. Without Kirk’s death, I don’t think you would have Trump and Taylor Greene falling out, nor would the aforementioned fight amongst MAGA’s influencers be as raw and public as it is. I think it’s also why there was so much Republican backlash to Trump’s comments about Rob and Michele Reiner’s murders, especially from Hollywood MAGA figures.
I want to be clear about what I’m not suggesting. I don’t want to assign virtue where none exists. There’s never going to be a moment where MAGA sees the light and completely turns away from their God Emperor. Some of these folks might regret voting for Trump, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t vote for him or other Republicans again.
I’m also not suggesting a change of heart. Human beings are generally motivated by their own survival and self-interest, and MAGA genuinely believes that their way of life is being threatened for a variety of reasons. But if you believed Donald Trump was trying to stop a global child-trafficking ring, at a certain point, you can’t help but wonder why he’s trying to keep information from the public about a man who we know was actually running one. If Charlie Kirk can lose his life for the cause, you can too. And of course, the undercurrent to all of this is that if it suits him, Trump can and will send the mob after you. No matter how loyal you are to him.
The Trump Regime ends 2025 in a weakened state. They’ve managed to consolidate a lot of power, but it’s come at great political cost. Trump seems to realize this, which is why lately he’s been making these recent thirsty moves like adding labels with Trumpian commentary to presidential portraits, destroying part of the White House to build a ballroom, and renaming the Kennedy Center after himself.
Since I’m crap at making predictions, I’m not going to make any for 2026. I don’t know what the future holds or where things go next. As I’ve said for months now, our only recourse is to remove Trump from office and actually hold him and his enablers accountable (with trials and imprisonment). I believe this is entirely possible and also a steep uphill climb.
Here’s what I will say: 2026 is going to be wild. Anything and everything is on the table, including many more MAGA defections. Trump hasn’t lost, but he’s certainly not coming off like a winner. That’s what gives me hope.
ICYMI
The Year Democrats Lost the Internet (Wired) I’ve been saying a version of this since I was a blogger in the 2000s, but it seems like the gatekeepers are finally listening. May the funders and campaign budget decision-makers respond with the necessary resources!
Grok Is Glitching and Spewing Misinformation About The Bondi Beach Shooting (Gizmodo) I’m not sure I’d call it a glitch. Seems like this might be a feature not a bug situation.
The Billionaires Have Gone Full Louis XV (New York Times) Gift link. I’m genuinely surprised that the NYT ran this and that they went with this headline.
Deleting DEI (Pro Publica) Reporting from ProPublica has identified more than 1,000 nonprofits that removed DEI and similar language from the mission statements in their tax filings. I assume this was suggested by lawyers, but I don’t think it really gives any organization cover.
Democrats Won in 2025. They’re Still Not Ready for 2026. (Campaigns & Elections) “If Democrats think the main lesson of 2025 is ‘make more vertical videos,’ they’re going to miss what’s coming.” Preach.
Want even more content? Subscribers receive bonus content on Fridays.
Coda
That’s a wrap on 2025.
Thank you so much for reading and supporting Ctrl Alt-Right Delete this year. Thank you for your feedback, for sharing the newsletter, for your paid subscriptions and donations, and for all that you do to make the world a better place. I keep writing because I have an incredible community of readers and I love that you continue to find the newsletter informative and useful.
I’m taking the next few weeks off to enjoy the holidays and spend lots of time with my family. Publication will resume on Sunday, January 11.
Support COURIER’s Journalism
This holiday season, you can help power courageous journalism to keep truth louder than MAGA spin — one t-shirt, mug, bag or sticker at a time.
Every purchase you make from the COURIER store helps support journalism that refuses to bow to the right-wing. Enter COURIER10 at checkout to get 10% off.
Advertise in this newsletter
Do you or your company want to support COURIER’s mission and showcase your products or services to an aligned audience of 190,000+ subscribers at the same time? Contact advertising@couriernewsroom.com for more information.
And Meri Kirihimete from Aotearoa/New Zealand. We really appreciate your investigative efforts and communication skills.
So what exactly does "MAGA" mean these days? Originally it was Trump's diehard supporters, the ones who packed rallies, the 30+ percent who still approve of him. It seems to have morphed into something more general if it includes billionaires. I did appreciate that NYT article, but I've got reservations about the focus on billionaires. Billionaires are a *symptom* of our problem, not its cause. The problem is that unfettered capitalism is eating democracy alive, which shouldn't be a surprise to anybody, because that's what it does whenever it gets the chance. And from Reagan onward it's had chance after chance after chance.