What is MAGA? It is whatever President Trump says it is. But that hasn’t stopped people from claiming to represent the true intellectual base of MAGA, and use the coincidence of policy, and performative loyalty, with Trump as a shield against political backlash. Such antic have allowed many fringe views and people, including grifters and crazies, to worm themselves into positions of power. Some of them were so assured of themselves that they could will their preferred policy into existence… or even steal the MAGA base from Trump.
It turns out that the neo-isolationist “Right”, who not only knew but approved the original “America First” politics of the late ‘30s and early ‘40s, are not in control of Trump, MAGA, or the Republican Party. These “populists” turned out to be not-so-popular.
The widespread support of the Iranian nuke site bombings ordered by Trump within the GOP and MAGA more specifically has knocked many of these blame America first demagogues off of their high horses.
Their secret to power was the fulsom ability of sycophancy—providing not just high praise but honeyed words. They are the Wormtonque to Trump’s Theodan. For a lot of the power hungry grifters on the Right, Trump is the tool they use to gain and keep power.
Trump is their beard.
They are hoping to so institutionalize themselves that when Trump is gone, their positions will have become fortified. To do this, they treat Trump as a tram ride to power and a means to implement their vision.
They are laying the tracks and steering the the tram.
Trump is just the tram.
They will abandon it once they’ve gotten what they wanted, and the tear up the tracks so we can’t go back.
That is their plan at least. But with this recent kvetching over bombing Iran, Trump/MAGA have switched tracks. But they are down, not out. They can always continue to flatter and ingratiate themselves in the future over other issues (primarily economic). And most important to them is the fact that their fellow-goer is the Vice-President and likely presumptive nominee for the Presidency in 2028. And with that, they will finally be able to fulfill their dream of fundamentally transforming America into something else entirely.
A little mood music:
