Much has been made of the MAGA stalwarts and right-leaning podcasters who have broken with President Donald Trump in recent days. The president’s refusal to release all the Epstein files and his sudden war with Iran have spurred significant defections from the MAGA ranks, notably Georgia’s former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson.
But the split may be overestimated.
In the Texas primary election on Tuesday, four-term Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw lost by 15 percentage points to a MAGA challenger. Crenshaw’s vulnerability was that he has, on occasion, shown independence from Trump. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who has held his seat since 2002, fell short of winning 50% of the GOP vote and is now forced into a runoff election with the state’s scandal-plagued attorney general, Ken Paxton. Paxton is a fanatical MAGA hero while Cornyn has offered a few timid critiques of Trump – and that mild criticism is what now has him fighting to keep his job.
Meanwhile, in Congress, Republicans opposed legislation that would have asserted their constitutional right to have a voice in the decision to go to war with Iran. It did not seem to matter that a strong majority of voters disapprove of Trump’s Mideast misadventure or that the president’s unpopularity may drag many of them to defeat in November’s midterm elections; GOP senators and congressmen will not defy him or risk infuriating their party’s MAGA base.
For the most part, that base remains solid. It is a fascinating display of mind-bending delusion. No matter how often Trump lies and breaks his promises to them, the MAGA faithful will find a way to keep believing and blame their troubles on straw men.
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