MAGA's civil war is draining the movement of its political muscle, leaving it defenseless as the Trump administration revisits policies previously opposed by the base.
Why it matters: MAGA's grassroots strength lies in its ability to rally influencers, politicians and activists behind a hard-charging conservative agenda. That superpower is faltering amid a cascade of bitter personal feuds.
- "There's no focus on anything philosophical or even ideological right now," The National Pulse's Raheem Kassam told Axios.
- "It's all just a cacophony of grifters tussling over audience and ego. So, corporate America gets to wield power with the admin virtually unencumbered by scrutiny from the base," he added.
Driving the news: Washington advanced a series of policies over the past week that would have triggered significant MAGA backlash at earlier points in the administration.
- This time, the reaction was mostly crickets — drowned out by online convulsions over Candace Owens, Turning Point USA, a MAGA podcaster's sexuality, and antisemitism.
Artificial intelligence: President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that aims to gut state laws that regulate AI — a major initiative pushed by the GOP's tech allies.
- Backlash from MAGA thought leaders like Steve Bannon and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) helped kill a similar provision in Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" earlier this year. But this time, conservative efforts to influence the sweeping executive order were unsuccessful.
Marijuana: Trump is expected to soon reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug under federal law, easing regulations and obstacles for medical research, as Axios reported Thursday.
- It was only a few months ago that MAGA influencers were railing against "pothead culture" as corrosive to American society. But the news that Trump was moving forward with an executive order barely made a ripple on right-wing social media.
Venezuela: The MAGA base is largely supportive of military strikes on drug-running boats in the Caribbean, but wary of steps that could entangle the U.S. in an another foreign war.
- Yet the U.S. military's seizure of a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil — and Trump's refusal to rule out troops on the ground to topple the Maduro regime — barely pinged on MAGA's radar.
Redistricting: MAGA activists have threatened primary challenges against state lawmakers who don't support Trump's redistricting crusade.
- But a surprisingly large defeat in the Indiana Senate suggested GOP legislators aren't cowering — and may be newly willing to assert independence.
The other side: Trump did offer the base some symbolic red meat by announcing a pardon for Tina Peters — a MAGA hero imprisoned in Colorado for 2020 election crimes. But she's serving state time, outside Trump's pardon power, giving the move only rhetorical value.
What they're saying: "In recent weeks, the political discourse in this country has been indistinguishable from an episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta," MAGA influencer CJ Pearson told Axios.
- "I think the movement is wholly consumed right now on personality clashes. That is a recipe for electoral doom, and it's unfortunate to see the unity that we saw after Charlie [Kirk]'s death dissipate so quickly," Pearson said.
- "I couldn't tell you any bills that are making their way through Congress right now without going to the website and looking because the infighting is too loud, and I think that's detrimental," added Josie Glabach, another influencer who goes by "The Redheaded Libertarian."
