MAGA hopes the holiday season — and renewed attention on its favorite bogeymen — can produce a ceasefire in the pro-Trump movement's burgeoning civil war.
Why it matters: MAGA entered the year at the apex of its power, but has become mired in its most bitter infighting since its founding by President Trump in 2015.
- If the base can unite during the holidays against its perceived enemies — Democratic lawmakers branded "the seditious six," former FBI Director James Comey, the media — it might help the right turn a painful page.
- If not, the turmoil could become a systemic problem that plagues MAGA through the midterms.
What they're saying: Some Republicans have been pleading for weeks for an armistice in the infighting, trying but failing to shift the spotlight to a supposedly dangerous left.
- "Let these debates play out, but don't let these debates that we're having internally blind us to the fact that we are up against a radical leftist movement," Vice President Vance said at an event with Breitbart News last week.
- "The future is a choice between grievance populism ... or conservative, nationalist populism (MAGA). One ends in bloody, socialist upheaval and poverty, the other in national renewal. If you focus on domestic policy, you win," Turning Point USA's Andrew Kolvet said in late October.
Driving the news: This week's headlines featured many of MAGA's top enemies.
- Immigrants and Islam: The shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington by an Afghan refugee reignited fury over immigration enforcement during the Biden administration, especially after the Afghan government collapsed in 2021. Trump on Wednesday suspended all immigration applications from Afghan nationals with immediate effect.
- The "deep state": A judge's dismissal of charges against Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James renewed outrage against supposed liberal saboteurs within the federal bureaucracy and judiciary. Imprisonment and impeachment are the cures, according to MAGA.
- The "seditious six": A video of six Democratic lawmakers urging servicemembers to refuse illegal orders set off accusations of subversion and insurrection. Influencers are urging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to return Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) — a retired Navy officer — to active duty to be court martialed.
- The media: MAGA blasted MS Now and Bloomberg News over respective reports suggesting Trump was souring on FBI Director Kash Patel, and that envoy Steve Witkoff had advised Russian officials on how to pitch Trump on a Ukraine peace proposal. "The media is lying in order to derail the president's agenda. It's really that simple," Vance tweeted in response to reporting about rifts in the administration's Ukraine policy.
- Repeat offenders: The burning of a woman on a Chicago train by an alleged attacker with a lengthy rap sheet drew right-wing fury at supposedly "woke" criminal sentencing guidelines and judges.
Catch up quick: These headlines offered a brief reprieve from the ongoing MAGA civil war, which has erupted across multiple fronts.
- Israel and antisemitism: Debates over aid to Israel and definitions of antisemitism widened into questions about who belongs under the MAGA tent — a fight that exploded after Tucker Carlson interviewed Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.
- Jeffrey Epstein: MAGA has demanded transparency around the 2019 prison death of the late financier and convicted sex trafficker. Trump ultimately succumbed to the pressure by blessing legislation to pass, but he also turned on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over her criticism of his handling of the issue — driving her to resign.
- Foreign focus: After GOP losses in New Jersey and Virginia, MAGA demanded a renewed focus on "affordability." But Trump rolled out the red carpet for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a summit and said he'd try to halt fighting in Sudan at the Gulf monarch's request.
- Immigration: Trump's advocacy for H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers has inserted a wedge between him and his base, which believes U.S. workers have all the talent the American economy needs.
Yes, but: The shift in the spotlight doesn't mean the fights aren't continuing under the surface.
- Fuentes continued attacking "foreign interlopers who only care about Israel," and conservative influencer Brandon Tatum still knocked Carlson for interviewing Fuentes.
