MAGA is quiet as Trump, Vance criticize Putin
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President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky meet on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral at the Vatican. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine via Getty Images
President Trump and Vice President Vance are publicly criticizing Russian leader Vladimir Putin in starker terms than in the past.
- But the MAGA base isn't piling on — and remains as skeptical of Ukraine as ever.
Why it matters: Big voices in the base aren't contradicting Trump — but they're not echoing him, either. Top MAGA voices still say they trust the White House as it tries to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine — they just aren't shedding their longstanding skepticism of Kyiv as talks continue.
- Jack Posobiec, a top MAGA podcaster, told us: "In general, the MAGA base is not on board with extending or expanding the war and trust Trump when he is in negotiation mode. But I don't think extra payments [to Ukraine] will go over well."
Catch up quick: Trump and Vance — who had an Oval Office altercation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — have recently been name-checking Putin more.
- After Russia shot missiles at civilian areas in Ukraine last month, Trump said of Putin: "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?'"
- Vance this week said that Russia was "asking for too much," later clarifying that Putin was asking to control Ukrainian territory Moscow doesn't even occupy as part of a peace deal.
The comments marked a stark reversal for Trump and Vance, who've repeatedly directed their displeasure with the war at Zelensky — though it follows a classic Trump negotiating tactic: alternating between praise and tough talk.
Still, after months of hearing about Zelensky as the chief obstacle to a ceasefire deal over his repeated requests for aid, the base has built up animosity toward the Ukrainian leader.
- MAGA adherents still refer to him as a dictator for declaring martial law and scrapping elections during the war.
Now, direct criticisms of Zelensky are not quite as loud as he and Trump appear to be more in sync, but Ukraine is still kept at arm's length.
- "If there is hostility that exists toward Zelensky on the right, it's because he comes across as arrogant and entitled. He's brought that on himself. Dude did a Vogue cover shoot during a war," the Conservative Partnership Institute's Rachel Bovard added. "If the Trump admin puts forward a viable plan to peace and it turns out that the person refusing to negotiate is Putin, that's as big of an issue as if it was Zelensky. Just end the dang war."
Sean Spicer — Trump's first White House press secretary, who now hosts his own podcast — told Axios: "Two things can be true at once. Russia has overplayed its hand and missed President Trump's offer for a lasting peace. Ukraine is still an issue for most in MAGA world."
