MAGA's rules for thee
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Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch. Photo: Anna Barclay/Getty Images
MAGA's response to Charlie Kirk's assassination has laid bare how the movement is willing ditch its past stated beliefs when it looks to exert power or inflict payback.
Why it matters: President Trump and MAGA rode back into power on a clear nationalist-populist policy platform. But in practice, a desire for vengeance and speed occasionally has eclipsed the movement's ideological priorities.
Driving the news: MAGA's digital army — backed by the Trump administration — has scoured the internet to find and report comments celebrating or mocking Kirk's killing, resulting in hundreds of firings.
- The campaign reached a crescendo when ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel after his remarks about Kirk, following FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's warning that the network could face consequences if it failed to act.
- Many MAGA influencers openly celebrated Kimmel's removal — infuriating liberals, who argued they were suddenly opposing free speech and embracing the "cancel culture" they spent years railing against.
- Kimmel was reinstated Monday and is set to address the controversy on his show Tuesday night.
The other side: MAGA strenuously denies any hypocrisy on its part.
- "Jimmy Kimmel wasn't funny, his ratings were in the toilet, and his advertisers were revolting. Also the bellyaching from the left over 'free speech' after the Biden years fools precisely no one," Vice President Vance posted Friday.
- Other Trump supporters call it "accountability culture" — claiming that punishing those who mocked Kirk is different from conservatives losing jobs over COVID-19 vaccine mandates or refusals to use preferred pronouns in the workplace.
The big picture: The post-Kirk phenomenon is just one example of MAGA appearing to walk back stances it fought tooth and nail for while Democrats were in power.
1. Government intervention: For years, conservatives blasted what they saw as a rising socialist impulse on the left. Yet Trump has expanded Washington's hand in the private sector — cutting deals that give the U.S. government a direct stake in companies such as U.S. Steel and Intel, and pressuring others to align with his agenda.
- MAGA, on the other hand, sees Trump as the ultimate dealmaker — and argues that his influence on private businesses is simply a way to reverse the damaging effects of globalization.
2. Fiscal responsibility: Trump accused former President Biden of reckless spending that ballooned the national debt. Yet Trump's own massive tax cuts, passed through Congress earlier this year, are projected to add $3.8 trillion to deficits through 2034.
- MAGA argues that the tax cuts will drive growth and shouldn't be counted in the same as way as deficit spending. Plus, Trump's tariffs are adding billions to government revenue — though analysts say consumers pay the brunt in the form of price hikes.
3. Infrastructure: Signs have popped up at infrastructure projects praising Trump's leadership, even though they were funded by a bipartisan infrastructure bill during Biden's presidency that Trump vocally opposed.
- Trump supporters ignore the infrastructure law and insist the real credit belongs to him, pointing to trade deals and foreign investment they say are fueling new factories and jobs.
4. Weaponization: MAGA accused the Biden administration of weaponizing the levers of government to go after political enemies. Trump has now publicly called for liberal groups and critics to be investigated — and last week fired a top federal prosecutor in Virginia who declined to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey.
- MAGA insists that it was Biden's Justice Department that crossed a legal line by prosecuting Trump and Jan. 6 rioters, and that the president is simply restoring balance and ensuring accountability.
5. Demonization: MAGA has accused Democrats of inciting the Kirk assassination by labeling Trump and his supporters as "fascist" and other incendiary rhetoric. Yet Trump himself has routinely described opponents as "fascists," "communists," "radical left lunatics," "vermin" and more.
- MAGA says Democrats' policies justify those labels. Trump has never acknowledged his own role in amplifying extreme rhetoric, and treats any suggestion that political violence is a "both sides" issue as an insult.
What they're saying: "It is disingenuous and false for Democrats to say administration actions are about free speech — they're not," White House spokesman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
Between the lines: "Trump has never been particularly interested in maintaining a value in defense of his opponents," Matthew Dallek, a historian at The George Washington University, told Axios.
- "He has been, since his emergence in 2015, very quick to do whatever he thinks is in his interest to suppress the opposition."
The bottom line: MAGA promised a populist upheaval — and some of its priorities, like tariffs and eliminating some taxes on overtime pay, reflect that. But those have been tempered by an obsession with speed and retribution, driven by a siege mentality that remains at the movement's core.
