Trump wears MAGA down with Ukraine reversal
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President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in New York on Sept. 23. Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
President Trump's stunning reversal on Ukraine has barely registered in MAGA circles, underscoring how fatigue and indifference have set in after eight months of failure to end the war.
Why it matters: MAGA's attention is largely locked on domestic turmoil, including the fallout from Charlie Kirk's assassination and a Tuesday shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Dallas.
- Still, Trump's new position on the war — that Ukraine could reclaim all of its lost territory, and even seize Russian land — would have been unthinkable at the start of the year.
- A shift that once would have set MAGA ablaze instead drew shrugs, reflecting the deference Trump commands even when he redraws the movement's red lines.
Driving the news: Since taking office, Trump and his base have been aligned on Ukraine: Kyiv should have cut a peace deal early, accept territorial losses, and stop expecting direct U.S. aid.
- That attitude culminated in an Oval Office shouting match in February, when Trump bluntly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: "You don't have the cards.
On Tuesday, Trump departed sharply from that posture.
- He reiterated that U.S. financial support wouldn't expand — Washington would sell weapons to NATO allies, who could "do what they want with them" — and warned that tariffs on Moscow would hinge on Europe reducing reliance on Russian energy.
- But he broke hard with his base on territory and peace talks, declaring that Ukraine could "take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that!"
Between the lines: Few things get MAGA as riled up as American entanglements abroad, and a vocal slice of the movement has embraced an explicitly anti-Ukraine stance.
- But MAGA print outlets buried coverage of Trump's announcement deep on their homepages.
- The right's expansive social media ecosystem featured little discussion of Trump's Ukraine shift, and podcasts early Wednesday barely touched it.
What they're saying: MAGAworld sources told Axios that the base is frustrated with the war after both Ukraine and Russia brushed off peace talks — Kyiv early on, Moscow more recently.
- Asked how MAGA would respond to Trump's post, The National Pulse's Raheem Kassam told Axios: "With complete and total apathy at this point, much like most of the world.
- "With two sides who were both given a way out and neither wanted to take them, it's a 'pox on both their houses' situation now," Kassam added.
Steve Bannon, the MAGA podcaster and thought leader, told Axios that the muted response reflects confidence that Ukraine is politically toxic for Trump, and that his rhetoric won't translate to deeper U.S. involvement.
- "If he said this in the first weeks of his administration, heads would have blown up," Bannon said.
The other side: Some prominent members of Trump's coalition were frustrated with his announcement.
- "[A]nytime Trump changes his position and makes a statement like today ... it feels like we're resetting and even farther away from an end of this war," said Josie Glabach, a right-wing influencer who goes by "The Redheaded libertarian" online.
