Political violence, vengeance shove MAGA divides to backburner
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Federal agents confront protesters outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building on Sept. 28, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Mathieu Lewis-Rolland via Getty Images
Divisions between MAGA and the White House are taking a backseat as an intense focus on "leftist violence," Charlie Kirk's assassination and other culture wars fuels a hunger to wield raw power against liberals.
Why it matters: MAGA is marching in lockstep with President Trump, even when his policies clash with their demands. Under this new playbook, policy fissures can be overlooked in favor of a unified offensive against the left.
- "I get it, the world keeps spinning…but you know what happened 20 days ago? I saw a leftist murder Charlie Kirk, and I saw them celebrate it," MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec said on his show Tuesday.
- "Do you really expect us to just move on from that? You really expect us to just be like, 'oh well, it is what it is, let's check out what's going on with the budget over here'?"
Driving the news: MAGA is fixated on vengeance against vaguely defined "leftist" enemies, including the decentralized "antifa" movement, which Trump designated a domestic terror organization last month.
- Kirk's killing and subsequent attacks on an ICE facility in Dallas and a church in Michigan have hit a nerve, reinforcing the belief that conservatives are under siege by liberal forces seeking to remake society.
- The nuances of each situation aren't necessarily important: The man who attacked a Latter-day Saints church in Michigan on Sunday, for example, expressed hatred for the Mormon faith and had no public liberal stances.
Zoom in: Other culture wars are feeding the MAGA frenzy.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's remarks Tuesday shaming "fat" troops and generals drew raucous applause online, as did Trump's declaration of war against the "enemy within."
- National Guard deployments to deep-blue cities like Portland, Ore., have the base salivating for more crackdowns, and the Trump administration appears poised to deliver.
Zoom out: MAGA's insatiable desire to "own the libs" is papering over issues that might otherwise create daylight between Trump and his base.
- Trump's proposed bailout of Argentina's economy seemingly collides with MAGA's "America First" mantra, especially after Argentine farmers struck a deal with China that undercut U.S. soybean exports.
- Trump reversed his stance on the war in Ukraine, saying that instead of sacrificing land for peace, Kyiv could actually retake territory it lost and even seize land in Russia.
- Trump is doing little to restrain Israel, saying that he would greenlight any operation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants if Hamas rejects his proposed peace deal.
- And the administration has still not given MAGA all the information it wants on Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex trafficker who died in prison in 2019.
Yes, but: Discontent still bubbles up.
- "I'm totally confused how we can bail out Argentina while they sell out American farmers to the [Chinese Communist Party]," "War Room" host Steve Bannon told Axios.
The bottom line: Still, outrage over Trump's policies has barely registered compared with the fervor for punishing enemies. When forced to choose between ideological purity and vengeance, MAGA is choosing vengeance.
