The MAGA movement has always been associated with Donald Trump, and the definition of “MAGA” has pretty much always been whatever Donald Trump wants it to be.
MAGA, and Donald Trump’s second presidency, was seriously repudiated in the midterm elections earlier this month, and now Trump is two years away from being term-limited out of office.
President Donald J. Trump boards Marine One on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., Friday, July 17, 2026, en route Joint Base Andrews, Maryland for a trip to New York. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)
Donald J. Trump at Summit Creative Commons
In the coming months, Republicans will start announcing that they’re running for president in 2028, further bringing the political world beyond Trump. At that point, Republican candidates—and Republican voters—will have to decide how close, or far, to keep Trump going forward.
The Washington Post, this week, looked at those questions and how the MAGA faithful are feeling as the Trump era draws to a close.
College Republicans Speak
Anyone who is a College Republican now was 10 years old or younger when Trump first started running for president in 2015, and they have essentially never experienced a version of politics without Trump.
But when the Post’s reporter attended a meeting of College Republicans at Ohio State after the election, they seemed ready to move on.
“He’s Palpatine,” one College Republican told the Post, referring to the elderly villain from the Star Wars movies. And this did not appear to be part of the “Anakin-posting” craze that infected some very online GOPers in the days before the election.
Hunter Willmitch, the president of the Ohio State College Republicans chapter, declared that “The MAGA movement, in my opinion, is dead.”
The interviews with those College Republicans found skepticism about Vice President JD Vance, despite Vance having gone to college at Ohio State, talking about Buckeyes football on the campaign trail, and briefly representing Ohio in the U.S. Senate.
One person interviewed by the Post said Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida looked like the Republicans’ best bet for 2028, mostly because he did not serve in the Trump Administration and has been a strong electoral performer in Florida. That state has gotten redder over DeSantis’ eight years in office, and it avoided the blue wave last week, with Republicans winning both the gubernatorial and Senate races.
A “Front Row Joe” Gives Up
For the last several years, there has been a group of Trump die-hards known as the “Front Row Joes,” who travel to his rallies and always sit in the front row. The Post reported that one of those “Joes,” Rick Frazier, has lost faith.
“He’s the king of swamp,” Frazier told the reporter, as he watched an episode of South Park. He also disliked Trump’s resistance to releasing the Epstein Files and his mocking of the concept of affordability.
“I’m kind of going to go back to the way I was before Trump,” Frazier told the newspaper. “I was independently swinging wherever the best guy was running. And that’s the way I think it should be.”
What Happens in 2028?
We’re now less than two years away from the 2028 presidential election, and on the Republican side, it’s shaping up as one of the most compelling presidential contests in memory.
Vance is expected to run, with speculation that Secretary of State Marco Rubio could also run for the White House. But both men are closely tied to the Trump presidency, including the Iran War, and will likely have to answer questions about that war and other unpopular Trump Administration decisions throughout the campaign.
Someone could emerge to run in an anti-Trump lane, but could then struggle in the primary, as Trump will likely still be popular among the GOP base. Someone like DeSantis will likely try to thread the needle, although the Florida governor’s 2024 presidential run mostly fizzled out. It’s also possible that someone not currently on the radar will emerge, much like Trump came out of nowhere to win in 2016.
And in the middle of it all will be Trump himself, still in office and not one to cede the spotlight. Whoever is the nominee in 2028 probably won’t be able to draw the crowds Trump can, so will Trump rally for the nominee? Will that nominee then look like merely the opening act at his own rally?
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
