Is MAGA Dead? Republicans Begin to Turn On Trump: President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement has been a permanent fixture in American politics since 2015, but after the Republican Party’s historic defeat in the November 3 midterms, those days may finally be ending. Longtime supporters are beginning to question whether the president has become a liability for the conservative movement and the Republican Party.
With the GOP preparing to surrender control of Congress to the Democrats in January, the party is now being forced to face questions about its political future, and whether anyone can rebuild the coalition Trump formed to win the White House in 2024—or, indeed, build an entirely new coalition.
President Donald J. Trump hosts a Rose Garden Dinner for America’s hunters and fishermen while announcing new Executive Orders, Thursday, September 17, 2026. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attend the FIFA World Cup Final soccer match between Chelsea Football Club and Paris Saint-Germain, Sunday, July 13, 2025, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
A Washington Post report published on Friday, November 13, also revealed growing dissatisfaction among former Trump loyalists, including voters who have begun supporting Democrats and young Republicans who believe that the MAGA movement has effectively collapsed.
The report also comes as Vice President JD Vance, long understood to be considering the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, may be reconsidering whether to run at all.
JD Vance May Abandon 2028 Hopes
On Friday, November 13, CNN reported that Vice President Vance has seriously considered sitting out the 2028 presidential election following the Republicans’ historic midterm defeat. The report, which cited interviews with about a dozen people close to the vice president, said he is uncertain he could reunite the Republican Party’s coalition to secure a victory in 2028.
One of the vice president’s allies told CNN that the conflict with Iran could even make it impossible for any Republican candidate to win the election.
“The question isn’t if JD can do it. It’s: If the Iran war is still happening, can any Republican do it?” the Vance ally said. “If they don’t end the war in Iran, no Republican has a shot at 2028.”
Other advisers, however, reportedly believe the vice president is still well-positioned to secure the nomination if he decides to run. A November 13 Washington Post report claimed that several close allies still believe he will enter the race.
Young Republicans Say MAGA Is Dead
The sizeable disillusionment within the Republican Party is becoming increasingly obvious, especially among young voters. In Friday’s Washington Post report, Hannah Knowles described conversations with members of the Ohio State University College Republicans after their first meeting since the midterm elections.
Chapter president Hunter Willmitch offered the outlet a bleak assessment of the movement’s future.
“The MAGA movement, in my opinion, is dead,” Willmitch said.
Another student, 20-year-old Abraham Dixon, also described President Trump as a burden on the Republican Party and argued that new leaders were necessary.
Other members expressed support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is reportedly preparing another presidential campaign after Republicans successfully resisted the Democrats’ “Blue Wave” in his state by voting for his successor, Byron Donalds.
The students also discussed priorities that differ sharply from those MAGA diehards have championed since 2016: artificial intelligence, data centers, surveillance technology, and other technological issues, rather than the cultural issues that defined the MAGA movement.
Former Trump Loyalists Abandon the President
The disillusionment goes well beyond younger voters, too.
The Washington Post also interviewed Rick Frazier, a 70-year-old Ohio resident and longtime Republican who spent a decade attending Trump rallies. Even as one of the president’s most die-hard supporters, Frazier told the newspaper that he has become dissatisfied with the president’s decisions, including the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and his decision to pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of drug trafficking offenses.
Frazier said that, in the November elections, he supported Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, but voted for Democratic candidates for governor and Senate.
Trump die-hards voting Democrat, rather than simply not voting, is a bad sign for the president and the Republican Party, having spent the last decade railing against the party and, specifically, its cultural and immigration policies.
Trump Plans to Maintain His Grip on the GOP
Despite the midterm defeats, President Trump appears determined to maintain his influence over the Republican Party.
According to a November 6 Axios report, President Trump has told his advisers he intends to keep raising money through his political operation. The plans could allow the president to influence the Republican primaries and the 2028 presidential nomination, as long as he maintains sufficient support within the party. And that support is partially contingent on his performance for the remainder of his second term in the White House.
Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC reportedly raised nearly $450 million since the beginning of 2025 and spent more than $400 million during the midterms. The organization could also provide President Trump with the financial resources needed to challenge Republicans who distance themselves from his administration. In theory, it could mean another fight between President Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but this time, Trump won’t formally be a candidate. But Vice President JD Vance could be, or perhaps someone even more loyal to the president’s agenda—if any such person still exists.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, and he produces and edits analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
