One delimna progressives debate is how to respond to MAGAs who have come to regret supporting/voting for Trump. Do we welcome them or give them the could shoulder or even ridicule them? Do we try to force them into if not atonement to obtain forgiveness then at least a big public apology? Well, the fact is an increasing number of MAGAs are questioning having thrown in their lot with Trump. Some are starting to actually regret it and of those some are speaking up. Finally facing consequences can do that even for the most hard core MAGAs
That brings me back to the question of how should progressives respond? In this article from Buzzfeed we have a number of MAGAs lamenting having voted for Trump. There are also responses, and pretty blistering ones at that. It seems sympathy is in short supply and that’s putting it mildly. Like I said, all those MAGAs in those big swaths of rural/small-town “Real America” have been feeling the consequences when they do everyday tasks like buying groceries, or gas or school supplies for their kids. Now they are getting sticker shock over increases in health care costs, and seeing clinics and even hospitals close. Like I said, consequences have hit home. Worse, Trump’s saying the affordability issue is a Democratic hoax. They have believed whatever he’s told them but they can’t the actual prices they are paying. Or having to drive one or two counties away to get health care.
Only now are the scales starting to fall from their eyes. If you know anything about business and customer service there’s an old maxim that for every complaint a business gets there are ten more that they don’t hear about. Worse, those that they don’t hear from, that they don’t even get a chance to ‘fix things with” are lost customers. I wonder if all these elected Republicans who tout their business experience have forgotten that?
Anyway, getting back to the linked article there are MAGAs willing to attach their names to laments that Trump has apparently betrayed them. The linked article takes less than two minutes to read but it’s well worth the time. The laments are similar so I’ll only include one here:
Another said, “They’re killing me [Trump supporter]! I voted for him too but it’s not playing out quite like we thought. They keep convincing us it’s all better but my pocket book says different.”
Polling and reporting (the linked article is one of an increasing number of such stories) indicate faith has been lost, or at least badly shaken. MAGAs are if not in open revolt admitting they were wrong to have bought the bullshit Trump sold them. And, plenty of folks on our side aren’t inclined to cut them any slack. Hell, I’ll be the first to admit to often thinking in the past when some ‘reformed’ MAGA admits they were wrong about Trump to thinking ‘We told you so!’ Or similar thoughts along the lines of what they hell did they expect, or how they could be so gullible to think Trump cared one bit about them and so on.
I’ll also admit to darker thoughts. Like being glad they are suffering, or wanting to get in their face and ask them if being able to be racist, a-holes, hateful, ‘owning libs just because’ was worth the price they’ve payed. And telling them to go f**k themselves. I’ll get back to that. The first part of Buzzfeed’s article is mostly a set of tweets/posts from MAGAs saying in their own different ways they voted for Trump and now wish they hadn’t because he hasn’t done what he promised them he would do.
Well, at least when it comes to the cost of living and healthcare at least. He’s STILL given them something else they always wanted which was to be able to go around being assholes. To denigrate and discriminate against “those people” as in minorities, foreigners or people who didn’t worship at their church or one like it. That was as we know part of his appeal to MAGA from the beginning. ‘Freedom’ to say the kinds of things they wanted to say without being castigated for being racist, hateful or both. Trump was going to make it so THEY would be the ones with the good jobs and status in their ‘Real America’ communities and not ‘those’ people.
Everyone knows that. EVERYONE. However it’s not worked out like the MAGA goobers thought it would and now they are complaining in a ‘when is Trump going to get around to dealing with MY difficulties just getting by from month to month? So it’s easy to react like I have when I hear/read this kind of stuff from MAGAs. The most direct pushback on this latest round of whining is noted in the title. It’s one of the responses in the second part of the linked article: “These losers ruined the country” I agree. And there were quite a few other less than kind responses so again, do yourself a favor and check out Buzzfeed’s article.
Getting back to the ‘Well, what should we actually do with such people between now and the midterms?’ (and beyond) it’s a question each of us has to grapple with. Should we be forgiving and try to coax such people solidly to our side? Or instead let them and their butt-hurt feelings fester. NOT voting for Trump or any other Republican isn’t quite as good as a vote against him or other GOPers. On the other hand a significant chunk of these folks just giving up and not voting at all is good enough. At least for now.
Personally, my inclination to if not ridicule a MAGA I encounter expressing ‘I shouldn’t have voted for Trump because he turned out not to care about regular folks like us’ then at least give them a cold shoulder. Perhaps if feeling generous suggest they actually LOOK at history, and how since WWII people have done under Republican administrations and Democratic ones, and that they will be surprised at what they see. I might even suggest they look at top issues from the economy to guns to education to health care and so on. Which Party actually tries and makes progress on behalf of most Americans and which always seem to favor the few.
I say that because history teaches a bitter lesson in my lifetime. After twelve years of Reaganomics the economy was a major issue. THE major issue, as evidenced in James Carville’s famous “It’s the Economy Stupid!” sign in his office. So we got eight years of Clinton and things got a whole lot better. Then what happened? Well those small town/rural “Real Americans” went and put Baby Bush in the White House and HE crashed not just our own but the world’s economy. So we got eight years of Obama and then, when Obama had cleaned up the mess and had things going well again what happened? These same idiots gave us Trump!
Granted, average people had reason to feel that while overall the economy was on solid ground again the benefits hadn’t reached the masses yet. But they would have had we stayed the course. But noooooooo! Trump made all kinds of wild-assed promises that were empty from the beginning AND gave what we now call MAGA someone to blame. That’s why one response in the linked article jumped out at me:
“The red county voting cycle: Vote for Republicans, blame Democrats for the results, vote Republican again, rinse, repeat.”
I’m a senior citizen and see no evidence folks from places like where I grew up (small town/rural southern Illinois) will ever learn. Republicans promise taking care of the richest will cause them to in turn take care of the rest of us. Despite history providing rare examples like Andrew Carnegie who gave away most of his wealth, or more recently Bill Gates who’s given away a lot of his rich people mostly keep what they get. And they don’t ask for but DEMAND more. I don’t see that ever changing. The best we can hope for is solid rules of the road to give regular folks a fair shot of making a decent life for themselves.
MAGAs keep eating the bullshit on their plates hoping it will turn into steak. Before there were MAGAs they were there but didn’t have that label. They will still be there when Trump is gone. Conservatives put decades of effort into dumbing down America and it will take generations, if ever to get them to be able to think critically about complex issues. So, speaking for myself I say don’t outright reject MAGAs who say they want to join our side but don’t waste much time with them because they will revert to form soon enough.
For now I’ll settle for them being discouraged enough not to show up and vote. Better still hoping they will say enough amongst friends to convince others of their kind not to vote either.
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
this is all AI BS news website
We are emphatically not AI. I wish that AI could write as well as our writers do, because believe me, I would be using AI to pump out stories right and left. We try for ten new posts a day, I would be posting 24 new pieces, one every hour, if AI could handle the load.
Clearly we struck a nerve with you and in my experience, computers don’t strike nerves. But people do.
Lot of wisdom there, including ” not me saying, just look at history. … “
I think of it this way: Do you think a single one of those MAGAt goobers would be “gracious winners” if everything Drumpf had promised had actually turned out the way they wanted? Or would they be all “in your face” and calling us all “losers” and finding every last one of us and helping to round us up for the “re-education camps?”
They would be there absolutely REVELING in “their” triumph and rubbing all of our noses in “their” victory.
So, let the little MAGAts deal with it. And, well, if their pwecious widdle snowfwake feewings get hurt because they can’t deal with the reality that *they* helped cause by following the Tangerine Turdblossom, I say, FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC! Especially those idiots who voted for Drumpf in 2016 (when he was promising very little different from what he promised in 2020 and again in 2024) and were so f*cking stupid as to vote for him again in 2020 after witnessing the shite he’d given us in the previous 3 1/2 years and were even MORE f*cking stupid as to believe his lies in 2024 and giving him any “benefit of the doubt” when he said he’d never even heard of Project 2025 (and then, incredibly, enacting virtually every single point of the plot beginning on Day One–but, that was just another of his lies that MAGAts swallowed hook, line and sinker).
To paraphrase the Captain briefing the Marine Stars & Stripes guys the morning after the Tet Offensive began ‘It’s a huge shit sandwich – and all of us including MAGAs are gonna have to take a bite.’
It’s simple, really. Trump voters who express regret should be asked, “So, what are you doing about it? Are you donating to, or volunteering for, Democratic candidates who can thwart Trump’s agenda?” If their answer is “no,” the proper response is, “Then STFU.”
“Do we welcome them or give them the could shoulder or even ridicule them? Do we try to force them into if not atonement to obtain forgiveness then at least a big public apology?”
Hmmm. That’s a really tough question — a real head-scratcher. The only answer I can think of is another question: Do we want to win elections or do we want to lose elections?
Because if you want to win, then it’s not neessary to hire a big brass band and hold celebrations all over America welcoming them back into some semblance or reality. The only thin that’s necessary is to stop the public shame fest and stop expecting them to grovel and walk across broken glass to us on their knees.
There are many reasons why people voted for Trump in the last election. None of them were good but a lot of them were the result of poor judgment, low information, or social pressure rather than being hard-core MAGA. The hard-core MAGAs we’ll never get, but you’re talking about masses of people coming from different directions, many of them first-time voters, many former Democratic voters, and yes, some of them maybe even three-time Trump voters. As an unidentified aggregate, we don’t know and we don’t have to know. The point is, they already have a reason to vote Democratic, and it’s not because they necessarily identity as Democrats, because most of them won’t. But we need to avoid giving them more reasons NOT to vote Democrat. Because one of the common reasons eople say they don’t is because they think Democrats are arrogant. Let’s not reinforce that idea. Instead, let’s give them more good reasons to vote for Democrats. Because we seriously ly need to crush every MAGA candidate possible.
You said quite a bit and all of it is something I hope people will read and think about. I’d hoped to get some serious comments that dig into feelings one way or the other and you’ve given me things we all should think about.
My initial reaction is that it seems you are saying we shouldn’t throw a party or some other grand celebration for those who say they will join, or as you correctly note RE-join us. Nor I’m thinking engage in very public ritual humiliation. How did you put it? Making them crawl across broken glass?
I also think Karen made a good point. Without making a BFD of it or being “pointed” ask them what they intend to do? Will they help convince others? Will they donate to or do some type of campaign work for Democrats? Those are fair questions, that can be asked without being nasty.
IF they want to know more about Democrats, don’t overload them. That’s my instinct as those who read my articles have found starting back in my days on DK. Stick to one or two things you are sure, or fairly sure are most important to them and give some examples of what history teaches us progressives have done as conservatives fought us. And tell them you’d be happy to talk with them again. Hell, make some excuse about needing to get on with some task/place you’re going and ‘leave em wanting more.’
If they are non-committal and just whining try to refrain from being too insulting. Just suggest they look at more than Fox or other conservative outlets. I still say if they are discouraged and don’t see the point in voting at all, or even voting third Party which is a wasted vote then accept that. NOT voting for Trump or some GOPer isn’t as good as a vote for us but it’s the next best thing. At least they don’t do any more damage if they stay home!
It’s a lot to think about and act on. But it seems I’m not the only one who has been thinking about this and I find that encouraging. One last thing. For politicians/leaders who make a BFD that we have to “reach out” and make special efforts to win these people over I say contact their offices and call bullshit. People don’t like admitting they are wrong and I include myself in that. A big show about “You made a mistake or worry that you did so let us tell you about why you got suckered” will drive them right back into Trump’s orbit. Tell their office staffers things like have been mentioned here.
Make the point we are available to anyone who wants to talk to someone like us but we should NOT waste time and resources recruiting potential disaffected MAGAs. That’s better spent on mobilizing our own voters and adding new voters to the rolls!
Thank you for giving my comment such a fair and careful reading. I agree with you. My main point boils down to this: If these people are really hurting and if they really regret voting for Trump it means at the very least that they are hurting and they know Trump and MAGA don’t give a rat’s ass about them. Democrats have often disappointed, they sure have disappointed me and I am one. But I think under the gravity of the present situation, the Democrats are going to do their best to deliver, not just for Democrat but for everybody. So make sure everybody hears that, and spend more time on the basics. Don’t spend a lot of time on niche issues. Don’t preach to the converted. Tending to basics helps EVERYONE. This is what FDR understood.