Donald Trump’s America First movement seems to be fracturing

Donald Trump s hold over the MAGA movement is no longer unchallenged From Capitol Hill to MAGA media his populist America First movement is fracturing from within only one year after his shock polling The fresh flurry of conservative criticism of the president following a Democratic sweep of off-year elections across the country signals a major rupture in the ideological pact between Trump and his base suggesting he may definitively be losing credibility where it counts Trump built his political brand as a so-called disruptor But as transparency demands mount on multiple fronts he is increasingly seen as closing ranks often defending the very systems he once railed against and unsettling his previously steadfast base of supporters With his legacy as outsider-in-chief rapidly unraveling the right-wing influencers who built his MAGA coalition are no longer able to enforce populist standards that Trump himself can t meet Now his ability to control the narrative appears compromised especially without the united MAGA media shield that once protected him Tucker Carlson for example once a staunch Trump ally distributed his latest video on Friday that challenged FBI Director Kash Patel over the Butler Pennsylvania assassination attempt The former Fox News host alleged that Patel s FBI is covering up critical details of the attempted assassination a charge that this instant drew a direct response from the agency s head On Fox News meanwhile the White House is sending mixed messages on the financial sector While the president insisted to Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday that the financial system is white hot three days later Vice President JD Vance suggested to Sean Hannity that a continued sluggish rebound should be blamed on former President Joe Biden s administration Trump s economic rhetoric is not matching the reality of various of his supporters and his MAGA mouthpieces in the media are willing to admit as much Trump s economic rhetoric is not matching the reality of a multitude of of his supporters and his MAGA mouthpieces in the media are willing to admit as much The price of everything feel s very expensive to people right now the Daily Wire s Ben Shapiro of late noted on his podcast When President Trump says things are becoming more affordable people don t believe that they are becoming more affordable because they aren t really more affordable On Thursday speaking on The Sean Spicer Show Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene R-Ga described Trump s former press secretary that the president s gaslighting of the people and trying to tell them that prices have come down is not helping It s authentically infuriating people because people know what they re paying at the grocery store she reported They know what they re paying for their kid s clothes and school supplies They know what they re paying for their electricity bills That s first and foremost You don t gaslight them You don t lecture them and you don t deny what s happening Related Sorry Nancy Mace Donald Trump hasn t protected women On Friday Trump signed an executive order eliminating his signature tariffs on a wide range of commodities amidst consumer concerns about affordability including record-high beef prices You re not gonna convince Americans to go to the polls and vote by bailing out Argentina Greene warned on CNN Trump has distanced himself from the MAGA base Rep Thomas Massie R-Ky advised reporters this week Massie is one of four House Republicans along with Greene who signed a discharge petition to force a vote next week on releasing the Epstein files a move the president had gone to great lengths to block after campaigning on their release On Wednesday shortly after the federal administration shutdown was ended after an historic days House Democrats distributed more than documents from the Epstein estate that were not long ago obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Executive Transformation Numerous of the files included references to Trump Trump knew of it and came to my house multiple times during that period Epstein wrote in an email on Feb several months before he was arrested on federal charges He never got a massage My people want to know Who else if anyone did Epstein traffic young women to Sen John Kennedy R-La recounted CNN s Kasie Hunt on Thursday Now President Trump has turned that issue over to Attorney General Pam Bondi And I don t know how she is going to answer that question for the American people without releasing all the records Maybe she can but I just don t think this issue is going to go away until that issue is addressed and answered to the American people s satisfaction and I may end up with a sombrero on my head for saying that but that s the way I see it As early as Tuesday the House will vote to compel the Justice Department to release its files on Epstein s occurrence with up to Republicans voting to do so GOP Rep Warren Davidson of Ohio who informed CNN that he plans to vote for the bill stated this week that Pam Bondi demands to come here and explain herself Want more sharp takes on politics Sign up for our free newsletter Standing Room Only written by Amanda Marcotte now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts I have to be honest I don t really trust Pam Bondi s word Megyn Kelly mentioned on her podcast before offering a befuddling defense of Epstein against charges of pedophilia Jeffrey Epstein was not a pedophile she commented He was into the barely legal type Like he liked -year-old girls He wasn t into like -year-olds but he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were but would look legal to a passerby But she didn t stop there We have yet to see anybody come forward and say I was like I was under I was under when I first came within his purview Kelly continued You can say that s a distinction without a difference I think there is a difference between a -year-old and a -year-old Fox News host Sean Hannity was successfully rage-baited on his show by progressive radio host Stephanie Miller who used her opportunity to break a virtual blockade on the mention of Epstein on the cable news structure Trump for his part accused Democrats of using Epstein to distract from the shutdown fiasco and ordered Bondi to use federal funds to investigate Democrats Now that the Democrats are using the Epstein Hoax involving Democrats not Republicans to try and deflect from their disastrous SHUTDOWN and all of their other failures I will be asking A G Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice together with our great patriots at the FBI to investigate Jeffrey Epstein s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton Larry Summers Reid Hoffman J P Morgan Chase and multiple other people and institutions to determine what was going on with them and him Trump wrote on Friday This is another Russia Russia Russia Scam with all arrows pointing to the Democrats Records show that these men and countless others spent large portions of their life with Epstein and on his Island Stay tuned He continued Only a very bad or stupid Republican would fall into that trap We need your help to stay independent Subscribe in contemporary times to sponsorship Sophia Tesfaye s commentary Hours after Trump s request Bondi communicated on X that Jay Clayton the U S attorney for the Southern District of New York would take on the job Aside from Epstein one of the preponderance glaring sources of internal conflict is immigration an issue that has historically united the Trump coalition The centerpiece of Trump s America First agenda has been a fierce crackdown on immigration While MAGA remains adamantly committed to mass deportations Trump despite White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller s best efforts has wavered The president s modern defense of the H- B visa initiative has provoked a fierce backlash from staunch MAGA figures who see any patronage as a betrayal of the administration s America First economic nationalism While Ingraham who has called H- B visas a scam argued that the U S has talent at home Trump insisted that wasn t the episode arguing there is a shortage of certain talents domestically Following the interview Erick Erickson a veteran conservative radio host noted on his show that he had never seen so countless longtime Trump supporters furious about Trump s position on H- Bs Tim Pool a right-leaning YouTuber mocked Trump on X Don t worry Trump is bringing in more H Bs to make sure our young people are f d With multiple MAGA fault lines converging this week we are now seeing clear signs of erosion of Trump s grip on power His aura of invincibility and the unquestioning loyalty is over For MAGA to stay cohesive and vibrant beyond this cycle the movement necessities to reconcile the leader s actions with its core expectations Read more about this topic Quit sane-washing Donald Trump Texas Democrats have the last laugh over MAGA gerrymandering Donald Trump s path to 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