This week, I sat down again with Adam Kinzinger on his podcast — and the conversation was one I won’t forget.
It’s not just Democrats who want to hear how I fled from MAGA. It’s former MAGA members themselves, independents who’ve wavered between both parties, and Republicans who recognize Trump for the threat he is.
Kinzinger is one of those Republicans. A former Congressman from Illinois who watched the Capitol get overrun on January 6 — and then watched the president cheer it on.
He denounced Trump, was ostracized by the GOP, and chose not to seek re-election in 2022.
Kinzinger is not so different from many other Republicans. He’s not so different from me. January 6 was also a major factor in my decision to leave MAGA — and that shared experience is exactly why he wanted to talk.
Now he’s fighting Trump from the outside, right alongside us.
In fact, he believed in this mission enough to write the foreword to my memoir — One Betrayal Too Many: Why I Left MAGA.
So when he invited me onto his podcast, I knew we’d have a lot to talk about.
During our talk, we discussed the difficulty of having loved ones still in MAGA. I told Adam it’s not possible to change another person — they have to want to change.
But what we can do is let them know that if they ever do start questioning MAGA, if they ever do have doubts, we’re there. We’re ready to speak with them.
Response to the interview has been overwhelming:
One commenter replied, “I just heard you speak w/ Adam. I cried! I was NOT MAGA but a lot of what you said hit home.”
Another wrote, “A fellow progressive just texted me to tell me that you’d been interviewed by Adam Kinzinger. I’d never heard of Leaving MAGA, and was intrigued. I listened to you telling your story on this website, and was VERY affected. I really appreciate that you apologized and owned your mistake. I’ve now read a number of the stories on the website, and am so glad I have.”
And a third sent us this message: “Thank you so much for leaving MAGA, and for creating a safe place for others to share their stories. I will keep trying to put enough of my rage aside to enable me to try to understand better as I read. If I can continue, I sense that I will emerge a smarter and better human.”
It spoke to people who need support, and it created a bridge of understanding that, hopefully, people in MAGA will choose to cross.
Thanks for being with us on this odyssey,
Rich
P.S. NOW AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE: Pick up a copy of my memoir, One Betrayal Too Many: Why I Left MAGA — Amazon (Kindle too!), Barnes & Noble, Thriftbooks, Bookshop, and AbeBooks. It’s the full story — how I got in, what it cost me, and the blueprint I’ve built for helping others get out.
