The last few days have been a lot — in the best possible way.
Yesterday, I joined Katy Tur on MS Now to answer a question that’s defining this political moment: Where do anti-Trump Republicans go from here?
My answer was about how MAGA’s greatest fantasy was to “kill off” the Republican party as it was, to take it over and transform it into a MAGA party — and, as I told her, I believe that goal has been achieved.
I went on to describe that for members of MAGA, the group is more than a political ideology. It is a community. That is its power. That is why it is so difficult to extract people once they’ve joined.
But here at Leaving MAGA, extracting people is exactly what we do, and an alternative community is exactly what we offer.
FUND THE WORK THAT’S BREAKING MAGA APART
Meanwhile, BuzzFeed published a feature on Leaving MAGA — our support groups, our mission, and my story. From my early days as a true-believer MAGA activist, to the slow, gut-wrenching process of waking up — Trump’s COVID mismanagement, the lies and betrayals about 2020, January 6th, the Uvalde massacre — to finally leaving.
The reporter asked me why people struggle to leave even when they know something is wrong.
My answer: Because MAGA becomes your second family. And you can’t walk away from family without somewhere else to go.
That’s exactly what Leaving MAGA offers.
Which brings me to tonight.
Our weekly support group for those with friends and family members in MAGA meets at 7pm ET. Tonight’s topic is one of the most important we’ve tackled: Expanding the Frame: Moral Circles, Threat, and What Actually Changes People.
Here’s why it matters: Decades of fear-based media have deliberately shrunk the circle of people MAGA supporters feel empathy for.
Chronic threat does that — it’s psychological, it’s by design, and it’s why rational arguments almost never work. Tonight we dig into the science of how that happens — and how we reverse it.
You can get all the details and join tonight’s group here.
This is the work. Every Tuesday. Every week. And right now, the press is paying attention.
As we gain more media attention, we’re able to reach more people.
As we reach more people, we’re able to claw more votes away from Trump and his allies. And as we break down the MAGA coalition, we’re able to strengthen our community, to build it up and make it stronger, more appealing, and welcoming.
We are taking back the people MAGA stole. One at a time.
As I told BuzzFeed, it’s always a stellar day to leave MAGA!
Thanks for being with us on this odyssey,
Rich
