I began supporting Donald Trump in 2015. I was a political independent, fully estranged from our two-party system. When I realized that both major parties considered Trump a threat, I was all in. He seemed to be exactly whom I’d been waiting for: a needed disruptor, someone who not only was willing to obliterate the established political order, but seemed able to do so.

I became a MAGA pundit. I wrote numerous op-eds, and I had my own podcast.

Though I supported Trump and MAGA for what I thought were the right reasons, I was wrong, and I will work as long as necessary to make amends.

A combination of factors led to my leaving MAGA. The botched handling of the COVID pandemic and the January 6 insurrection were the two major factors; the Republican response to the Uvalde massacre was the last straw.   

It took a year of an emotionally wrenching internal struggle before I was able to leave MAGA. When I finally left, on August 30, 2022, I traded chaos for stability. The decision was liberating. I no longer had to defend the indefensible or justify the unjustifiable. 

One of the primary reasons it was so difficult to leave was because MAGA is a community. Leaving MAGA is a new community for those who have left, or are giving thought to leaving. Without a new community to go to, most will never leave MAGA, even if they know they should. 

Thank you for caring about my story — a story I never thought anyone would care about. And thank you for caring about the work of Leaving MAGA.