Last Tuesday night, I stood on a stage in Boise, Idaho — a blue dot in a state that’s deep in MAGA country — and told the audience that when I was in MAGA, I would have seen every one of them as an existential threat.
I apologized.
Alongside United Vision for Idaho and voting rights activist Kat Calvin, we spent 90 minutes talking about January 6 five years later, how people leave extremism, and what it really takes to reach someone in MAGA.
People’s questions stayed with me.
“How do I talk to my MAGA family member?”
“What language should I avoid?”
“How do I understand their views without losing myself?”
Room after room, event after event, city after city, these are the questions I hear. People are exhausted, heartbroken, and desperate to know if there’s a way forward.
Here’s what I tell them: Yes, there is a way forward. But it requires patience, curiosity, and a willingness to step into unfriendly territory.
This is what Leaving MAGA does. We create off-ramps for people ready to leave. We support the families navigating these relationships.
And now, we’re taking this work nationwide — to rooms just like the one in Boise, in every corner of our country. Blue areas. Red areas. Leaving MAGA will be there.
Will you donate and help us be there for them — to help turn our country AWAY from MAGA?
At the Boise event, I talked about how it took me an entire year to leave MAGA. Not because I didn’t understand the harm — but because leaving meant losing my identity, my community, my second family.
Your donation helps someone take that first step away. It funds support groups where people realize they’re not alone. It creates the resources that prove there is life — and belonging — on the other side.
Can you chip in today and help us reach more people in 2026?
At the end of the Boise event, I asked everyone with MAGA family or friends to raise their hands. Almost every hand went up.
Then I asked how many had taken the time to truly understand what their loved one believes. Only a few hands stayed up.
I gave them homework: reach out to that person. Not to change their mind, but to understand it. And then report back.
If you have someone in your life who’s in MAGA, I’m giving you the same assignment. Reach out with curiosity, not judgment. Ask them what they believe and why. Listen.
It’s uncomfortable. It’s hard. But that’s where change happens.
Do you have a MAGA friend or family member you’re struggling with? Join us on Zoom EVERY TUESDAY, including tomorrow!
Our support groups meet on Tuesdays at 7pm ET. You can get all the details and join here when it’s time.
Thanks for being with us in this odyssey,
Rich
