Carter Brown voted for Donald Trump in 2024. But in 2025, she left MAGA, became a leader of our Leaving MAGA community, and now she’s speaking out.
She was featured this week on the New York Times’ podcast, The Daily.
Carter talked about her turning point: ICE operations and immigration enforcement.
She described feeling “bamboozled” that people are being targeted despite following the rules.
And when Renee Good, an American citizen, was killed by federal agents in Minnesota, Carter said it broke her and scared her even more.
What struck me about Carter’s story is that she lives in a community where people fly “Don’t Tread On Me” flags.
When she brought up what happened to Renee Good, you know what they told her?
“Just comply.”
So which is it? Don’t tread on me, or just comply?
Thankfully, many Trump voters across the country are grappling with the same contradiction. This is an opportunity to show them a way out of MAGA.
New polling released this week shows 61% of voters now say ICE tactics have “gone too far.” That includes roughly 1 in 5 Republicans.
And among Trump’s own voters, the perception that ICE is “too aggressive” has jumped 9 points in recent months.
Trump supporters who’ve railed against government overreach are watching him carry out everything they feared.
And some are ready to defect because of it.
Leaving MAGA is the only organization doing the work of catching folks as they turn away from Donald Trump’s cruelty, with an approach informed by someone who’s been on that journey.
Every person we reach is one fewer vote for Trump’s allies in the midterms. One fewer account sharing posts online for MAGA candidates. One fewer voice defending this administration’s unconstitutional actions.
Your support right now helps us scale up to meet this moment.
If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
With just nine months until the midterms, this is how we build the coalition we need to turn our country around.
Thanks for being with us on this odyssey,
Rich
P.S. I’m proud to announce that a full-length version of my Leaving MAGA book will be published on Amazon and other retailers later this month! You’ll be the first to know when it’s available.
