Every single one of the top 20 right-wing news websites saw a year-over-year decline in traffic in May 2026.
This would have been unthinkable in 2024, when all we heard was that MAGA media was on the rise, which contributed to Donald Trump’s re-election.
I used to be one of the people these sites were built for. These “news” sites weren’t just there to report on MAGA; they built MAGA. I even wrote for some of them.
Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing built The Daily Wire into a $200 million media empire on the premise that liberal media was lying to you and only they were telling the truth.
Glenn Beck pioneered the MAGA media playbook before Trump even decided to run, and built The Blaze with DeVos family money, turning it into one of the most-visited conservative sites in the country.
The Federalist, bankrolled by dark money and DonorsTrust, positioned itself as the intellectual spine of the movement — the place serious MAGA believers went to feel certain.
Every single day, MAGA members would visit these sites as part of the routine and ritual of staying in the moment. The sites would say,“You’re right, they’re lying, stay with us.”
Now that empire is collapsing.
And then there’s Tucker Carlson. He announced this week that he’s leaving the Republican Party.
Let’s be clear — Carlson is a strategist who is probably playing a long game. To get more viewers, gain more leverage, or maybe he has his eyes on something bigger down the road. I don’t trust his motives, but that isn’t the point.
Here’s what matters to me: when the man who co-founded The Daily Caller and was the most-watched host on Fox News, who had the president on speed dial, is walking away from the party, it means we’re making even more progress than we thought in dismantling MAGA.
Leaving doesn’t make him a hero, but it does make him a signal. If he’s going, others are going — people without streaming channels or personal brands to protect. People who just want out.
Those are our people.
When the daily permission machine stops working, people look for somewhere to land. Leaving MAGA is that place.
We are taking back the people MAGA stole. One at a time. Help us be there when they show up.
Thanks for being with us on this odyssey,
Rich
