'MAGA influencers' being forced to consider post-Trump future — here’s why

23 July

Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk with Donald Trump at a MAGA rally in Phoenix, Arizona on June 6, 2024 (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

At 79, President Donald Trump is what the late President Ronald Reagan was during the 1980s: the most influential figure in the Republican Party. And his Never Trump critics on the right are the first to admit — and lament — that in 2025's GOP, traditional Reagan, Goldwater and McCain conservatism take a back seat to Trump's far-right MAGA movement.

But the Jeffrey Epstein controversy is exposing angry divisions among MAGA Republicans. Some are joining Trump in saying that members of their party need to move on from the Epstein case, while others are countering that Epstein must be a high priority for the right.

In an article published on July 23, Salon's Amanda Marcotte argues that the Epstein case is not only bringing MAGA infighting to light — it is also forcing MAGA to think about their post-Trump future whether they like it or not.

"For MAGA influencers," Marcotte explains, "the pressing knowledge that Trump won't be around forever must be frightening. It's not unusual for fascist movements to be incoherent in their ideology or goals. But with MAGA, it's especially pronounced because Trump so thoroughly dominates and defines them through a cult of personality. If the movement is to survive, however, they need something other than Trump worship as a central organizing force."

Marcotte continues, "The best that most MAGA influencers have come up with is conspiracism. Spinning nonstop lies about secret cabals conspiring against Red America keeps their audiences hooked, and it also isolates them from reality-based society. That combination of nuttiness and alienation is their best bet for continuing the MAGA cult after the leader dies or ages out of his capacity to control them."

MAGA Republicans, Marcotte observes, are "struggling to obey Trump's increasingly panicked orders to stop demanding the Epstein case files" — as "conspiracism" is a crucial part of their movement.

"If they were certain Trump would live for another 20 years," Marcotte argues, "it might be easier for them to let go of the Epstein case. But they can't imagine he'll be around long, and building their media empires for the post-Trump era means talking a lot about Epstein now, because that's what audiences want. The tug-of-war between Trump and his base over releasing the Epstein files illustrates this larger tension, which is often buried in the showy declarations of absolute devotion to their leader from most of MAGA."

Marcotte continues, "On one hand, influencers like Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens need to show nothing but fealty to Trump, their untouchable godhead whose power is the only reason most of them even have a career. On the other hand, they need something to sell their audiences once he's gone."

Amanda Marcotte's full article for Salon is available at this link.

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