'Fundamentally unserious' MAGA faithful demand 'fealty' to Trump — and turn on each other: ex-staffer

22 April 2025

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on April 1, 2025 (Andrew Leyden/Shutterstock.com)

During his first presidency, Donald Trump clashed with one conservative Republican after another — from a secretary of state (Rex Tillerson) to two U.S. attorneys general (Jeff Sessions and William Barr) to a White House chief of staff (retired Gen. John F. Kelly) to a national security adviser (John Bolton). But Trump is trying to avoid such clashes during his second presidency by surrounding himself with unquestioning MAGA loyalists.

Trump picked a few traditional conservatives for his second administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But his Cabinet is dominated by ultra-MAGA Republicans who, critics say, tell Trump exactly what they think he wants to hear.

However, the fact that MAGA Republicans are loyal to Trump doesn't necessarily mean they are loyal to each other.

In an article published on April 22, Associated Press (AP) reporters Chris Megerian and Zeke Miller describe infighting and backstabbing among Trump loyalists and MAGA Republicans.

Bolton, who Trump fired from his first administration when they clashed over foreign policy and national security, told AP, "The only thing they have in common is the belief that they should show personal fealty to Trump. That got them the job. That may in fact keep them in the job. But it shows how fundamentally unserious they are."

Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, interviewed by journalist Tara Palmeri for a different article, said of the second Trump Administration, "The advisers don't get along with each other. The heads of agencies don't get along with each other."

Megerian and Miller describe some of the clashes taking place among MAGA Republicans.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, they note, is clashing with other Pentagon officials. And Megerian and Miller point out that trade adviser Pete Navarro and Tesla/SpaceX leader Elon Musk — who Trump picked to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — are "openly feuding."

Megerian and Miller observe, "Navarro said Musk was 'protecting his own interests' by opposing tariffs, and he described Musk's electric automaker Tesla as a 'car assembler' that’s dependent on importing parts from overseas. Musk, who advises Trump on ways to downsize the federal bureaucracy, responded by saying that Navarro was 'truly a moron.' (White House Press Secretary Karoline) Leavitt downplayed the dispute by saying 'boys will be boys.'"

Read the full Associated Press (AP) article at this link.

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