These pro-Trump hardliners think his campaign isn't far-right enough

A recurring theme among Never Trump conservatives is that Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, like his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, is a total abandonment of old-school Republican principles — and that Trumpism is not traditional Reagan/Goldwater conservatism, but a dangerously authoritarian movement.

However, some of Trump's far-right MAGA supporters, according to Mother Jones' Julianne McShane and the Washington Post's Drew Harwell, are complaining that his 2024 campaign isn't far-right enough.

One of them is white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Another is radio host Candace Owens.

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In an August 9 post on X, formerly Twitter, Fuentes wrote, "Tonight I declared a new Groyper War against the Trump campaign. We support Trump, but his campaign has been hijacked by the same consultants, lobbyists, & donors that he defeated in 2016, and they're blowing it. Without serious changes we are headed for a catastrophic loss."

McShane notes that Fuentes has been making "racist attacks against" Indian-American Usha Vance, who is married to Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).

Fuentes also attacked Trump for working with GOP strategists Chris LaCivita and senior adviser Susie Wiles, both of whom he considers too establishment.

Similarly, Owens, on her podcast, complained, "I'm just not sure who is driving the MAGA bus anymore. You're losing that support from the people that believed in you…. You need those people."

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McShane, however, argues that "both the far-right activists and top Republicans might take some comfort from Trump's list of extremist priorities should he be reelected."

"The former president has pledged to carry out mass deportations, for example, and recently signaled his openness to banning medication abortion — though his campaign subsequently denied it," McShane observes. "And this week, Trump's campaign account, on X, generated controversy after it posted a photo of Black men on a street with the caption, 'Your neighborhood under Kamala.'"

Liberal firebrand and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, in response to that August 13 tweet, posted, "Racist mo**********g weirdos."

"In much the same way that the GOP has not softened its stance on abortion — despite what they may try to make you believe —Trump has not really softened at all," McShane explains. "The problem for his supporters is that Americans — even including those who are advising him — just seem less and less interested in his hardline policy positions."

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Read Mother Jones' full article at this link and the Washington Post's reporting here (subscription required).