MAGA Is Now The GOP Establishment

The Old Guard is defeated, but what comes next?

With the Republican National Convention wrapped up, it’s clear the GOP is unquestionably the party of Donald J. Trump. There is no real dissent from MAGA in the party ranks. Bitter primary rivals took the stage to pay obeisance to the nominee. The crowd booed Mitch McConnell and other Republicans who have run afoul of Trump. On the other hand, the crowd went nuts for Tucker Carlson and Hulk Hogan. Throughout the week, Trump was treated as a conquering king, watching the festivities from his perch and relishing the adoration of the entire convention.  It was a full-on MAGA fest.

MAGA is now the party establishment. The old guard has either bent the knee or left the party. There were no Bushes, no Cheneys, no Paul Ryan, and no Mitt Romney at the convention. There were no passive-aggressive speeches calling for Republicans to “vote their conscience.” Like McConnell, the only establishmentarians allowed to speak were those fully endorsing Trump. It’s his party now. 

It’s quite the reversal from years past. Even when Trump was president, his grasp on the party was limited. Many Republican lawmakers worked to undermine his administration and openly criticized him. The GOP filled Trump’s admin with disloyal cucks who hated their boss. Senators, congressmen, and governors preferred being Business First Republicans rather than America First Republicans. They stuck to the same boring style and policies that Trump defeated in the 2016 primary. Trump undoubtedly was the most popular man among ordinary Republicans, but that didn’t mean he held sway over the party establishment. He was still the insurgent while president and remained so in his first years outside of office.

While the Old Guard held the reins over the party’s institutions, they still couldn’t get rid of Trump. Ever since Trump came down the escalator, the Republican establishment tried to defeat him. The establishment, along with its Conservative Inc. allies, consistently failed in this mission. But they always maintained hope and there were two openings after 2020. 

For a brief moment in the aftermath of January 6, it appeared Trump may be done. McConnell and others were open to impeaching him. His poll numbers sank. Republicans rushed to condemn the president. He was banned from nearly all social media. It looked like his political career was over, which is why 10 Republican congressmen and seven senators voted for impeachment. Many thought it was a good bet that the Donald was finally finished. 

They were mistaken. Trump quickly returned to his popular status among the party faithful–and he made those who turned against him pay a price. Of the ten congressmen who voted for impeachment, just two returned to Congress in the next term. The rest lost their primary battles or determined they had no place in Trump’s GOP.

But another opportunity appeared right after the midterms. The disappointing results inspired Republicans to blame Trump rather than their own faults. The establishment began lining up to say the GOP needs to move on from Trump. The former president’s poll numbers declined once again. The future of the party appeared to lie with Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor’s big win in 2022, along with conservative media hype, convinced him he could beat Trump in the primary. Other prominent Republicans also jumped in the race with the same conviction.

They were sorely mistaken. Trump easily won the primary, despite multiple criminal indictments filed against him. DeSantis and Nikki Haley managed to raise tens of millions of dollars in their challenge against Trump. It was all a waste. Both marched out to the RNC this week, tails between their legs, to fawn over Trump. Their defeat was broadcast for all the world to see. The 2022 primaries should’ve indicated it was a dumb idea to run against Trump, but too many Republicans were sucked into their own delusions.

Trump made a few Republicans pay a heavy price for their mistakes. Virginia Rep. Bob Good lost his primary to a Trump-backed opponent. Good was a staunch DeSantis supporter and frequently attacked Trump. But when DeSantis dropped out, Good dramatically changed his tune and pretended to be a fervent Trump supporter. He even went to visit Trump during his New York trial. This did him no favors, and Trump made an example out of him. Those who go against Trump risk losing their seats.

The one notable exception is Utah. The state’s Republican governor says he won’t vote for Trump in the general election. A Trump-backed candidate lost in the Senate primary a few weeks ago. But this lone exception doesn’t undermine the rule. The rest of the party is very Trumpian.

Nearly every primary pits Republicans trying to outcompete one another for who’s more MAGA. We saw this in the Virginia primary that Bob Good lost. It’s also playing out in an Arizona primary contest between Abe Hamadeh and Blake Masters. While Trump has endorsed Hamadeh, Masters tries to counter that fact by highlighting the former president’s support of his failed Senate candidacy in 2022. No one tries to present themself as the anti-Trump guy in these primary contests.

MAGA also has institutional control of the GOP. Trump loyalists now run the Republican National Committee. Conservative institutions that once held their nose up to Trump now desperately try to curry favor with the Don. The best example of this is Heritage Foundation and Project 2025, an initiative that Trump thinks may even be too MAGA. Con Inc. realized its future lies with Trump and made peace with it. Just like Republican candidates, they compete for the leader’s favor.

In 2016, Trump had no institutional apparatus. It was just him, his family, and a few staffers. Now the apparatus includes the RNC, the vast majority of elected Republicans, conservative think tanks, Turning Point USA, and most conservative media. It’s all MAGA World now.

This is a good thing. The American Right is much better than it was in the pre-Trump era. No one openly advocates for amnesty anymore. Instead, the crowd at the RNC chants for mass deportations. Many Republicans, including Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance, advocate for restricting legal immigration–an idea never talked about in the Before Trump era. Opposition to DEI and affirmative action are at the core of the GOP’s platform. Several Republicans, including Trump himself, attack the Left’s anti-white racism. Non-interventionism is a mainstream position within the GOP. Conservative media now promotes a number of Dissident Right talking points. 

This is all due to Trump.

However, there are potential issues with MAGA becoming the establishment. The personality of Trump is more important than his specific policies. While Trump is committed to an America First agenda, the same can’t be said of his many acolytes. The carnival aspect can overshadow the serious aspects of MAGA. Without Trump at the helm, the whole thing could descend into the Insane Clown Party. See Amber Rose for a preview of what that could look like…

Trump will eventually need to pass the torch. If MAGA wants to put America First, it will have to develop, and insist on a coherent nationalist agenda. It will have to move away from the carnival and get serious. Only Trump can be Trump. Trying to exactly duplicate Trump will not work. It will be far more clownish than the original. The MAGA establishment needs something more than one personality to carry it forward into the future. Trump can help that mission with another term in the White House.

With great power comes great responsibility. The newly-entrenched Trumpists can do a lot to make America great again–so long as they don’t turn into a more ridiculous version of the establishment they replaced.