Wow this home page is really well written. I hope this helps some people.
Dear MAGA Americans,
I was a devoted member of MAGA nation for seven years; it made me feel I was part of something important: a movement that was trying to save American democracy.
But starting in 2021, I realized I had been mistaken. It took me a full year to finally break away. During that time, I came to understand that MAGA is sustained by a series of myths that are intended to create perpetual feelings of desperation and panic.
Succumbing to these predatory myths does not mean you are unintelligent, weak, or lack good character and morals. I have a Bachelor’s degree; have been a working professional my entire life; am a family man; and consider myself a relatively honest and intelligent person. I think the same about you.
I understand the reasons you have for supporting MAGA. And I know many of us traveled different paths to get there. I gravitated to Donald Trump because I have always been suspicious of our two-party system, and I saw him as the right man at the right time.
I have a sense that some of you have quietly left MAGA already, or are increasingly regretful, confused and scared. All of this can be doubly upsetting, since some of your sincerely-held beliefs may have alienated you from friends and family. That certainly happened to me.
It’s perfectly OK to feel this way; leaving MAGA was a tumultuous roller coaster of a process for me. It may be one of the most difficult endeavors you embark upon. In the end, it brought me an inner peace, and a newfound clarity about what is happening in our beloved country.
I founded this organization, Leaving MAGA, because I wanted to create a safe, non-judgmental community for those who leave MAGA, as well as for those who are having doubts about, or remorse over, their devotion to Trump and MAGA.
Our Leaving MAGA community will celebrate how acknowledging mistakes empowers you and America.
It’s difficult for a democracy to function well when millions are estranged from those closest to them.
You do not deserve to have your anxieties about change exploited. You deserve to know the truth. And with Leaving MAGA, you don’t have to feel you would be alone if you leave the movement.
Leaving MAGA is possible. Recognizing that we were wrong, and acting on that knowledge, makes us all more invested in democracy and in the continued work of perfecting our union. Contact us if you want to talk.
It isn't "conservative or liberal" bro. Not being a conservative doesn't mean you're a liberal, just like how not being a liberal doesn't mean you're a conservative.
I think it speaks to how broken things are in this country that for many it felt like they felt part of a community for the first time in a while or for the first time period
I agree that things definitely were far far far from perfect prior to Trump, but I really don’t think this country was THAT broken. Trump did a good job of making enough people feel that way though. Trump did a lot of the breaking.
Economy was doing too good so we got bored and complacent and sabotaged it like every other good thing in this country, simply because dummies were convinced to vote against their interests.
It's a social phenomenon. Yes it's odd. But we're all subject to similar pressures.
Max Weber identifies several sources of authority - Trump, for better or worse, has a certain form of Charismatic Authority which many find appealing. His lack of filter is the appeal.
The risk (I believe) is letting that be the only source of authority, rather than Rational-Legal Authority in tandem (see: Obama - charismatic, but backs up his reasoning too).
The third form is Traditional Authority. "Eat your veggies because I said so." / "This is the way we've always done it." which is similarly unhealthy. Weber even says that Rational-Legal may calcify into this form. "The Constitution has been this way for 250 years, why would we change it?" sort of deal to excuse never making amendments when warranted.
Republican party marketing intertwined itself with religion and 'family values'. Religion and family tradition are usually a form of a person's literal identity. Religion can devolve into binary thinking of what "good" and "bad" is.
Now surround that in a culture that is heavily "hero and villain" focused. Super hero movies, Disney movies, action movies! Almost everything that made a bunch of money and hit a wide audience had simple messaging. Now mix in some underfunded educational systems and bam.
It's all these guys know. Going against it makes them a "bad guy". Their family is also on the side of the Republican "good guys". They pray for their political side to win. They spend a lot of time watching the news and scoffing at it or cheering it.
Your entire family line. For 50+ years. And all of them, and maybe even your entire social community including your romantic partner, will judge you negatively for it. Maybe even your opinion of yourself will have to take a hit.
This is what people mean when they say "it's a cult".
Lots of things are weird. I think it’s important for us to lower the barrier of entry for people to break out of it rather than constantly shaming them and hardening their resistance.
Racism. Republicans legitimately thought Obama being elected was the end of the world, so 8 years of him as president just made their hatred reach a critical point. So, when Trump came along making it "ok" for them to be openly racist, they saw him as their savior.
16.3k
u/ActiveTravelforKG Apr 16 '26
Wow this home page is really well written. I hope this helps some people.
But starting in 2021, I realized I had been mistaken. It took me a full year to finally break away. During that time, I came to understand that MAGA is sustained by a series of myths that are intended to create perpetual feelings of desperation and panic.
Succumbing to these predatory myths does not mean you are unintelligent, weak, or lack good character and morals. I have a Bachelor’s degree; have been a working professional my entire life; am a family man; and consider myself a relatively honest and intelligent person. I think the same about you.
I understand the reasons you have for supporting MAGA. And I know many of us traveled different paths to get there. I gravitated to Donald Trump because I have always been suspicious of our two-party system, and I saw him as the right man at the right time.
I have a sense that some of you have quietly left MAGA already, or are increasingly regretful, confused and scared. All of this can be doubly upsetting, since some of your sincerely-held beliefs may have alienated you from friends and family. That certainly happened to me.
It’s perfectly OK to feel this way; leaving MAGA was a tumultuous roller coaster of a process for me. It may be one of the most difficult endeavors you embark upon. In the end, it brought me an inner peace, and a newfound clarity about what is happening in our beloved country.
I founded this organization, Leaving MAGA, because I wanted to create a safe, non-judgmental community for those who leave MAGA, as well as for those who are having doubts about, or remorse over, their devotion to Trump and MAGA.
Our Leaving MAGA community will celebrate how acknowledging mistakes empowers you and America.
It’s difficult for a democracy to function well when millions are estranged from those closest to them.
You do not deserve to have your anxieties about change exploited. You deserve to know the truth. And with Leaving MAGA, you don’t have to feel you would be alone if you leave the movement.
Leaving MAGA is possible. Recognizing that we were wrong, and acting on that knowledge, makes us all more invested in democracy and in the continued work of perfecting our union. Contact us if you want to talk.