Is a Betrayed MAGA Fleeing Trump?
Many conservatives are in search of a new hero, and many disillusioned young Republicans are reassessing Richard Nixon, seen as the true forefather of the America First philosophy.
The Donald is trying to grab the headlines with "Trump 2028" caps or by fueling the rivalry between Marco Rubio and JD Vance for the Republican presidential nomination. However, this time, his diversion tactics are not enough to distract attention from his plummeting approval rating among Americans in general, but also among his own Make America Great Again followers. They accuse him of having betrayed the ideological cornerstones of Trumpism, beginning with no involvement in foreign wars. As a result, many conservatives are looking for a new hero, and many disillusioned young Republicans are reassessing Richard Nixon, seen as the true forefather of the America First philosophy.
A disgraced Republican president, forced to resign due to the Watergate scandal half a century ago, kicked out by his own party ready to impeach him, Nixon has for decades been someone the American right would prefer to forget. But why be ashamed of Nixon when Donald Trump has done far worse, protected by the near-total immunity granted to him by the Supreme Court?
And so it is that, through campaigning by the Nixon Foundation, a well-orchestrated social media campaign, and the spread of posthumous fan groups such as "Pretty Girls for Nixon," the 37th American president has gone from being rehabilitated — "blessed" by JD Vance, who considers Nixon a victim of the same "deep state" that attacked Trump — to being exalted as "the Lincoln of California," a grandiloquent title coined by Gen Z Republicans. There's a clear groundswell of "Nixonmaxxing," fed by YouTube videos gone viral with millions of views, such as the one in which Nixon declares, "I'm not a crook" against a gangster movie backing track.
However, as Nixon can, at most, be rehabilitated to take up his place in the Republican pantheon, there is a coalition forming among MAGA followers who feel betrayed by their leader, promoted by ex-members of Congress who went head to head with Trump, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tom Massie and the ex-director of the National Counter Terrorism Center, Joe Kent. They want to create a third party that would have the incredibly popular extreme right television host, ex-Fox and ex-die-hard Trumpist Tucker Carlson as their presidential candidate.
In the United States, being the "third wheel" has never proved lucky, but Carlson isn't holding back: he has already published his "ten commandments" for the next presidency.
The Donald is trying to grab the headlines with "Trump 2028" caps or by fueling the rivalry between Marco Rubio and JD Vance for the Republican presidential nomination. However, this time, his diversion tactics are not enough to distract attention from his plummeting approval rating among Americans in general, but also among his own Make America Great Again followers. They accuse him of having betrayed the ideological cornerstones of Trumpism, beginning with no involvement in foreign wars. As a result, many conservatives are looking for a new hero, and many disillusioned young Republicans are reassessing Richard Nixon, seen as the true forefather of the America First philosophy.
A disgraced Republican president, forced to resign due to the Watergate scandal half a century ago, kicked out by his own party ready to impeach him, Nixon has for decades been someone the American right would prefer to forget. But why be ashamed of Nixon when Donald Trump has done far worse, protected by the near-total immunity granted to him by the Supreme Court?
And so it is that, through campaigning by the Nixon Foundation, a well-orchestrated social media campaign, and the spread of posthumous fan groups such as "Pretty Girls for Nixon," the 37th American president has gone from being rehabilitated — "blessed" by JD Vance, who considers Nixon a victim of the same "deep state" that attacked Trump — to being exalted as "the Lincoln of California," a grandiloquent title coined by Gen Z Republicans. There's a clear groundswell of "Nixonmaxxing," fed by YouTube videos gone viral with millions of views, such as the one in which Nixon declares, "I'm not a crook" against a gangster movie backing track.
However, as Nixon can, at most, be rehabilitated to take up his place in the Republican pantheon, there is a coalition forming among MAGA followers who feel betrayed by their leader, promoted by ex-members of Congress who went head to head with Trump, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tom Massie and the ex-director of the National Counter Terrorism Center, Joe Kent. They want to create a third party that would have the incredibly popular extreme right television host, ex-Fox and ex-die-hard Trumpist Tucker Carlson as their presidential candidate.
In the United States, being the "third wheel" has never proved lucky, but Carlson isn't holding back: he has already published his "ten commandments" for the next presidency.
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