It was almost a toss-up as to whether I should place this article in this thread or in the Fascism Watch thread. I suppose it is optimistic to place it in this thread and therefore imply that the MAGA succession will be more conservative than fascist. A lot depends on exactly who emerges at the top of the influencers and what issues they champion. Perhaps understated in this article, a lot also depends on what politicians emerge from Trump’s shadow and where they lead.
The MAGA Succession Crisis Has Begun — And It’s Happening On-Air By Colby Hall
November 17, 2025
Introduction:
(Mediaite) In the Trump era, the real center of gravity on the American right has never been the Republican Party. It has been the people who talk to the Republican base every day—the broadcasters, the livestreamers, the podcasters, the influencers. They form the ecosystem that shapes belief, defines enemies, and decides who is ascendant or finished.
And that is why the most significant political story unfolding right now isn’t happening on Capitol Hill or inside the White House. It’s happening across right-wing media, where the voices that once orbited Trump with total obedience have begun edging out on their own, acting less like courtiers and more like claimants.
On Friday, I wrote about the growing willingness of MAGA-aligned media stars to publicly challenge Trump. On Monday, CNN’s Brian Stelter followed up with a further list of signs of fracture — Tucker Carlson entertaining Nick Fuentes, Fox personalities questioning Trump’s economic trial balloons, Mike Cernovich diagnosing endemic corruption, Tim Dillon asserting the “end of the Trump administration,” and Steve Bannon airing his frustrations. These aren’t isolated irritations. They are the opening moves in something larger: a succession struggle unfolding not through politicians but through content creators.
The question is no longer whether the cracks are real. It’s why they’re appearing now.
Trump’s first term in office felt like a perpetual campaign. Every setback could be blamed on saboteurs, every fight felt existential. But a second term has forced a different reality: governing has replaced grievance, and as a result, outcomes now matter. And suddenly, Trump cannot YMCA dance his way out of every contradiction. He’s also no longer an outsider disrupting inside-the-beltway norms; he and his Cabinet have become the “deep state” establishment his base has forever been wary of.
One of the more interesting arguments that I have encountered that is of a conservative nature relates to philanthropy. The argument is that accumulation and concentration of wealth is not a bad thing as it allows the rich to engage in philanthropic practices. Further, instead of trying to force government into liberal practices, the most effective course of action may be to earn a lot of money and then engage in philanthropy.
Another example of this is Taylor Swift:
Nonprofit Announces Taylor Swift Donation of $1 Million By Kerry Breen
December 23, 2025
Introduction:
(CBS) Pop star Taylor Swift has donated $1 million to Feeding America just days before Christmas, the nonprofit said Tuesday.
Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot said the organization, which oversees a network of food banks, food pantries and local meal programs, was "incredibly grateful" for the gift.
"This holiday season, (Swift's) continued support is a powerful reminder of what is possible when we unite to end hunger," Babineaux-Fontenot said on Instagram. "When we join together alongside people facing hunger, we can make sure families have a full table this holiday season and beyond."
Swift has not publicly commented on the donation. Swift's team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CBS News
Seven Splashiest Trump Attacks by Marjorie Taylor Greene Featured in Blockbuster NY Times Article By David Gilmour
December 29, 2025
Introduction:
(Mediaite) In a sweeping profile published Monday by The New York Times, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) insists she has not abandoned MAGA, despite having been expelled from President Donald Trump’s inner circle.
Far from recanting America First, Greene portrays her rupture with Trump as the result of mounting disillusionment driven by his refusal to tolerate dissent, his fury over the Jeffrey Epstein files, and what she describes as a corrosive political culture that ultimately turned on her.
Based on several interviews and correspondence, the piece presents Greene not as a convert to moderation but as a chastened insider reframing her rebellion through faith, pointing to conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial as a pivotal moment that forced to confront the “toxic” habits she once embraced, even as her core views remain largely intact.
What emerges is not a redemption arc but a factional autopsy of MAGA’s enforcement mechanisms, Trump’s zero-sum loyalty tests, and the power dynamics Greene claims snapped into focus once she stepped out of line.
Joy Reid and Robert P. Jones Join Forces Against Christian Nationalism By Jeff Brumley
December 30, 2025
Introduction:
(Baptist News Global) “We are going to push back on the people who would deport Jesus, who would deport Baby Jesus — historical Jesus,” journalist and political commentator Joy Reid said about her new project with Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research Institute and author of three books on white supremacy.
Reid and Jones will team up at 7 p.m. Eastern the third Wednesday of each month for “Confronting White Christian Nationalism,” which will air as a segment of Reid’s Joy Reid Show YouTube series. The first installment was recorded Dec. 17 and posted the following day.
The pair will tackle a wide range of issues connected to Christian nationalism, including Project 2025 and the “performative cruelty” of the Trump administration and its MAGA supporters, said Reid, who hosted The ReidOut on MSNBC before the program’s cancellation last February.
“They go to church on Sunday saying, ‘Our God is an awesome God,’ because they are complete hypocrites,” she said. “They are white Christian nationalists, and the Christian has an asterisk on it.”
Polling conducted by PRRI demonstrates most Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, Jones said.
caltrek’s comment: I’ve been wondering what ever happened to Joy Reid?
It is good to see her still active despite her program’s cancellation. While I was sometimes irritated by some of Reid’s attitudes and ways of presenting her opinion, she is just so much better than a vast majority of “pundits” that are on the air these days.
Rebel Republican Mocks Trump’s Lengthy Attack By Alexander Willis
January 6, 2026
Introduction:
(Raw Story) President Donald Trump fired off a 310-word rant on social media Monday attacking Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and endorsing his GOP challenger, and the following day, Massie shrugged off the tirade with a dismissive remark.
“I ain’t reading all that,” Massie wrote Tuesday in a social media post on X, referencing the popular meme often used to respond to lengthy or incoherent online posts. “I’m happy for u tho or sorry that happened.”
Trump has been at war with Massie over the lawmaker’s persistence on forcing his administration to release files on Jeffrey Epstein. Massie was the co-sponsor of the now-passed Epstein Files Transparency Act, a bill that forced the Justice Department to release all of its files on Epstein by Dec. 19, and with minimal redactions, which the DOJ continues to blatantly violate.
In Trump’s rant, he attacked Massie as the “worst ‘Republican’ congressman we have had in many years,” and officially endorsed his GOP challenger Ed Gallrein, a former Navy Seal and farmer. Trump went on to attack Massie further, arguing that he “only votes AGAINST the Republican Party” and that he’d made “life very easy for the Radical Left.” He also called Massie a “totally ineffective LOSER.”
Conservatives Demand Heads Roll at DHS After Fox News Report By Tom Boggioni
January 26, 2026
Introduction:
(Raw Story) Reacting to a report from Bill Melugin of Fox News that federal immigration officials in Donald Trump’s administration are furious about the events in Minneapolis, which have led to the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, conservative pundits are piling on the agency’s leadership.
According to Melugin’s report,a half dozen officials relayed to him that the shooting of Pretti and the excuses offered in the aftermath have been “catastrophic” for the agency, which has some considering retiring and walking away.
On X, Melugin wrote, “Specifically, I'm told there is extreme frustration with DHS officials going on TV and putting out statements claiming that Alex Pretti was intending to conduct a ‘massacre’ of federal agents or wanted to carry out ‘maximum damage,’ even after numerous videos appeared to show those claims were inaccurate.
"While they say it was a terrible decision to show up with a gun and inject himself into a federal law enforcement operation, there is no indication Pretti was there to murder law enforcement, as videos appear to show he never drew his holstered firearm.”
Trump Goes to Bat Hard for Pam Bondi Despite MAGA Blowback from Wild Hearing By Jennifer Bowers Bahney
February 12, 2026
Introduction:
(Mediaite) President Donald Trump posted a full-throated defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi Thursday following her combative congressional hearing that had even MAGA stalwarts calling for blood.
Wednesday’s hearing on the Epstein files devolved into a screaming match with Bondi consistently hurling insults at Democratic lawmakers.
Conservative radio host Erick Erickson argued that Bondi “should be fired or resign” for her performance, while Newsmax host Carl Higbie accused the DOJ of an Epstein cover-up and called on those involved in “screwing this up” to resign
But any criticism of Bondi’s combative style fell on deaf ears for Trump.
“AG Pam Bondi, under intense fire from the Trump Deranged Radical Left Lunatics, was fantastic at yesterday’s Hearing on the never ending saga of Jeffrey Epstein, where the one thing that has been proven conclusively, much to their chagrin, was that President Donald J. Trump has been 100% exonerated of their ridiculous Russia, Russia, Russia type charges,” Trump wrote.
Gifts from Top 50 US Philanthropists Jumped to $22.4 Billion in 2025 − Mike Bloomberg, Bill Gates and the Estate of Paul Allen Lead a List of the Biggest Givers By David Campbell, Hans Peter Schmitz, and Lindsey McDougle
March 10, 2026
Introduction:
(The Conversation) The 50 American individuals and couples who gave or pledged the most to charity in 2025 committed US$22.4 billion to foundations, universities, hospitals and more. That total was 35% above an inflation-adjusted $16.6 billion in 2024, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s latest annual tally of these donations.
Media entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg led the Chronicle’s Philanthropy 50 list, followed by Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Allen died in 2018, but his estate is still being settled.
The Conversation U.S. asked David Campbell, Lindsey McDougle and Hans Peter Schmitz, three scholars of philanthropy and nonprofits, to assess the significance of these gifts and to consider what they indicate about the state of charitable giving in the United States.
What trends stand out overall?
Schmitz:Higher education, hospitals, medical research, foundations and donor-advised funds – which serve as savings accounts reserved for charitable giving – drew the biggest gifts in 2025. The education and medical fields are a perennial favorite of high-dollar donors. To a degree, these preferences for supporting education and health were first expressed by Andrew Carnegie in his 1889 essay, “The Gospel of Wealth,” in which he famously claimed that “the man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
Additional Extract:
McDougal: In my opinion, this kind of concentration can skew philanthropic priorities. Decisions about education, health care, climate policy and democracy can increasingly become influenced not through public deliberation, but through the discretionary choices of a few members of a financial elite.
Trump Seethes at Wall Street Journal as Conservative Editors Rebuke Him By Robert Davis
April 9, 2026
Entire Article Less Photograph:
(Raw Story) President Donald Trump howled at the Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board on Thursday after they published an editorial calling his declared victory in the war on Iran "premature."
On Wednesday, the editorial board warned Trump that it was "too early" to declare victory in the conflict, considering that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and Iran continues to attack U.S. allies in the region. Trump responded in a fiery Truth Social post, saying the editors will "eat their words.
"The Wall Street Journal, one of the worst and most inaccurate 'Editorial Boards' in the World, stated that I 'declared premature victory in Iran.'
Actually, it is a Victory, and there’s nothing 'premature' about it!" Trump wrote. "Because of me, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON and, very quickly, you’ll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran and, to me, it makes no difference, either way."
"The Wall Street Journal will, as usual, live to eat their words," he added. "They are always quick to criticize, but never to admit when they’re wrong, which is most of the time!"
Tucker Carlson Apologizes for 'Misleading' People on Trump: 'We're Implicated in This for Sure' By Megan Lebowitz
April 21, 2026
Introduction:
(NBC) Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson expressed regret over supporting President Donald Trump, saying in a video released Monday that he would "be tormented by it for a long time" and apologized for "misleading" people.
"I do think it’s like a moment to wrestle with our own consciences," Carlson said on "The Tucker Carlson Show," referring to the role of his and others' support for Trump. "You know, we’ll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be, and I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people. It was not intentional."
Carlson, once a staunch supporter of the president, pointed in the video to having campaigned for Trump, saying, "We're implicated in this for sure."
"It’s not enough to say, 'Well, I changed my mind,'" Carlson said during the show, during which he interviewed his brother, Buckley Carson. "Or like, 'Oh, this is bad. I’m out.' It’s like, in very small ways, but in real ways, you and me and millions of people like us for the reason this is happening right now."
Carlson's remarks come amid a growing public splinter on the right over Trump's handling of the war in Iran. Trump is facing the lowest job approval rating of his second term as a growing number of Americans strongly disapprove of the president's handling of inflation and the cost of living, which is consistently a top issue for voters.
caltrek comment: It is hard for me to believe that Carlson's misleading of people was "not intentional." Still defections from the pro-Trump MAGA faction are welcome.
