The MAGA-lomaniacs who could drag America into the abyss

The midterms hit the Republican Party like a gut punch. Voters delivered a clear, undeniable rebuke to the Trump administration, turning the entire election into a referendum on unfulfilled pledges and persistent pandemonium. The Trump brand, once viewed by millions with something approaching religious reverence, now looks toxic to swing voters, suburban parents, independents across the nation, and anyone with a functioning pair of eyes. Those who still believe this administration will deliver on its foundational promises need to sit down and do some serious soul-searching. In other words, they need to take a page from Tucker Carlson’s playbook. The reformed cable news host and passionate nicotine pouch peddler recently released a fifteen-minute video systematically detailing every promise the administration has broken since President Trump was reelected. Carlson paid special attention to the president’s vow to avoid starting new foreign wars. He also dragged out the old campaign claim that the Russia-Ukraine conflict would end within 24 hours of taking office. That particular promise dissolved into thin air the second it met the reality of global diplomacy and a man named Vladimir Putin. When your most enthusiastic cheerleaders put down the pom-poms and start creating video montages of your most egregious lies and failures, you have to ask serious questions. Inside the West Wing, instead of asking questions, Trump is doubling down. His second term has been a genuine mess, farcical even, but it has now descended into something resembling a soap opera written by toddlers. So desperate to fill the press secretary role, the president took to social media, practically begging UFC head Dana White to consider swapping the business of professional combat for the realm of political combat. Trump insists he was merely joking, but one could be forgiven for thinking that a man with a questionable relationship to truth-telling was not telling the truth. Things are so bad that one should expect Kid Rock to get a call soon, asking whether he has any interest in replacing impeachment-prone Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Following the abrupt departure of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, the search for her replacement exposed just how radioactive the current administration has become. Stephen Miller, the ultimate bureaucratic Bond villain, quickly filled the slot. Critics routinely describe Miller as a megalomaniac, but he can at least be described as a MAGA-lomaniac whose position of power represents a genuine threat to functional governance. He is not only ambitious but also has an absolute immunity to real-world facts. When high-level policy stems entirely from an individual’s inflated sense of destiny and genuine contempt for the opposition, federal agencies stop solving real problems and start serving as instruments to validate a very specific agenda. Doubting the administration’s trajectory is no longer a habit restricted to opposition politicians. Vice President JD Vance aired his own sharp critique shortly after the midterm vote tallies were finalized. In a candid post-election piece, Vance admitted that voters had soundly rejected the party’s current direction. He singled out the growing conflict with Iran as the single biggest factor that drove voters away and crippled conservative turnout. When the sitting vice president explicitly blames his own administration’s foreign policy for an electoral disaster, any illusion of internal harmony disappears. Looking forward to the 2028 presidential contest, the intersection of MAGA-lomania and election denial poses a severe threat. If current economic and political trends hold, the Democratic Party has a clear path to securing the presidency in two years. Voters have clearly shown their disdain for Trump and his insufferable loyalists. Democrats are feeling emboldened, and it’s easy to see why. But even if they are victorious in 2028, they should know that winning an election in modern-day America is no longer synonymous with a smooth, peaceful transfer of executive power. An administration controlled by figures who view their authority as absolute may not accept electoral defeat, no matter how resounding the thumping may be. To a vindictive, borderline delusional administration, losing a democratic vote is less a sign of public dissatisfaction than an impossible event that must be overturned. The next presidential election won’t be only about who gets the most votes in key states, but also about whether American governing institutions can survive a disgraced and defeated incumbent who would rather wreck the political house than make way for the next occupant. The midterm outcome showed that voters eventually reach a saturation point with endless drama and countless betrayals. Rhetoric can carry a political movement through an election cycle, but it can’t sustain an administration when basic promises go unkept year after year. Continuing to believe in a political brand that routinely breaks its word requires ignoring every hard fact that has emerged over the past few years. The recent election proved that a decisive majority of the country has finally stopped pretending not to see what is happening right in front of them. The question is whether MAGA is truly dead, or preparing to turn its final act into a full-scale scorched-earth campaign. If I were a betting man, I would put my money on the latter. John Mac Ghlionn is a writer and researcher who explores culture, society and the impact of technology on daily life. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.