MAGA Before the Midterms: Not a Split, but a Fight to Redefine the Movement

As the midterm elections approach, many voices speak of a "split" within the Make America Great Again (MAGA) coalition — the force that returned Donald Trump to the White House in 2024. But according to an analysis published by Al Jazeera, the issue should be seen differently: not a split, but an effort to redefine what this movement is and who belongs to it.

According to the author, the 2024 MAGA coalition was an assembly of groups usually placed in opposition to one another: social conservatives, the anti-abortion movement, devout Christians, Muslims and Quakers, disaffected leftists and young first-time voters — all standing behind a Republican Party candidate.

The piece argues that this diversity produced a "moral mandate" rooted in concern over the human cost of an uncontrolled border, of wars abroad and of the politics of the ruling class — problems that, in the author's view, allowed outfits like Jeffrey Epstein's to exist while the dignity of the vulnerable was left unattended.

In the final stretch of the campaign, the author recounts visiting Syriac Christian churches in Pennsylvania and meeting Americans whose families had borne the heavy consequences of Washington's foreign policy. In these communities, conversations centered on Gaza, peace and Trump's promises.

Yet according to the article, once the US–Israel war against Iran broke out, Trump declared "I am MAGA" and tied the brand to the thinking of neoconservatives such as Mark Levin. That, the author argues, turned MAGA into a tool of the very warmongering elite the original coalition sought to cast aside, and put the brand at risk of destruction in the November elections.

The article identifies one of the central factors in this process as the decision to support, fund and defend Israel at all costs amid the conflict in Gaza and other developments in the Middle East. According to the author, election day 2026 will be the first time the public's moral outrage is fully expressed.

The piece cites The New York Times as reporting that David Milstein, a senior adviser to US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Mark Levin's stepson, repeatedly blocked or rewrote embassy reports on Israeli violence against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank — even blocking information about Palestinian Americans killed by Israeli settlers and security forces — yet kept his post.

The author — who describes himself as a conservative American and Catholic — writes that with Washington using America's moral prestige to shield the Israeli government from accountability, while Palestinian lives are treated as a negotiable matter, both personal faith and patriotism compel him to stand against some of the loudest self-described "patriots" and "conservative Christians." The author insists he is not denying what they claim to represent but, on the contrary, still pursuing those values.

The article cites an April Pew Research survey finding that 57 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents aged 18–49 hold an unfavorable view of Israel. According to the author, the younger conservative generation has seen the same images from Gaza as everyone else, and those who style themselves the new leaders of MAGA — a movement that taught the young to distrust official narratives — cannot expect them to stop asking questions.

The piece reviews figures the author considers to have kept their integrity and carried the banner of the original coalition. Former National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent resigned over the Iran war and publicly described pressure from Israel and lobbying groups. Former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard presented findings showing Iran was not building a nuclear weapon and had not restored enrichment capacity since the 12-day war in 2025, undercutting the "imminent nuclear threat" argument used to justify the war.

Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Representative Thomas Massie are named as opponents of the Gaza conflict and of the Epstein cover-up. According to the article, Greene resigned while Massie lost his primary after a multimillion-dollar campaign to unseat him.

Conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller defends the Christian position against Israeli violence in Gaza and lost her seat on Trump's Religious Liberty Commission. Conservative commentators Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones have also used their platforms to oppose the Iran war and US support for Israeli actions against Palestinians.

The article also mentions the circle of comedians and podcasters such as Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Tim Dillon — who once opened their platforms to Trump's 2024 campaign, with Rogan endorsing Trump, Von interviewing him and Dillon hosting JD Vance after he became the vice-presidential nominee. Now, the author writes, these voices condemn the bloodshed and the broken promises; from Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank to Iran, Trump has lost their goodwill.

According to the author, these political and cultural figures are the leading edge of the future the coalition still aims for; the candidates they back, or they themselves if they run, will be easily recognized by voters, and millions will stand behind them.

The article concludes that pressuring voters betrayed by the Trump administration will lead to a predictable outcome: the original MAGA coalition will defeat a Republican Party pursuing precisely the policies the movement once sought to eliminate. The author warns against being misled by talk of a "split"; when the new "MAGA" brand collapses, it will not be because the coalition fell apart, but because the coalition is still growing stronger.

The article reflects the author's views and does not necessarily represent Al Jazeera's editorial stance.