In a Saturday Truth Social post, former President Donald Trump announced that “MAGA has left FOX” and seemed to criticize the right-wing news network for backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also a candidate to be the GOP presidential nominee in 2024.
FOX recently parted ways with Tucker Carlson, who debuted a new show on Twitter. It is unclear if Trump was referencing Carlson’s departure.
“The only solution for Fox News is to bring back Trump Allies and MAGA – Backing No Personality Ron DeSanctimonious has been a disaster,” said Trump’s post referencing his base of “MAGA” Republicans, named after his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Trump has always been a complicated figure in the Republican party – he came from outside the political sphere and doesn’t take a traditional approach to campaigning or leading. In the wake of his second indictment of the year, is his presence in the party breaking it apart? As the party prepares for the August candidate debates, it appears that tensions are, in fact, rising.
“It’s just a sign of chaos right now in the Republican presidential field,” said KCBS Radio political analyst Mark Sandalow, referring to squabbles over a rule for candidates.
This Republican National Committee rule stipulates that all candidates who wish to hit the debate stage promise to support the eventual Republican nominee. Sandalow said there has been Trump drama associated with this rule since 2016.
“They asked for a show of hands, ‘Who here will pledge to support whoever wins the Republican nomination?’ Every hand went up except for Donald Trump because he didn’t want to pledge for that, because he thought ‘If I don’t win the nomination, first of all, they stole it from me,’” he said.
Now, the tables have turned. Some GOP members are wary of pledging support for Trump, as he could be convicted of a felony before the election and be barred from holding office.
“This time, there are some extraordinary circumstances,” Sandalow explained. “First of all, Donald Trump’s presence at those debates is critical for them getting a large crowd of people to watch them. But Donald Trump... he never pledges to support anybody else.”
Despite his first indictment for an alleged hush money scheme, a jury finding him guilty of sexual abuse and this second indictment – which includes 37 charges – Trump remains popular in the GOP. According to FiveThirtyEight poll data updated Saturday, he remained in the lead of the current pool of candidates with 53% of support from Republicans.
“When Donald Trump won the presidential nomination in 2016, it was widely regarded as a ‘hostile takeover’ of the Republican Party,” said POLITICO last month. “Prominent Republicans ripped his lack of conservative values, his flawed character and his nonexistent electoral experience. But they began warming to the nominee within months, and ultimately, Republicans stuck with him through a host of scandals. When he was inaugurated as president in 2017, he became the party’s indisputable leader. He’s commanded substantial loyalty within it ever since.”
A divide between more traditional Republicans and the MAGA crowd has never fully disappeared. As other candidates declare their intention to run in 2024, more people in the GOP are voicing criticisms of the former president – even his 2016 and 2020 running mate, former Vice President Mike Pence.
“This week, several Republican candidates have raised the issue: ‘What if we make that pledge and then Donald Trump gets convicted of a felony, say the Espionage Act, which he’s been accused of violating?’” said Sandalow. “‘Do we still have to vote for a convicted felon?’ And a number of them said there’s no way they’re going to do that.”
However, without Trump, there isn’t a clear leader of the GOP. DeSantis often comes second in the GOP candidate polls, but remained far beind Trump even as legal troubles pile up.
“Here’s a problem the Republican Party has,” said Sandalow. “They’re sending out fundraising appeals right now to people saying Donald Trump, the former president, is being persecuted unfairly. ‘Please give us money to try to make sure that we prevail.’ It’s very difficult for them to do that. At the same time, say, ‘Oh, but if he’s guilty, we won't support him.’ And it’s just an embarrassing situation.”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, two other GOP candidates have said they didn’t want to sign it. Christie also said that he would sign it but that he wouldn’t honor it.
“And you wonder why Americans are cynical about politics,” said Sandalow.
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