‘Trump has cost us’: Diehard MAGA supporters wonder if movement dead after midterms

After the Republican Party's worst midterm defeat in decades, some MAGA supporters are questioning whether Donald Trump has become a liability. Interviews and social media analysis show internal blame over the Iran war, fuel prices, and the Epstein files, with over 20% of loyalists raising doubts about leadership.

After the Republican Party suffered its worst midterm electoral defeat in decades, some diehard MAGA supporters are questioning whether President Donald Trump has become a liability to the movement he built. At a watch party in Dallas, Texas, three-time Trump voter Michael Little said, 'People are pissed off at Trump. Trump has cost us.' The article, based on Reuters interviews with more than a dozen activists, influencers, strategists, and researchers, describes a movement turning its anger inward. Blame is directed at Republican leaders, Trump's advisers, and in some cases the president himself for broken promises on living costs, the Iran war, and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump's first major response was to promote Stephen Miller, architect of the hardline immigration crackdown, to chief of staff — a move celebrated by some MAGA influencers but criticized by others. A PeakMetrics analysis of 12,850 social media posts found that over 20% of self-described MAGA loyalists raised doubts about the movement's leadership, with about half of that group no longer backing Trump as its leader. The midterms gave Democrats decisive majorities in both chambers of Congress and swept every statewide race in Texas.