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The People Who Bet Big On MAGA’s Future — and Lost

August 11, 2026 · 9:36 am ET · Leave a Comment

David Graham: “When Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, he was nursing grudges and claiming a mandate. The institutions he saw as his enemies—in politics, business, and education—faced a dilemma about how to respond.”

“A few concluded that they should resist the president’s demands of fealty and collaboration. Another group tried appeasement, seeking accommodation that would allow them to otherwise operate as usual. And some looked at the landscape and concluded that something fundamental had shifted in American politics. They saw the MAGA movement as a lasting change, and decided that their best move was to make their own radical shift to adjust.”

“As I wrote last week, predictions of a Trump-driven realignment of the electorate now look extremely shaky.”

2025 Campaign, Political Strategy, Republicans

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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