'MAGA' Vs America Fist threatens Trump's agenda: Frank F Islam, Washington

A growing and diverse group of right-wing pundits, activists, and lawmakers is now
challenging key elements of his agenda, emphasizing America First. Trump’s MAGA
movement was born in June 2015, when he rode down the golden escalator of Trump Tower
to announce his presidential run. The core themes of his movement are economic
nationalism, anti-immigration sentiment, cultural conservatism, and hostility toward
political elites. Until recently, MAGA and America First were largely interchangeable. But in
recent months, the two have begun to diverge, evolving into distinct factions within the
movement.

The America First faction comprises different groups breaking from Trump on three key
issues: His administration’s initial refusal to release the Epstein files, his support for Israel,
and — more quietly but no less significantly — his shifting stance on H-1B visas and
deportation of undocumented immigrants.

In the past few months, this vocal but not unified faction of the conservative movement and
the so-called alt-Right has openly defied the President, advancing counter-narratives that
directly challenge his authority. Leading this separation from MAGA are figures as varied as
27-year-old white nationalist Nick Fuentes, former Fox News and CNN anchor Tucker
Carlson, and two Republican members of Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and
Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Trump first encountered this break in his base over the failure
to release the Epstein files, a trove of previously sealed court documents, flight logs,
depositions, and investigative records tied to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced New York
financier who died by suicide in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking
charges.

Epstein’s extensive ties to powerful figures in politics, business, academia, and
entertainment — including Donald Trump who once had a close relationship with Epstein —
have long fuelled speculation on the right that the documents contain explosive revelations.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump stated he was open to releasing the files. Once in office,
however, his attorney general Pam Bondi, declined to release them. For months, Trump
dismissed the controversy over their release as a “Democratic hoax”. This deepened distrust
within his base, and pressure for their release mounted.

The charge to force the release of the files was led by Kentucky Republican representative
Thomas Massie and Democratic representative Ro Khanna of California who were joined by
representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in public protests with Epstein-related sexual abuse
survivors. The bill to release the files passed with near-unanimous support, driven by a
groundswell so strong that even Trump ultimately asked Republicans to back it.
If the Epstein files controversy shook Trump’s credibility among some loyalists, his
unwavering support for Israel exposed other fissures within his base. Israel’s war in Gaza,
which has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths, has ignited a national debate
over how far the US should go in backing its closest West Asian ally.

The conflict has prompted many influential commentators on the right to question, often
loudly, whether US aid to Israel should continue. Carlson, once a darling of the Trump world,
has given his platform to several anti-Israel voices on his podcast, including some
considered openly anti-semitic. Among them is Fuentes, who has positioned himself as a
leading figure in the America First movement through livestreaming and social media.
The third issue is Trump’s backtracking on two immigration issues, especially on H-1B visas.
As this column detailed earlier, the programme has become a lightning rod for the right.
Trump’s position has shifted notably from September, when he announced a $100,000 fee
for all new H-1B petitions, much to the disappointment of both the tech industry and Indian
IT professionals, the programme’s primary beneficiaries.

Since then, he has softened his stance, most visibly in a surprisingly contentious interview
with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, a critic of the visa programme, in which he offered a full-
throated defence of H-1B workers. The reversal has infuriated many MAGA activists, who
have now gone into open war mode against the programme.

Similarly, his administration has softened its stance on deporting undocumented
immigrants employed in certain sectors such as agriculture and hospitality. The America
First faction believes Trump’s reversal on both fronts was driven by industry pressure (tech
companies and agriculture and hospitality businesses, respectively).
What enabled Trump to hold a vice-like grip on the Republican Party from the beginning was
his mastery of social media, which amplified his influence far beyond traditional party
structures and kept his supporters constantly mobilised. He routinely targeted, or
“primaried”, any candidate who failed to show absolute loyalty. For years, Trump-endorsed
candidates almost never lost a primary.

That grip, however, is loosening. True to form, Trump has endorsed a challenger to Massie in
next year’s midterms and has taken aim at Greene, once one of his most loyal allies, dubbing
her Marjorie “Traitor” Greene. He also withdrew his endorsement of Greene for re-election.
Massie is staying in the race. Greene announced she will be resigning from Congress
effective January 5, 2026. Among her reasons for leaving office are Trump attacking her for
disagreeing with him and threats on her life she has received from some MAGA supporters.
For now, Trump still maintains control over the Republican Party. But the cracks are definitely
showing. A poll this week put his approval rating at just 35%, and the economy he promised
to revive remains mired in inflation. In recent elections, including the Virginia and New Jersey
gubernatorial races and the New York mayoral contest, voters overwhelmingly rejected the
Republican Party and candidates he had endorsed.

The challenge ahead for Trump is not just defeating the Democrats, but reconciling a base
increasingly divided between loyalty and ideology, grievance and governance. Whether the
MAGA coalition can survive — or whether the America First resistance coalesces and
becomes its successor — may determine not only Trump’s political fate, but the future
direction of the Republican Party itse