Rick Wilson - Why the Culture War Is Enough for MAGA

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Here’s the question that should be keeping every Democratic strategist up at night, somewhere between the third organic fair-trade Erehown matcha and the fourth existential crisis: why is it enough? Why don’t the MAGA hardcores understand how well and truly Trump is screwing them?

Gas is $4.55 a gallon. Foreclosure filings are at a six-year high. Trump’s approval is mired in the low 30s. He hasn’t ended a war; he’s threatening two more. The grocery bill that was supposed to crater on Day One has done the opposite. By every transactional measure, the measure we were all trained to believe decides elections, this administration is a failure in a saggy Brioni suit.

The 2026 election will be regarded in this space, this moment, this misery that will not stop and will not improve. A reader asked me a question earlier this week, asking for a deeper “why” on the sticky 30% of so who will not leave Trump. It percolated in my head for a few days.

And the base does not care. Not a little. Not at the margins. They do not care.

https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/why-the-culture-war-is-enough-for

[Walleye]

1. They think they are on a mission from God. And they hate women.

There is no way to rationally convince them of anything. They believe Biden was the one who took bribes. they don’t need evidence they don’t need any stinking proof

[Laurelin]

3. They do hate women, true

They also hate all POC. Their hatred and anger keeps them going.

What bugs me is that the good guys won the Civil War, WW2, and the Cold War but somehow totally dropped the ball afterwards, so the confederacy and the fascists could rise again. Were we just too kumbaya? Why did the Victors help spread their lies and delusions? What should they have done differently? I always hated the French revolution and guillotines but were they right? Why does hatred always win in the end?

[appalachiablue]

5. Hate and fear get them high, it's a rush I think - chemically and emotionally from the adrenaline

surge and cortisol.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. They prefer hatred over facts, or hatred is a measure of their projection

Emotionally hard wired. Reality does not matter to them. They've never heard of it.

[appalachiablue]

6. Fear and hate also give them an adrenaline high, a chemical rush I think... #5

[Intractable]

4. For MAGA types, supporting Trump at his worst is better than the alternative.

Voting for Democrats.