📌 Helping people leave MAGA
How to Have Better Political Conversations, Part 4
Welcome to How to Resist, an instruction manual for resistance based on nonviolence, mutual aid, and community building for ordinary people who want to save democracy.
This is part 4 of our series: How to Have Better Political Conversations.
Make America Great Again, or MAGA, is many things: a slogan, an ideology, a voter base, an individual or group, and even a Super PAC, ‘MAGA, Inc.’
MAGA, can also be used to refer to an individual. MAGA and its close cousin MAGAt (homophone of maggot) are often used pejoratively to suggest someone is ‘stupid,’ ‘selfish,’ ‘racist,’ ‘rabid,’ ‘fascist,’ ‘nazi,’ etc etc.1 2
When I hear folks talk to MAGA supporters, especially in comment sections on social media platforms, I often hear language that is antagonistic, argumentative, condescending, and at times, cruel.
I often wonder to myself when I see this language, if the speaker would choose a different approach if they knew that the person they were talking to had doubts about MAGA. Would we perhaps choose to speak differently if we knew that the person we were arguing with was having a deep internal crisis; one in which the math was no longer adding up, the cracks were starting to show, MAGA was no longer feeling like the home and community it was, but leaving seems impossible.
“When I left MAGA I felt like I didn’t have a political home. I felt displaced. I’m still learning as much as I can. I know the left isn’t perfect, but Trump is demonizing all Democrats.” -Deanna
The Breaking Shelf
There is an idea among former members of religious groups, especially among former Mormons, of 'the breaking shelf.’ The idea is this: as one lives a deeply religious life, there will be moments of doubt. Moments where things happen that defy intuition, beliefs, reason, or logic. For a while, you can store those doubts on a shelf in your mind (so to speak), and you can continue to do that as long as the shelf is strong and the doubts are reasonably minor. But when faced with an overwhelming accumulation of doubts or a catastrophic event, the shelf can break, and in that moment, you know that you can never really go back to believing what you believed before. This, especially in very close-knit religious communities, can cause individuals acute distress, as they feel they have lost something central to their understanding of themselves and the world.3
You can probably see where I’m going with this story, but I wouldn’t blame you if you are having a hard time believing that hard-core MAGA believers would, or could, ever change; that their shelf would ever break, that they would ever leave MAGA.
So today, I’d like to introduce you to about a dozen folks who did just that: they left MAGA.
‘Okay, but they probably weren’t really MAGA…’
Well, I’ll let them speak for themselves here…
“Trump was the perfect candidate for me. I thought he was this incredible person: a billionaire, everything I admired. I loved how he spoke, I loved his charisma. I loved his whole spiel about draining the swamp. He was so masterful at painting a picture of a corrupt government, of a system in which everything was going wrong. And he was the one who was going to fix it.” - Courtney
“I became a full-throated MAGA American, very pro-Trump. I embraced anything Trump said. I became pro-border wall, I thought Mexico should pay for it, and that we should even send troops and shoot people trying to cross into the US. I agreed with Trump’s proposed cuts to health care; I thought we should only provide it to pure American citizens.” - Steve
“I wholeheartedly believed Trump when he said racist things.” - Courtney
“I believed the Obamas, the Clintons and Hollywood celebrities were running a Satanic worldwide child kidnapping ring and sexually abusing the children before killing them and drinking their blood. I believed some of this was happening in the basement of a Washington, DC pizza parlor.” -Erica
“I was really anti-gay, and even anti-disabled people.” - David
“I became a big MAGA follower. […] It became a part of my identity. I had a big red Cadillac, and I put a Make America Great Again bumper sticker on it. My friend and I started going to as many Trump rallies as we could.” - Jason
“[Trump] seemed to be exactly whom I’d been waiting for: a needed disruptor, someone who not only was willing to obliterate the established political order, but seemed able to do so. I became a MAGA pundit. I wrote numerous op-eds, and I had my own podcast.” - Rich
“I had come to believe the US is a Christian nation. […] We were taught the world belongs to Satan, so there would always be people trying to make the US less Christian. We were most worked up about Roe v. Wade and gay marriage. We believed we wouldn’t have blessings on our land until we got rid of those things. It was critical to get a president who would carry out this agenda.” -Stephania
“I became a dedicated MAGA loyalist. I started posting a lot of pro-Trump content on Facebook and Twitter. I did paid Twitter campaigns to spread my ideas further.” -James
“[On Jan. 6th] I entered the [US Capitol] building, and I saw people destroying property, throwing papers around. It felt like we were fans of a team that had just won a championship and we were rioting after the game. […] I was arrested Feb. 8, 2021 and charged with several misdemeanors. I loved negative attention so much. I wanted to piss everyone off as much as I could; it almost became a mission for me. At one point, I posted on Facebook that my only regret was that we gave the Capitol back. That showed up in the Boston Globe.” - Jason
That’s right, these folks are no longer MAGA.
The varying routes that lead these people to MAGA are fascinating and sadly predictable: an elite boyfriend, an impressive boss, a Christian nationalist church, Alex Jones, QAnon, conspiracy theories, Twitter and YouTube, and personalities such as Ben Shapiro, Michael Knowles, Matt Walsh, and Tucker Carlson.
“You hear something enough, you start to believe it.” -Anthony. former MAGA supporter
I’m interested in this journey out of MAGA for several reasons. Of course, I’m intensely curious what it was, of all the things that Trump is doing and has done, that finally made someone think, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ but more importantly, I’m interested in these stories because it reaffirms one of the central beliefs that I bring to How to Resist— and especially this series on How to Have Better Political Conversations— the belief that we should not give up on MAGA followers. That, in fact, now more than ever, is the time to reach out a hand and offer these folks a way out of extremism.
People who voted for Trump are our family members, neighbors, coworkers, and community members. Community is the antidote to fascism, and at this juncture, it’s imperative that we build community in every form, in every direction, with everyone we encounter; including people who have drastically different political values.
I won’t tell you this is easy, but I will tell you that it’s a skill, and skills can be learned. We are at a moment in this new administration where many Trump voters’ shelves are becoming perilously overburdened, and today I want to ask you to come with me as we listen to the stories of people who left MAGA, and explore options for how we can help other people like them.
I found myself shifting to the left, particularly on immigration and health care. I tried to look at things from the standpoint of morality. I mean, these are human beings we’re talking about. For example, my parents are very low-income, but they should have the same access to health care as anyone else. - Steve, former MAGA supporter
The final straw
So, out of curiosity, what was it that made former MAGA supporters leave MAGA? What was the card that made the house of cards come tumbling down?
“The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol made me sick. It was awful. That was the final nail in the coffin. I believed the mark of a good president was to protect and unify, especially during times of crisis. I was watching him doing the opposite.” - Courtney
“Watching Trump lie about hurricane disaster relief money going to undocumented immigrants, and lying about Haitians eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio, just reinforced my feelings. I now know that he would much rather tell a lie than admit to being wrong about anything.” - Michael
“With Trump, only White Christian Nationalists will get treated with decency. That really worried me.” - Michael
“Then came Jan. 6. As someone who was trying to leave MAGA, it was overwhelming watching that. People I knew were at the Capitol that day, and I realized that could have been me. I was horrified to see QAnon people taking part in the attack; I always considered it to be a peaceful research movement.” -Erica
“I found Trump’s attempt to overturn DACA particularly abhorrent. Many of those people were 2, 3, 6 years old when they were brought to the US. They know nothing of their countries of origin. You’d be sending them back to a life of poverty and death.” - Anthony
“On Jan. 6, I watched the rally live. As soon as Trump said, let’s go to the Capitol, I thought, “What the fuck? What are you saying? If there are errors and issues in the voting, okay, fight it out in court. But don’t try to storm the Capitol and interrupt the election process.” That day, I said to myself, “Never again. No more.” That was too far for me.” - Justin
“After Trump said the 2020 election was rigged and that he won, he went against all I had learned about the principles of American democracy.” - James
“When I saw the video of Floyd getting smothered to death, I knew there was no way to spin it, even though Fox was defending the police, saying, “The guy was a criminal, the protestors are siding with the criminal.” I understood the anger and the protests.” -James
“I learned about Project 2025, particularly its sections on women’s rights. It terrified me. It reads like a blueprint for the Handmaid’s Tale, like a plan for a Christian Nationalist theocracy. It says the woman should be the traditional wife, that the man has to lead the family.” - Deanna
Leaving MAGA
Leaving MAGA can be a difficult process. It means turning your back on a community, questioning your beliefs and worldview, and changing your information sources and how you differentiate truth from lies. This is how our former MAGA friends describe what that looked like for them:
“[…]I started meeting new people from different cultures and backgrounds, hearing different opinions, different ideas. It was eye opening, as opposed to the narrow lens I had been in with MAGA.” - Justin
“I started having online conversations with people on Twitter about politics and MAGA, and they helped me see where I had been lied to.” - Deanna
“On election night [2020], I stayed up with my very liberal, Biden-supporting 14-year-old daughter to watch the returns. As the mail-in ballots started coming in and Biden moved into the lead, she was elated. That moment rocked me. I looked at my highly intelligent, morally good daughter and had a deeply unsettling moment of self-reflection.” - Erica
“I stopped watching or listening to right-wing media; they spread so much misinformation and disinformation. I turned to independent journalists, like the MeidasTouch Network team.” -PattyAnn
“I was going to a Hispanic church; my fellow congregants were afraid of deportation. I didn’t want that to happen to the people I went to church with.” - James
“I realized that from a biblical standpoint, Trump’s policies towards immigrants were antithetical to what the Bible says we should do. I researched the things Trump said about immigrants, like when he called them vermin, murderers, and rapists, and claimed other countries were emptying their asylums and sending those people here. I also educated myself about his accusation that immigrants commit an outrageous number of crimes in our country. I found none of it was true.” -Anthony
“I started listening to more mainstream media, although over time I felt they weren’t tough enough on Trump. Eventually I started following people and outlets that made a lot more sense to me: MeidasTouch Network, Adam Mockler, Brian Tyler Cohen. Opening my mind to independent thinkers has changed my feelings about a lot of things.” - Michael
“When the veil dropped, it dropped hard. […] I started doing real research. I started to think critically again. […] The more I learned, the more I found myself moving hard left. I considered Democrats to be the new right, and Republicans to just be off the map entirely, fascists who don’t deserve a place in our democracy.’ -Stephania
Post-MAGA
How have things changed for these folks in their post-MAGA lives?
“Things are better with my mom. We had stayed close outside of our political beliefs, but now that I’ve left MAGA I’m seeing why she believes what she does. Again, it’s about morality. We’re all human beings; we all deserve health care and not to be treated as criminals just because we’re seeking a better life in the US. […] I’m looking forward to my new life beyond MAGA. I feel I’ve learned how to truly think for myself — it’s liberating!” - Steve
“When Trump pardoned all the January 6 rioters, I rejected the pardon. I don’t need his pardon.” - Jason
“I’m starting to learn more again. That feels great. I’m feeling comfortable talking about politics with people again. I’m getting a lot of positive, welcoming messages from people. I had a friend reach out whom I hadn’t talked to in 10 years.” - Justin
“I try every day to educate myself on something from a trusted source. No more word of mouth; no more believing so-and-so on Twitter or YouTube. I never want to fall into a situation where some charismatic person comes along and I’m eating out of his or her hand. […] I try to help others who were like me. That’s really important to me, trying to help people get out.” - Erica
“When Trump ran again [in 2024], I started to be more vocal. After he took office in January and I saw his immigration policies, I became politically active. I started holding “know your rights” talks with communities in east Texas.” - Anthony
“Now that I’m critically thinking again, I ask myself, what did Jesus do? He was homeless; he sat with the “sinners.” He sat with the suffering woman who committed adultery. He wouldn’t be standing in front of an abortion clinic shaming the woman going in; he’d be sitting with the woman consoling her over her decision.” - Stephania
“Some of my attitudes have shifted. I still think marriage should be between a man and a woman, and that a man can’t be a woman. But on the other hand I think people have the right to express themselves the way they want to. Who am I to tell you how to live your life? Why should I be crusading against your lifestyle?” - Charles
“I research everything now. I read lots of articles: from Yahoo News, MSNBC News, CNN, and some conservative outlets. I’m a big-time reader; I eat up books. Once you open your eyes to it all being a cult and just a bunch of crap, you can’t ignore the stupidity anymore.” - Deanna
“I’ve been estranged from my dad and his side of the family for some time now; they lean left politically. I’m hoping we can repair those relationships. In the meantime, I’m just so grateful that I now understand how much Trump and MAGA are a danger to our country.” - Jason
“I’m still not fully comfortable with gay marriage and transgender people, but I learned that everybody should have the right to live free in this country however they choose.” - Michael
“I started calling myself a “citizen journalist.” I became a fact checker on social media and with friends and family. I have done a lot of debunking of disinformation about vaccines and other medical issues.” - PattyAnn
“I became more open to the Democratic Party and its ideas. I even voted for Kamala Harris. […] I’ve also become more supportive of the LGBTQ community. I’m upset about Trump’s attacks against the trans community.” - David
“To their everlasting credit, my friends and family didn’t abandon me. […] My relationships with friends and family are much improved. We talk more now — a lot more!” - Erica
“I’ve tried to talk to my parents about some of these things, but it’s hard. They still live in that information bubble, so they think what I tell them is all lies. I’ve been trying to persuade them to get their information from somewhere else. It’s hard to get my views heard in my town, since it’s so small and so Red. […] But I’m very happy that I finally came to my senses and now understand that the MAGA movement is built on lies.” - Michael
“Since I left MAGA, friends and family have embraced me. […] I’m so happy that I left MAGA and now see the world in all its beauty and complexity.” -James
“It’s not easy doing this because many of my friends are still in MAGA. Sometimes I feel like I’m betraying them, but in the end I know that’s not true. I’m fighting for them.” - David
How to Help Folks Leave MAGA
There are many lessons in the stories above. These stories illustrate how people are products of their environments, news sources, and communities more than perhaps anything else. We see that none of our former MAGA folks changed their mind because of an argument, confrontation, or a shouting match in the comment section, but we do see that people can be profoundly influenced by quiet moments, such as Erica watching her 14-year-old daughter on election night. We also see that while folks might not come out of MAGA fully embracing progressive politics, they have taken meaningful steps away from extremism, such as Charles and Michael.
One theme, however, dominates these stories: the role of information consumption. We see this in both directions: how shifts in information consumption get people into and out of MAGA. That’s a useful takeaway for those of us who want to help people leave MAGA, but it’s also a warning for all of us to be ever-vigilant about the information we consume and cognizant of how it affects us.
So, how can we talk to MAGA folks in a way that might increase their chances of leaving, and what can we do to follow up on that likelihood?
Lead with curiosity. Ask lots of exploratory questions, such as,
‘That’s interesting, where did you hear that?’
‘‘Can you tell me more about why you feel that way?’
‘Can you help me understand what you mean by that?’
‘Is this belief/issue shaped by an experience you’ve had?’
‘How did you come to that conclusion?’
‘Did you always believe [claim]?’
Acknowledge their beliefs. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to agree with them, but acknowledgement can go a long way to creating open, trust-based dialogue.
‘I see where you are coming from…’
‘It sounds like this is important to you’
‘I understand why you might feel that way.’
‘It sounds like you feel strongly about this’
‘That’s an interesting perspective.’
‘Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me’
‘I appreciate hearing your perspective’
Find common ground. It may be a shared value, a shared concern, hope for a shared outcome, it may be something very small, but relatability will help move the conversation forward in a productive way. This may take a long time or many conversations, but you will likely find something you agree on eventually.4
‘I think we both care a lot about this issue’
‘It sounds like we both want [outcome]’
‘I agree, [issue] is important.’
Respectfully introduce new ideas and perspectives.
‘I had a similar experience, and it made me think about...’
‘I see things a bit differently because…’
‘Can I share my view on this topic with you?’
‘I’ve been listening to [voices in the affected community] and it made me realize that these policies can be harmful.’
‘I used to be for/against this policy, but after learning more about it and seeing its impact, I've changed my mind.’
‘In my experience, I've found that [specific approach] works well, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts.’
‘I believe in [value] and that makes me look at this situation and consider it differently’
Share a personal story or a story of impact.
Cultivate Doubt. This is a delicate task that requires a degree of trust and rapport. But if you see an opportunity, you might ask questions such as
‘What if the opposite was true?’
‘You sound a bit unsure about that, let’s look into it and see what information we can find.’
‘It sounds like we both believe in [value], do you think this aligns with [that value]?’
‘Let’s talk more about that… there may be perspectives that we’re missing’
‘How do you differentiate between fact and fiction [on this]?’
‘Would you think about this differently if it affected you [instead of the affected community]?’
‘What would need to happen for you to change your mind on this?’
Connect. You can be someone’s lifeline out of MAGA. Support re-connection, repairing relationships, and building rapport.
Lead by example. Show up, be a good person, live your values, and treat everyone with respect.
Provide alternatives. It’s easier to leave when there is something better on the other side. Facilitate and support new interests and activities with new communities. Provide emotional support. Foster new, healthy relationships.
Build Your Skill Set
Check out other stories like this on Leaving MAGA. Download their ebook ‘Reaching Out’.
Subscribe to Smart Politics on Substack. Check out their ‘It’s Not Too Late’ project to bring MAGA loved ones back home.
Practice! Many of the suggestions in the post are in complete contradiction to what many of us believe is the way to change someone’s mind. Look for opportunities and take small steps. Practice these skills by joining Smart Politics’ Sunday Night Study, Practice, and Support Group every Sunday at 7 pm EST.
Featured Resource: Leaving MAGA
Leaving MAGA is a nonprofit organization that helps people find their way out of MAGA. Founded in 2024 by Rich Logis, a former MAGA supporter, pundit, and podcaster, Leaving MAGA is a “community and safe space for those who have left the movement, or have doubts and remorse about staying in MAGA but are afraid to leave.”
Many of the voices we’ve heard today are from Leaving MAGA. You can read their stories and the stories of others on the Leaving MAGA website and on YouTube.
Rich and his team are currently raising funds to launch an in-person speaking tour to bring their stories and resources to cities and towns across the country. You can join me in helping them reach this goal by donating here: Leaving Maga (Act Blue)
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References
Leaving MAGA - Leaving MAGA. (2024, July 15). Leaving MAGA https://leavingmaga.org/
Smart Politics – Converse more productively and persuasively with anyone – across the political spectrum. https://www.joinsmart.org/
These examples are compiled from other blogs and comments I’ve seen here on Substack.
Caffier, J. (2017, February 9). Every Insult the Left Uses to Troll Conservatives, Explained. VICE. https://www.vice.com/en/article/every-insult-the-left-uses-to-troll-conservatives-explained/
Semerad, T., & Stack, A. P. F. (2022, February 28). THRIVE’s aim: Help Latter-day Saints when their ‘shelf breaks’ and they want out of the church. The Salt Lake Tribune. https://www.sltrib.com/news/2022/02/28/thrives-aim-help-latter/
To my surprise, I found myself agreeing with Trump a few weeks back when he suggested decreasing military spending; so anything is possible!
Upgraded to a paid subscription after reading this article. I join protests every 1-2 weeks but feel I need to reach more people. We need to get information out there without creating more barriers to change.
This is fabulous! The quotes and anecdotes are especially powerful. Kudos to the team at How to Resist!