MAGA's war within: Right-wing purity tests

Axios ^ | Nov 2, 2025 | Tal Axelrod

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Zoom out: For now, MAGA is being held together by Trump's personality. But open disagreement has broken out over who should, and shouldn't, be accepted under its tent.

U.S. support for Israel's operations in Gaza inflamed America First diehards and hardened Israel's MAGA allies. The online divisions have raged during the tenuous ceasefire, including tropes over Jews' supposed disproportionate influence in the U.S.

A leaked group chat from New York State Young Republicans included racist comments and messages from a Trump administration nominee declaring he had a "Nazi streak." The revelation sparked debates over who — if anyone — should be "canceled" from MAGA.

So a movement rooted in railing against people getting canceled by political correctness is now tied in knots over its own membership. That dynamic was clear this week when white nationalist Nick Fuentes appeared on Tucker Carlson's podcast for an amiable two-hour interview.

Critics blasted Carlson for platforming Fuentes, a Holocaust denier who on Carlson's podcast referred to "organized Jewry."

Allies of Turning Point USA — the group founded by the late Charlie Kirk and embraced by Trump and Vice President Vance — were particularly blunt in hammering Carlson. They noted that Kirk befriended Carlson but sought to distance MAGA from Fuentes.

What they're saying: Within MAGA, battle lines are being drawn over how supportive Trump followers should be, or how skeptical they should be of foreign entanglements.

Laura Loomer — a Trump loyalist and MAGA enforcer, and vocal Israel supporter — told Axios: "I always said that you had to be a Trump loyalist and America first. But there are people out there that say that I don't belong in MAGA because I'm Jewish."

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TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: antisemitism; axios; bibi; carlson; charliekirk; concerntroll; concerntrolling; fakenews; fuentes; gaza; kirk; leftistsource; loomer; maga; mediawingofthednc; netanyahu; talaxelrod; tpusa; trump; tucker; tuckercarlson; zionism

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Scoffing at the source is only proving its point. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Gene Eric]

a few under the influence of Qatar

Islam is a war plan

[Dilbert San Diego]

This reminds me a bit of the ongoing debates we have here on Free Republic. Some Freepers criticize other Freepers as not being sufficiently conservative on some issues.

[AAABEST]

Here is Fuentes responding to all the volcanic chatter. Another poster linked it, and I only intended to skim through for reference, but wound up carrying my phone and listening to the entire hour and fifteen or so minutes.

Whatever side you're on, I guarantee, it'll be some of the most fascinating rhetoric you've heard in some time.

Israel Lobby Declares War on the United States

[dpetty121263]

I predict Mega will become an negative term and disappear like the Tea Party...

[Prince of Space]

So we’re supposed to take seriously an Axios reporter who’s obviously a nepo baby? 🤣

[Trumpette1954]

Dems win a couple of elections in blue states and now the Republican party and MAGA are falling apart and talking about earring within?? Buck up people! Don’t let the left split us and divide us now! Now is the time for us to stick together and keep up the fight.

[yesthatjallen]

"Scoffing at the source is only proving its point."

50% of the people here scoff at the source. Liberals are literally telling you what they think and what they're doing and 50% complain about the source.

The most successful conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh, made it his duty to study the enemies plans. Half the people here don't seem to understand this.

[hinckley buzzard]

The sad reality is that we have to own chuckleheads like Carlson and a—holes like Fuentes because the media puts them in our camp and we don’t distance from them. But likewise Rand Paul, and Massie and MTG, who all just go their own way when we need the kind of unity the ‘rats are displaying right now. Some Republicans seem to think this is all a fricking game, and they can just freestyle and it’s OK.
We need to remember, the objective is to win elections, not make ideological points, or engage in narcissistic virtue signaling.

[Major Matt Mason]

I think tonight was a complete wipeout of the GOP, the only good thing is that it wasn't 2026. The problem in the GOP is the same one that has existed for years - the "moderates" won't listen to the base, and will fight the base harder than they fight Democrats. In this case, they are slow-walking MAGA and Trump, and basically falling on the ball until Trump's term runs out (or until Democrats take over in 2026, which is looking more likely after tonight). If anything, tonight's results will only embolden the "moderates" to oppose Trump even more. The GOP is not in a good place right now, mostly due to the feckless "moderates".

[Nextrush]

One conservative “purity test” I believe in regards taxes in 2013 bipartisan wholesale gasoline tax scheme approved here in Pennsylvania signed by then Republican Governor Tom Corbett.

Instead of retail gasoline tax a wholesale gasoline tax that includes “snapback” provision.

Wholesale price drops means a tax hike.

So 40 miles down the road in Baltimore there is 50 cent a gallon cheaper gas in “Socialist” Maryland.

One GOP state legislator in York County lost his primary election not too many years ago when a libertarian group backed a primary opponent with 500,000 plus dollars calling him out on that tax among other stuff.

[Bikkuri]

And a couple of TDSers that claim they’re NOT TDSers...