Commentary: Lessons from the MAGA universe

December 22, 2025  |  By John Bossange

During the past two years, I have offered opinions on a variety of topics such as the impact of the DOGE reductions, the misuse of “alternative facts,” the rise of Christian nationalism, the Supreme Court decisions on the Voting Rights Act, campaign financing and the establishment of a “unitary executive,” threats to our Bill of Rights, the harmful impact of aging presidents, the importance of speaking out and exercising one’s free speech, and calling out racism, antisemitism and misogyny.

With these and other commentaries written about President Trump and his MAGA supporters, I have asked readers to consider their personal beliefs and examine their own values. I’m glad there are still avenues to share opinions and pathways for engaging in constructive dialogue. That's not true in some other nations today, and at certain times in America’s past, dissent was censored as well. 

By reading the reactions to my commentaries, I have learned that many MAGA readers focus on the author, not the subject matter. People who might disagree with an opinion often use labels and generalize negative perceptions about the author in an attempt to discount and diminish an opinion. These readers must believe that their labeling will somehow change the content and questions raised by what has been written. Labels like “Progressive,” “Communist,” “leftist Democrat,” and “Socialist” are commonly seen in responses. I see these labels as an escape, a deflection from taking the time needed to address an issue raised in a commentary. Labeling of any kind is a distraction and does not further the discussion or provide additional insights.

Second, I have learned that many MAGA supporters use comparisons with other public figures to rationalize the actions of President Trump and his Administration.

Too often I have read that Presidents Biden, Clinton, or Obama “did it,” so “why are people so upset that President Trump is doing the same thing now?”  The belief that “They did it, so why can’t I?” is also commonly heard by adults when raising their own children. It’s as if it’s OK to break a rule, a law, or a past practice because someone else got away with it.  In school, we call that “playground logic,” and like raising or teaching a child, those who use this excuse in the political arena defending the president, should be told it is unacceptable as well. 

Third, I have learned that many MAGA members and supporters of the president do not accept facts from a variety of well-established resources.  The MAGA universe does not see the work reported by professional journalists at The Guardian, the New York Times, the BBC, NPR, the Associated Press, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Reuters as truthful information. These well-trusted outlets are not always perfect, but their facts, sources of information, and reporting have withstood the test of truth over time.

Instead, supporters of President Trump seem to rely on the NY Post, FOX News, Newsmax, The Federalist, Infowars, and Breitbart News as outlets for their information and their own version of “alternative facts.” This difference clearly illustrates the polarization in America today. We are living in two separate information centers and in two different universes, polar opposites, and the gap is growing every day with no end in sight.

Regardless of one’s political leanings, where you get your information, or whom you trust, the outright denial of facts when observed in actual written comments or witnessed in live, taped messages has been a very troubling realization for me. It has confirmed the existence of conspiracy theories and revealed the shocking, unexplainable denial of obvious truths. Some MAGA party members see glaring evidence as “planted,” and “fake” information, created and staged by the opposition. More than ever, I now realize how the power of denial, distraction and deflection, the playbook of the president and the leaders in the MAGA universe, has been very successful.

Additionally, I have learned that the party’s Project 2025 playbook is also well-planned, heavily funded, transparent, and revered by tens of millions of Americans. The Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation have no problem labeling, comparing, distracting, and denying documented facts using “hardball politics” and strategies to advocate for the MAGA agenda and for their vision for America.  

As an independent voter unaffiliated with any party, I have also learned how weak-kneed, inept, and dysfunctional the Democratic Party leadership has been, hesitant to defend and advance their vision, and unable to coordinate a strong push back when attacked by the MAGA party. They have rarely countered the MAGA universe with their own “hardball politics,” and consistently challenge the president with information and an agenda orchestrated by a Democratic version of a Project 2025. It’s as if party leadership has ceased to exist, leaving tens of millions of supporters lost in the woods, wondering what to do next. For those Democrats, there has not been much left to revere, and now the party is in shambles.

This will not end well. One universe wants to protect our existing U.S. Constitution and our fragile, 245-year-old democratic traditions, while the other wants to interpret the language of our Constitution differently, break apart and eliminate many of those historical traditions, and create new systems of governance.  

There does not seem to be any middle ground. My fear should be the fear of any proud American citizen. When there is no center and only polarization, there will no longer be a nation called the United States.  History tells us that we have been down this road before. But, today we have once again lost sight of our past.  

It will take the next generation of leaders from all sides to recall that history, and rescue the nation from yet another failed playbook designed to divide the country and redefine what it means to be an American living in the United States.

John Bossange lives in South Burlington.