Cracks in the MAGA Snow Globe: When the Right Starts to Panic
A deep dive into how the Trump/Musk administration’s spite-driven agenda is cracking under its own weight, threatening core democratic institutions.
When the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, a long-standing mouthpiece for pro-Trump talking points, finally voices concern about the administration’s destructive policies, you know something big is happening. When the loudest voices at MAGA-friendly think tanks start warning of a looming “constitutional crisis” triggered by Elon’s entanglements in government, it’s a sign that the once-airtight bubble of propaganda is beginning to crack.
What’s driving this shift? It isn’t a sudden moral awakening among conservative institutions. Rather, they’re now grasping a hard truth: the scorched-earth politics they endorsed to gain power have spiraled into a full-blown assault on the very institutions they rely upon. The façade of “policy differences” has fallen away, revealing a project built not on constructive governance but on gleeful destruction.
Spite as Political Currency
A pattern has emerged in the Trump/Musk administration’s supporters: they don’t celebrate policies for positive outcomes, but rather for how many adversaries they can humiliate. This is governance by spite, where “owning the libs” has replaced any real concern for legislation that helps ordinary people. The logic is painfully simple: as long as it hurts perceived enemies, it’s a victory.
Some of the starkest evidence of this destructive mindset appeared almost immediately after the new administration’s inauguration. When Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde offered a measured request — to show compassion toward the marginalized — it should have been an uncontroversial appeal in line with longstanding Christian teachings. Yet the reaction was swift and vicious:
- Trump labeled her “nasty.”
- His supporters raged at her suggestion of kindness.
- A Republican congressman went so far as to call for her deportation — despite the fact that she is an American citizen.
In a development that exemplifies “irony meets cruelty,” Bishop Budde now faces a barrage of violent threats. In short, violence is threatened in response to a plea for mercy. The punishment for appealing to conscience is further proof of the cruelty baked into this movement’s DNA.
The Coup in Plain Sight
Though the word “coup” often conjures images of military takeovers, legal scholar Mike Masnick at Techdirt lays out how a power grab can take place without a single shot being fired. Simply dismantle institutions, subvert norms, and sow enough chaos that only brute force and wealth remain. That’s the approach: keep the rhetoric about “patriotism” while systematically undermining any checks on authority.
Historian Timothy Snyder, best known for his seminal work On Tyranny, has described the current situation as a “logic of destruction.” In a recent essay, he writes:
“The oligarchs have no plan to govern. They will take what they can, and disable the rest. The destruction is the point. They don’t want to control the existing order. They want disorder in which their relative power will grow.”
He uses the striking metaphor of America’s government as a car. Under normal circumstances, you might take your car for a tune-up — but in this scenario, the supposed “mechanics” sell off the parts, pocket the money, then congratulate themselves for their cunning. As Snyder points out, this brand of institutional vandalism is not about ideological coherence; it’s purely about extracting wealth and power amid the ruins.
Cracks in the MAGA Snow Globe
For years, many conservatives believed they could harness Trump’s populist rage and channel it into passing tax cuts, stacking the courts, or rolling back regulations. But they’re now staring into an abyss of their own making. The cost of normalizing chaos has become clear. Attacks on voting rights, undercutting diplomatic ties, and dismantling critical agencies have gone from rhetorical devices to concrete threats against the pillars of governance.
In a telling rebuke, the reliably pro-Trump opinion page at the Wall Street Journal recently published a scathing critique of the administration’s ill-advised tariffs. And when Trump tried to backpedal and frame his concessions to Canada and Mexico as a personal victory, the same editorial board called him out. These are small steps — but they mark a rift in the monolithic support that once protected the administration from serious scrutiny.
Even so, let’s not mistake self-preservation for heroism. The very forces that promoted Trumpism are now alarmed because the unraveling institutions they once sought to control for their own ends could bring the whole system crashing down. And in that collapse, even the wealthiest corporate backers stand to lose.
Where Do We Go from Here?
From a leftist perspective, it’s clear that we must push back on every front. This isn’t merely a partisan fight; it’s a struggle for the survival of democratic norms against a movement that thrives on destroying them. Key takeaways include:
- Expose Performative Cruelty: Shine a light on officials and supporters who champion harmful policies purely out of spite. Show how these actions hurt everyone, not just the supposed targets.
- Support Institutional Integrity: While no system is perfect, dismantling democratic safeguards leaves us vulnerable to the whims of authoritarian rule.
- Amplify Voices of Dissent: Figures like Bishop Budde, journalists willing to challenge Trump/Musk propaganda, and scholars like Timothy Snyder need platforms and protection.
- Build Broad Coalitions: Even uneasy alliances with moderate conservatives can be necessary when the threat is an outright assault on democracy itself.
Ultimately, we are witnessing a crisis fueled by greed, spite, and the embrace of a winner-takes-all mentality that undermines the very foundations of government. The cracks in the MAGA snow globe may be small and sporadic now, but they represent an opportunity for a collective push toward genuine accountability and justice. Only by unmasking the cruelty, speaking truth to power, and defending democracy’s core institutions can we hope to save them — and, in the process, build something more equitable than what came before.