Episode 26: “Trump’s 100 Days – Why MAGAs Are More Loyal Than Ever”

Episode Summary:
In the second instalment of our four-part series examining Trump’s first 100 days, Episode 26 of Surviving Trump explores the intense loyalty of the MAGA base — the voters who see Trump not just as a political leader but as a personal champion. We dive into the cultural, emotional, and economic drivers of this loyalty and why, despite economic uncertainty and political chaos, Trump’s most fervent supporters remain more committed than ever. We also examine how right-wing media outlets fuel this devotion, framing Trump’s actions as a battle against liberal elites and a defense of so-called “real” Americans.

In This Episode:

• The MAGA Worldview: How Trump’s chaotic first 100 days are seen as a period of long-overdue action and promises fulfilled
• Why They Stay Loyal: It’s not about policies — it’s about feeling seen, heard, and defended against cultural elites
• Justifying the Harm: Economic pain is reframed as a necessary sacrifice in the fight against liberal elites and globalists
• Power and Authoritarianism: Why Trump’s authoritarian moves aren’t seen as threats — but as course corrections
• Media Manipulation: How right-wing media outlets keep the MAGA base focused on cultural grievances while distracting them from policies that benefit the wealthy
• The “Aha” Moment: Bella shares a surprising insight she gained while writing this episode — and why it’s changed her perspective, if only a little

Why It Matters:
Trump’s base isn’t just holding steady — it’s digging in. Understanding the emotional and cultural roots of this loyalty is crucial to grasping how Trump maintains control over a fractured Republican Party. For these voters, Trump’s chaos isn’t a liability — it’s a strategy. He’s the one politician who tells them they’re not the problem — they’re the victims of a rigged system. And that belief is more powerful than policy, data, or even economic reality.

Next Episode – Episode 27: “Trump’s 100 Days – A Reality Check”
In Episode 27, we turn to the critics — the millions of Americans who see Trump’s first 100 days as a disaster for democracy. We’ll examine how his power grabs, regulatory rollbacks, and attacks on institutions are being framed as a threat to the rule of law. 

Transcript

Bella Goode  0:04  
Hi and welcome back to surviving Trump. I'm your host, Bella Goode. This is part two of our four part series on Trump's first 100 days. Today, we're putting the MAGA base under a microscope the voters who see Trump not as a president, but as a personal champion to them. He's a hero, someone who finally talks like them, fights for them and breaks all the rules. Well, most of the rules, cultural rules, like having to be politically correct, 24/7, but there's more to their loyalty than blind devotion. Trump's chaos isn't a liability to them. It's a great strategy. They see his first 100 days as a period of action at breakneck speed, a time when Trump finally delivered on promises that they feel other politicians never kept. For these voters, Trump has given them the power to push back against a system they believed was rigged to silence them. So today, we are stepping into their world not to endorse it, but to understand it, what they see, why they stay loyal and in the spirit of transparency, 

Bella Goode  1:17  
I'll be honest, when MAGA voters describe the left they're describing me. I don't understand them. I can't believe what they've done. I can't believe what they're doing to our country. And going into this episode, I was totally closed minded, but after getting into the research and writing the script, I have to admit my perspective has shifted. Uh, don't get annoyed. It's just a bit, just a little bit. There was even an aha moment in Section six that made me see things just a little bit differently. There was a little clarity. Anyway, I'll share that revelation at the end. So let's start with how the MAGAs regarded Trump's first 100 Days. One caveat here, much of the MAGA base hears and believes what they hear and what they believe comes from the right wing media outlets like Fox News, News, Max, Breitbart, but for the purposes of this episode, it doesn't really matter. We're not here to fact check or get them to switch to MSNBC. We're here to understand what they're hearing and why it resonates. Because when it comes to Trump's first 100 days, that perception is the reality from the outside. 

Bella Goode  2:34  
Trump's first 100 days may look chaotic, but for many of his most loyal supporters, the MAGA base. It's exactly what they hope for. In their eyes. This has been a season of clarity, of action and finally being heard. What they see is a president who has kept his word border security the southern border. It's secured daily illegal crossings down over 90% catch and release policies ended the remain in Mexico policy reinstated, the lake and Riley Act signed into law to the MAGA base, it feels like control has returned, something they've long demanded and rarely felt. As the Daily Caller noted with pride, that's a newsletter The Trump administration has reportedly only released nine illegal aliens between January 20 and April 1. Now that statistic feels like a promise fulfilled, and Trump has delivered on righting a wrong, even the dramatic move to pardon over 1500 January 6 defendants is seen as a restoration of justice, not a legal outrage. These supporters believe that prosecutions were politically motivated, so when Trump granted blankets clemency, many didn't flinch, not flutter. They cheered to them. He was protecting patriots, not coddling criminals. And then there's the economy. Trump has delivered on economic winds. They don't care what the economists or experts say. What matters to them is the feeling that gas is cheaper, that groceries are more affordable, and that Trump is bringing back manufacturing. 

Bella Goode  4:20  
Trump's White House claims 345,000 new jobs have been added with strong growth in construction and manufacturing for the MAGA base, it's not about the actual numbers, it's about the feeling that common sense is back in charge. Again, I'm giving you their perspective. Trump is delivered on regulatory Rolex. His moves to shrink the federal workforce and to force remote workers back to the office are seen as necessary corrections to a bloated bureaucracy for the MAGA base, these actions aren't about the numbers. They're about the principle. They see it as Trump cutting through. The red tape and reining in a government they view as overgrown and unaccountable. 

Bella Goode  5:06  
The other thing Trump's done, he's taken on the establishment. They see a president who's not afraid to confront the press, the federal bureaucracy, or even his own party. That, to them is courage. He's not trying to make Washington work. He's trying to break it open and reset it for these voters, the speed and scope of Hunt's moves on immigration, executive power and regulatory rollbacks, they don't feel reckless. They feel overdue for Trump's base, his boldness isn't cause for concern. It's the fulfillment of a promise, and that sense of finally being heard is what keeps them fiercely loyal, no matter what the fallout. Speaking of loyalty for the MAGA base, their loyalty to Trump isn't necessarily a rational choice, but it's a deeply emotional connection. It's not coming from their brain, it's coming from their heart, and after these 100 days, that connection hasn't faded. It's only grown stronger. They see Trump as a fighter, someone who refuses to back down, even under pressure. They admire his willingness to call out perceived corruption, whether it's the media, academic elites, or the so called Deep State, they don't flinch when he attacks the press, purges federal agencies or pardons the January 6 defendants. They see it as him defending their way of life against a system they believe was rigged long before he came along. It's not about decorum or tradition. It's about standing up to the people they believe controlled the narrative for too long. They also remember the past. Many MAGA voters still view the pre COVID Trump years, especially 2018 and 2019 as the last time America felt strong, or at least predictable. Gas and eggs were cheap. The border felt secure. They felt represented. They want that version of America back, and Trump, they believe is the only one who can deliver it. 

Bella Goode  7:11  
They also distrust the media. In their view, the media has never given Trump a fair shake, not in 2016 not in 2020 and certainly not now, every criticism, every scandal, every fact check, is dismissed as more evidence of media bias. If the press is attacking Trump, well, he must be doing something right to many in this camp, Trump is finally doing what other Republicans never had the nerve to do. This is the long overdue conservative revolution for these voters the speed and scope of Trump's moves on immigration, DEI executive power. They don't feel reckless. They feel overdue. Even more, they see Trump, not as a political leader necessarily, but more as a cultural one, his sweeping actions are understood as a response to years of feeling ignored, insulted or blamed by political elites and media institutions. And when Trump speaks in a bold, black and white terms, that doesn't come off as an extreme, it comes off as finally clear. In short, they see wins, tangible wins, cultural wins, symbolic wins. They see a fighter, a fixer, and someone finally treating them not as problems to be solved, but as citizens to be prioritized and for a movement that believes it's been mocked, marginalized and ignored for years, these first 100 Days, feel like proof that their vote, the MAGA vote, and their voice, the MAGA voice, still matters. So what explains the depth of their loyalty? Why does this connection hold despite setbacks, scandals and a relentless media firestorm, because this loyalty isn't based on campaign promises or press conferences. It's forged in grievance memory and shared defiance. That's a huge point. Trump doesn't have to be perfect. He just needs to have their back. Still, it's not all wins. Many of these voters are struggling, jobs, prices, uncertainty, it is real. So how do they justify the harm they feel, the strain they see prices going up? They know the economy is shaky. 

Bella Goode  9:33  
For many in the MAGA base, especially rural workers, small town families and blue collar voters, Trump's policies haven't made their life easier. Some have lost contracts from tariff fallout. Others have watched their 401ks shrink. Many are just scraping by, even as the cost of living rises. But you know what? They don't blame Trump. They blame the system. Trump stepped into a system they believe. Was rigged against them long before he arrived to them. It was built by elites and technocrats and globalists, people they see as prioritizing foreign interests, international trade and corporate profits, over the working class American as the Federalists at the newsletter MD Kittle wrote, 100 days in, the border has effectively been closed as Trump pledged that's what they hold on to tangible wins, not economic models, action, not theory. When the media says tariffs may cause inflation or a recession, they don't panic. They dig in because to them, This pain is proof that the fight is real. It's the price of breaking the old system. You have to break something to rebuild it, and that's how many of them see it. And if their 401, takes a hit or their grocery bill goes up, well, that's part of the sacrifice. 

Bella Goode  10:56  
There's also a deep, deep distrust of expertise. They believe the so called experts have gotten it wrong on trade, wrong on immigration and wrong on Trump, and when those same voices warn that his policies are hurting the economy, many think, well, they've been wronged before, and we're the ones who've had to live with it. The pain is real, but so is the defiance. For many, the hardship isn't a failure of Trump's leadership. It is a badge of honor. It means he's doing what no one else had the guts to do. If Wall Street's nervous, that means Main Street is winning. If things are tough, that's because we're finally in the fight. That's the emotional logic. That's the shield that makes economic harm feel not like a betrayal, but like belonging to something larger, something righteous, something more like the plan, and that's why they stay that willingness to absorb pain leads into something deeper. Their views on power, especially the kind of power that Trump is grabbing and whether they see it as a threat or a defense, ask any MAGA voter. That's probably a generalization, but I'll say it anyway. 

Bella Goode  12:10  
Ask MAGA voters if they're worried about authoritarianism, and most won't hesitate to say, not from him to them, Trump isn't the threat to democracy. He's the answer to democracy that stopped working for people like them. They see mandates, woke rules, border chaos and government overreach, and they don't call that freedom. They call that tyranny in disguise. So when Trump cracks down, they feel safer, not scared. Trump is a disrupter. Jared Steadman wrote the daily signals praising him for pushing the envelope far beyond even his first term. To his supporters, that's not dangerous. It's overdue. They don't flinch when he calls the media the enemy of the people. They cheer when he purges the bureaucracy and when He pardons January 6 defendants, they don't see it as lawlessness. They see it as justice. As Steadman put it, this is a populist counter revolution, what some call authoritarian. They see as a course correction. When Trump bypasses Congress, where strong arms federal agencies, they don't see a dictator. They see someone finally unafraid to use power. They also don't believe that the left is exactly clean on the same issue. They remember pandemic mandates. They remember forced school closures and speech codes on college campuses speech codes. By the way, I had to look up it's been so long since I've been in school. Those are rules meant to prevent offensive language or hate speech, but in their eyes, they were used to silence conservative viewpoints and enforce liberal values. So when Democrats raise alarms about Trump's authoritarianism, MAGA base often sees this as hypocrisy. You had no problem using power when it suited you. And when Trump says things like, I'll be a dictator, but only for one day, many laugh not because they think he's joking, but because they think he's telling the truth about how rigged the system really is. In their mind, he's taking power back from the elites, not stealing it from the people to them,

Bella Goode  14:23  
democracy means majority rule, and they believe they are now the majority. So if Trump breaks the rules to defend them, that's not authoritarianism, that's leadership, that's loyalty, and that's why the red flags others see, they barely register to the MAGAs. So critics say that numbers don't lie, but Trump's base, they don't trust the numbers or the people presenting them. So what do the polls really tell us about where they stand? Polls may show a softening of support for Trump overall, but amongst the MAGA base, the. Members tell a different story. Their support hasn't moved an inch. Approval ratings their dismissed outright. Trump's most loyal backers don't trust traditional polling outlets. In fact, skepticism is part of the bond they said he'd lose in 2016 they'll tell you, they always under count us. So when a new survey says Trump's approval rating is slipping, many instinctively roll their eyes and dig in deeper. And from their perspective, why wouldn't they? He promised to shut down the border. They see that as done. He promised to wipe out DEI programs and go after the woke elite check. Did that, been there. He vowed to pardon January 6 defendants. He followed through. He said he'd take on the system, and every executive order agency purge or norm breaking announcement is proof that he meant it to the MAGA base. This is what winning looks like. Remember MD Kittle? I bet you don't, but he's the guy that works for the Federalists. He has another quote. 100 days in the border has effectively been closed down to illegal immigrants, as Trump pledged on the campaign trail, that promise keeping matters more than any headline poll and when the Daily Caller boasts that only nine undocumented immigrants were released in the first 10 weeks of Trump's turn, compared to 1000s under Biden. That doesn't feel like spin. It feels like proof. Of course, there are signs of strain. Some are feeling the economic pain from the tariffs, and others are watching inflation tick back up, but even those concerns haven't shaken the base as Blaze Media's Bedford framed it. This isn't about perfection. It's about purpose. Trump expands the outer limits of presidential power, and that Boldness is seen not as recklessness, but as resolve, even if the polls say otherwise, MAGA voters believe they are the majority, misunderstood by the media, underestimated by pollsters, but winning where counts for now their bet is holding. Trump is going to do what no one else did, fighting for them without apology, and until someone else does that better, no poll is going to change their mind. But beyond data, there is a more emotional wound, one that shapes how this group sees everything. It's the feeling that they're misunderstood and dismissed by the people on the left. So if you want to understand the MAGA base, you have to start with this. They feel misunderstood and mocked. They believe the left doesn't try to understand them and doesn't care to instead, they see a cultural elite that paints them as ignorant, dangerous or beneath engagement. 

Bella Goode  17:53  
Think about those words so they've stopped explaining themselves. Trump, in their eyes, is the first national figure who never talked down to them. They're tired of being treated like a punch line by the establishment. When the MAGAs questioned immigration policy, they're called racists when the MAGAs push back against DEI programs, they're labeled bigots when they object to using certain pronouns or question the value of diversity training, they're accused of being intolerant. These aren't just academic terms to them. They feel like weapons used to shame, silence and exclude. They see political correctness as a form of control, a way to force them to accept values that they don't share. For example, this includes being expected to use gender inclusive pronouns, which they see as compelled speech and effort to control how they speak and think. Diversity training in workplaces which they feel assumes guilt or bias based solely on identity and pressures them to apologize for views that they don't consider harmful, social media censorship of conservative viewpoints, which they believe unfairly targets their side while allowing progressive voices to speak freely. Have they looked at x lately? Safe spaces on college campuses where dissenting viewpoints are discouraged they feel unwelcomed or dismissed as backward corporate endorsements of progressive causes like LGBTQ rights or racial justice, which they view as pandering to liberal values while ignoring conservative perspectives. Just a couple of examples to the MAGA base. Trump's refusal to play by these cultural rules isn't just a rebellion. It's validation. It's a way of saying you don't have to bend to their standards to have a voice. 

Bella Goode  19:49  
When Trump disregards these norms, they see it as him standing up for them, refusing to elites dictate what they can say or believe in. Furthermore, what the left misses what they don't see when they see a MAGA, there's something else that the left just doesn't get. It's not about Trump's tweaks, his scandals, his personality or his orange skin. It's about what he stands for, restoring cultural values, securing the border and pushing back against what he sees they see as liberal elites imposing their agenda from the top down. His early moves, banning transgender athletes from women's sports, gutting DEI efforts across the federal government, stripping down asylum programs, aren't seen as extreme, these actions resonate deeply to the MAGA base. Trump is restoring values they believe the left discarded. They also believe progressives obsess over Trump's character while ignoring the fact that his policies are popular with 10s of millions of Americans, immigration crackdowns, energy independence, less federal interference. These aren't fringe ideas to them. They see them as common sense. When liberals mock Trump voters or dismiss their concerns as backward, hateful or misinformed, it only deepens the trench, because at its core, this movement isn't just political, it's cultural, it's emotional. It's about their identity, and in their eyes, Trump is the first leader in generations to act like they matter, not as a voting bloc, but as Americans, as for that aha moment I mentioned at the start. Well, here it is, if preserving democracy means giving up on some of the wokeness battles, like political correctness, the transgender sports debate, I might get myself into trouble here, but anyway, I'm willing to do it, because if we're going to save the rule of law, checks and balances and all the other pillars of democracy, we might need to lose a few of the cultural fights to win the bigger constitutional war. Do you understand what I'm saying? I guess I'm saying that you have to give a little in order to take back what you need and what what's the bigger picture? So it is. It's a little bit of a paradox for anybody on the outside the contradiction is contradiction is glaring. Trump's base rails against wealthy elites while Trump surrounds himself with billionaires. They despise globalists, but cheer for a man who hands tax cuts to multinational corporations. How do these two voter groups, the MAGA base and the wealth protectors that we talked about in episode 25 how do they stay aligned? 

Bella Goode  22:42  
The answer, would you believe it lies with the media, specifically the right wing media channels, that keep the coalition intact. How does this work? Well, there's a couple of different ways that it works. There is something called selective framing. The conservative media machine knows what sells outlets like Fox News, News Mac Breitbart. They focus on cultural grievances. They focus on immigration, political correction, crime, the so called woke agenda. They cast Trump as a fighter for the forgotten man, a warrior against liberal elites. What they don't focus on you can believe it. You can bet on it. Tax cuts for the rich, regulatory rollbacks that benefit corporate donors, or economic policies that funnel wealth to Trump's inner circle. They do not focus on that. 

Bella Goode  23:35  
The other tool that is used here by the right media, something called the real elites. Right wing media is masterful at redirecting anger away from Trump's wealthy allies and towards liberal elites, the professors, the Hollywood actors, some of the big tech executives and the so called deep state bureaucrats. They paint these groups as the true enemies of the working class, distracting from the fact that Trump's actual policies benefit corporate power and the ultra wealthy and certainly those that support him. The right media also simplifies the narrative. Trump's base is told that their struggles are caused by coastal elites and globalists and immigrants, not by corporate monopolies or billionaire tax dodgers. The narrative is simple. Trump is the champion of the working man fighting against a rigged system run by left wing elites. The fact that the system is rigged in favor of the wealthy, including Trump and his donors, is never part of the story. Then there is emotional fuel that the right media uses. The media keeps MAGA voters focused on cultural outrage rather than economic reality. They hear about transgender athletes, drag shows, border surges, crime waves, issues that stoke fear, resent. And anger. 

Bella Goode  25:01  
Meanwhile, stories about the Trump administration's tax breaks for billionaires or corporate deregulation barely gets air time. The outrage keeps viewers tuned in, angry and loyal, and it keeps them from noticing the economic bait and switch. MAGA voters are often steeped in media bubbles that frame dissenting information as fake news, the wealth redistribution happening under Trump's policies is reframed as necessary economic patriotism, job creation or cutting wasteful spending. Anyone pointing out the contradictions that Trump's policies benefit the very elite his base resents is dismissed as liberal propaganda. Here's another irony, despite being a billionaire with powerful allies, Trump himself continues to position himself as a man of the people, a renegade fighting for the forgotten man, the media echoes that framing portraying Trump as the underdog, the anti elitist, the one man willing to stand up to the liberal establishment. As long as Trump is framed as the hero fighting the real elites, his voters stay loyal, even has his wealthiest allies quietly cash in. Trump also knows how to use the media to his advantage. He knows how to manipulate them, even the mainstream outlets he claims to despise. Take the recent trade deal with the United Kingdom at 6am Eastern Time, Trump posted on social media that he had reached a full and comprehensive trade deal with the UK, ensuring that every morning news show would cover it. But hours later, it became clear there was no such deal, only concepts of a plan. When's the last time we heard that? I think it was used to describe health care, as Trump himself put it, a vague promise with no signed agreement, no definitive text and no concrete details. The BBC was blunt. We don't have a definitive text around what's been agreed upon in the deal, or very many details, or any signatures inked to paper at this point. It's a classic Trump move, creating the illusion of action and progress, knowing that the media is going to run the headline while the fine print gets buried, and for his base, the headline is enough, the details unnecessary. 

Bella Goode  27:30  
So how does it that Trump keeps both groups happy and loyal? That is, in fact, the paradox of Trump's second term and the tightrope that he's walking. He tells the MAGA base he's fighting for them, even as his policies funnel wealth to the very elites that they distrust. He positions himself as the man of people, while surrounding himself with billionaires and power brokers. And for now, both sides are buying it, despite their conflicting interests, the MAGA base and the wealth protectors remain united, held together by a media narrative that keeps them focused on cultural enemies instead of economic realities. But how long is that balancing act going to last, and what happens if the MAGA base ever realizes who's really benefiting from Trump's America in Episode 27 we'll turn the lens to Trump's critics, the Trump resisters, the people like us who believe that the country is being pulled towards a darker place. We'll examine the policies and the power grabs and the consequences that we worry daily about we have strong beliefs that democracy, quite frankly, is already in crisis. 

Bella Goode  28:41  
That's it for today. Join me for my next episode when we explore Trump's first 100 days from the resistor perspective, until then, stay informed. Keep engaged and stay in the fight. This is Bella Goode, Signing off for now.