Anonymous
02/09/2026 22:16
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s always been embarrassing, but it seems like now even the most oblivious MAGAs are realizing how lame it all is.
https://newrepublic.com/article/206276/trump-super-bowl-kid-rock-decline-maga-cultural-relevance?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=SF_TNR&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Threads
Truly the decline is hilarious. I mean, sure, MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency in 2016, and sure MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency again in 2024, this time winning even the popular vote as a Republican for the first time in 20 years, but it's very hilarious how irrelevant MAGA is.
You’re clinging to the past, like a faded prom queen. Current polls and special election results say otherwise.
Yes, and this happened in the 2018 off-year elections as well. And it happened when Obama got, what was the term they used, "shellacked" in the 2010 off-year election and again in Obama's 2014 off-year election. And when Biden lost the House in the 2022 off-year election.
Hardly seems to presage "irrelevance" for the political philosophy that has come to dominate the Republican Party and on which they rode to victory with a wildly flawed presidential candidate twice in the last decade. But carry on.
Pendulum swings between parties aren’t anything new, except now you have a Republican Party that’s ripped the mask off and is doing things that the average American (even some who voted for Trump) didn’t vote for. Arguably, the Republican Party doesn’t even exist anymore. It’s now a global crime syndicate.
Anyway, this thread is about cultural relevance, not political relevance. MAGA struggles to produce anything lasting that resonates beyond their small base. Making art requires empathy, sensitivity, vulnerability, and a love of humanity, qualities which are not valued (and in many cases openly mocked and considered sinful) by conservatives. There’s literally a book: “Toxic Empathy”. I can’t think of any successful MAGA art that’s gained widespread popularity. The Melania movie flopped, the TPUSA halftime show was dismal. Kid Rock’s last hit was 20 years ago. There’s a few minor cartoonists and comedians who punch down, and some D list actors.
Because art is subjective and interpretive, it’s always been at odds with ideologies that seek to make human beings conform and submit to political authority that imposes truth at the whims of the state. You can’t tell meaningful stories that resonate with a wide audience when all your stories serve the state by reinforcing hierarchy and celebrating the superiority of straight white male Christians. That mindset produces propaganda, not art. It’s a short hop from lurid Nazi and Soviet posters to the crappy AI memes being tweeted out by DHS and other federal agencies. In trying to remold the Kennedy Center into a gilded vanity project, Trump immediately drained it of all cultural relevance.
MAGA art and culture is AI-generated propaganda videos, Elon Musk, Sydney Sweeney's breasts, megachurches, Fox News, idiot podcasters, and Trump rallies. Culture doesn't have to be good to be culture, it just has to be pervasive.
Good point, it’s like fast food. But what MAGA craves is respect, and they’ll never get that. Trump was never accepted by the upper echelons of New York Society, which always gnawed at him. Same with his fixation on the Nobel Peace Prize, and slapping his name on the Kennedy Center thinking that would confer some kind of lasting legacy.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 20:06
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s always been embarrassing, but it seems like now even the most oblivious MAGAs are realizing how lame it all is.
https://newrepublic.com/article/206276/trump-super-bowl-kid-rock-decline-maga-cultural-relevance?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=SF_TNR&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Threads
Truly the decline is hilarious. I mean, sure, MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency in 2016, and sure MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency again in 2024, this time winning even the popular vote as a Republican for the first time in 20 years, but it's very hilarious how irrelevant MAGA is.
You’re clinging to the past, like a faded prom queen. Current polls and special election results say otherwise.
Yes, and this happened in the 2018 off-year elections as well. And it happened when Obama got, what was the term they used, "shellacked" in the 2010 off-year election and again in Obama's 2014 off-year election. And when Biden lost the House in the 2022 off-year election.
Hardly seems to presage "irrelevance" for the political philosophy that has come to dominate the Republican Party and on which they rode to victory with a wildly flawed presidential candidate twice in the last decade. But carry on.
Pendulum swings between parties aren’t anything new, except now you have a Republican Party that’s ripped the mask off and is doing things that the average American (even some who voted for Trump) didn’t vote for. Arguably, the Republican Party doesn’t even exist anymore. It’s now a global crime syndicate.
Anyway, this thread is about cultural relevance, not political relevance. MAGA struggles to produce anything lasting that resonates beyond their small base. Making art requires empathy, sensitivity, vulnerability, and a love of humanity, qualities which are not valued (and in many cases openly mocked and considered sinful) by conservatives. There’s literally a book: “Toxic Empathy”. I can’t think of any successful MAGA art that’s gained widespread popularity. The Melania movie flopped, the TPUSA halftime show was dismal. Kid Rock’s last hit was 20 years ago. There’s a few minor cartoonists and comedians who punch down, and some D list actors.
Because art is subjective and interpretive, it’s always been at odds with ideologies that seek to make human beings conform and submit to political authority that imposes truth at the whims of the state. You can’t tell meaningful stories that resonate with a wide audience when all your stories serve the state by reinforcing hierarchy and celebrating the superiority of straight white male Christians. That mindset produces propaganda, not art. It’s a short hop from lurid Nazi and Soviet posters to the crappy AI memes being tweeted out by DHS and other federal agencies. In trying to remold the Kennedy Center into a gilded vanity project, Trump immediately drained it of all cultural relevance.
MAGA art and culture is AI-generated propaganda videos, Elon Musk, Sydney Sweeney's breasts, megachurches, Fox News, idiot podcasters, and Trump rallies. Culture doesn't have to be good to be culture, it just has to be pervasive.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 20:04
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
All it takes is a little loss of support around the edges and a whole movement collapses. Even if just 2-3% of people who voted for Trump are now like, wow this movement is really extremely uncool and the people who are hardcore defending it are cringe, that’s more than enough to move the needle.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 19:31
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Article completely misses the forest through the trees. MAGA's influence isn't deteriorating, Trump's is. Trump has abandoned his young supporters, who start and move cultural trends. They're still driving the conversation (because the left has abandoned the ideas of debate, fun, and reality), but they're not supporting the Grifter-in-Chief any longer.
So yeah, New Republic has noticed the truth but doesn't understand what it's seeing. Legacy media remains out of touch and a dying institution propped up by clueless Boomers.
NP - I think you have a point. There's a serious lack of understanding on the left that the right has a vast organizational framework that isn't just political - it's baked into the culture in places that will tolerate it from literally elementary school. Have you ever heard of The Good News Club? https://www.cefonline.com/ministries/goodnewsclub/
This article (not from TNR) is a good overview - interviewing a writer that has focused on Christian Nationalism: https://www.independent.com/2025/03/26/from-good-news-to-bad-news-from-local-beginnings-to-national-impact/
Trump is a useful tool for these people, and vice versa, but they have a huge foothold into the national conversation and that's not going away.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 18:58
Subject: Re:“The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Could you at least not post stuff like this while https://www.reddit.com/r/the_darnold/ is popping off?
Anonymous
02/09/2026 18:51
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
MAGA may be culturally irrelevant, but they control the presidency, the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, and most state houses. They dominate the news media - Fox, CBS, the Wall Street Journal. And most other media outlets live in fear of upsetting MAGA. See CNN. Silicon Valley is all in with MAGA. And Big Law has pledged nearly a $1 billion to advance the MAGA agenda.
But it's true MAGA doesn't have any top 40 songs presently.
But it's true MAGA doesn't have any top 40 songs presently.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 18:41
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s always been embarrassing, but it seems like now even the most oblivious MAGAs are realizing how lame it all is.
https://newrepublic.com/article/206276/trump-super-bowl-kid-rock-decline-maga-cultural-relevance?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=SF_TNR&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Threads
Truly the decline is hilarious. I mean, sure, MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency in 2016, and sure MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency again in 2024, this time winning even the popular vote as a Republican for the first time in 20 years, but it's very hilarious how irrelevant MAGA is.
Should be a breeze then in 2026, right?
No need for all of the election interference and cheating again.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 18:16
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s always been embarrassing, but it seems like now even the most oblivious MAGAs are realizing how lame it all is.
https://newrepublic.com/article/206276/trump-super-bowl-kid-rock-decline-maga-cultural-relevance?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=SF_TNR&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Threads
Truly the decline is hilarious. I mean, sure, MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency in 2016, and sure MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency again in 2024, this time winning even the popular vote as a Republican for the first time in 20 years, but it's very hilarious how irrelevant MAGA is.
You’re clinging to the past, like a faded prom queen. Current polls and special election results say otherwise.
Yes, and this happened in the 2018 off-year elections as well. And it happened when Obama got, what was the term they used, "shellacked" in the 2010 off-year election and again in Obama's 2014 off-year election. And when Biden lost the House in the 2022 off-year election.
Hardly seems to presage "irrelevance" for the political philosophy that has come to dominate the Republican Party and on which they rode to victory with a wildly flawed presidential candidate twice in the last decade. But carry on.
Pendulum swings between parties aren’t anything new, except now you have a Republican Party that’s ripped the mask off and is doing things that the average American (even some who voted for Trump) didn’t vote for. Arguably, the Republican Party doesn’t even exist anymore. It’s now a global crime syndicate.
Anyway, this thread is about cultural relevance, not political relevance. MAGA struggles to produce anything lasting that resonates beyond their small base. Making art requires empathy, sensitivity, vulnerability, and a love of humanity, qualities which are not valued (and in many cases openly mocked and considered sinful) by conservatives. There’s literally a book: “Toxic Empathy”. I can’t think of any successful MAGA art that’s gained widespread popularity. The Melania movie flopped, the TPUSA halftime show was dismal. Kid Rock’s last hit was 20 years ago. There’s a few minor cartoonists and comedians who punch down, and some D list actors.
Because art is subjective and interpretive, it’s always been at odds with ideologies that seek to make human beings conform and submit to political authority that imposes truth at the whims of the state. You can’t tell meaningful stories that resonate with a wide audience when all your stories serve the state by reinforcing hierarchy and celebrating the superiority of straight white male Christians. That mindset produces propaganda, not art. It’s a short hop from lurid Nazi and Soviet posters to the crappy AI memes being tweeted out by DHS and other federal agencies. In trying to remold the Kennedy Center into a gilded vanity project, Trump immediately drained it of all cultural relevance.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 15:29
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Agree that this article is very echo chamber-y, but scrolling social media does make me think there’s been a shift (back?) toward MAGA being a bit more of a fringe position than what mainstream/normal people want. I could see “I bet you watched there Turning Point UDA halftime show” becoming an insult people use. It’s one thing to point out some of ridiculous things that came out of the woke era, but it’s another to be so fragile that you can’t handle watching a Spanish speaking artist at a football game. Most people aren’t as far to the right as it maybe seemed for a minute; they were just sick of what they perceived as things going too far to the left. Too bad the Democrats probably won’t realize this and will go back to doing the things that alienate people as soon as they sense that they are starting to gain the upper hand again. I am already seeing the multi paragraph lecturing Facebook posts coming back.
Social media algorithms show us what we want to see…
Anonymous
02/09/2026 15:28
Subject: Re:“The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Even MTG thinks it was stupid.
There is an article about her in The New Yorker. Interesting read.
There is an article about her in The New Yorker. Interesting read.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 15:26
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
It’s hilarious how MAGAs still act like it’s 2024. It’s almost like they were happier then than they are now. That’s one thing we all have in common.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 15:22
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s always been embarrassing, but it seems like now even the most oblivious MAGAs are realizing how lame it all is.
https://newrepublic.com/article/206276/trump-super-bowl-kid-rock-decline-maga-cultural-relevance?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=SF_TNR&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Threads
Truly the decline is hilarious. I mean, sure, MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency in 2016, and sure MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency again in 2024, this time winning even the popular vote as a Republican for the first time in 20 years, but it's very hilarious how irrelevant MAGA is.
You’re clinging to the past, like a faded prom queen. Current polls and special election results say otherwise.
Yes, and this happened in the 2018 off-year elections as well. And it happened when Obama got, what was the term they used, "shellacked" in the 2010 off-year election and again in Obama's 2014 off-year election. And when Biden lost the House in the 2022 off-year election.
Hardly seems to presage "irrelevance" for the political philosophy that has come to dominate the Republican Party and on which they rode to victory with a wildly flawed presidential candidate twice in the last decade. But carry on.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 15:20
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Agree that this article is very echo chamber-y, but scrolling social media does make me think there’s been a shift (back?) toward MAGA being a bit more of a fringe position than what mainstream/normal people want. I could see “I bet you watched there Turning Point UDA halftime show” becoming an insult people use. It’s one thing to point out some of ridiculous things that came out of the woke era, but it’s another to be so fragile that you can’t handle watching a Spanish speaking artist at a football game. Most people aren’t as far to the right as it maybe seemed for a minute; they were just sick of what they perceived as things going too far to the left. Too bad the Democrats probably won’t realize this and will go back to doing the things that alienate people as soon as they sense that they are starting to gain the upper hand again. I am already seeing the multi paragraph lecturing Facebook posts coming back.
Well said. And the bolded - spot on. Incredibly tiresome.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 14:03
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s always been embarrassing, but it seems like now even the most oblivious MAGAs are realizing how lame it all is.
https://newrepublic.com/article/206276/trump-super-bowl-kid-rock-decline-maga-cultural-relevance?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=SF_TNR&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Threads
Truly the decline is hilarious. I mean, sure, MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency in 2016, and sure MAGA got Trump elected to the presidency again in 2024, this time winning even the popular vote as a Republican for the first time in 20 years, but it's very hilarious how irrelevant MAGA is.
You’re clinging to the past, like a faded prom queen. Current polls and special election results say otherwise.
Anonymous
02/09/2026 13:41
Subject: “The Hilarious Decline of MAGA’s Brief Cultural Relevance”
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Well, MAGA just broadcasted how uneducated they are, not knowing that Puerto Ricans are Americans. Also, the most educated and intelligent countries in the world have majority of citizens who are bilingual. But of course MAGA is monolingual and uneducated.
Are you poly linguistic? Which?
Why do you ask? If I am, will you accuse me of being woke?