Why MAGA Figures Say They're '100 Percent at War With Trump'

Several of former President Donald Trump's most prominent supporters publicly blamed him on Tuesday night for Republican losses in the midterm elections, breaking with a White House that insists the results had nothing to do with Trump's own standing, according to WIRED.

What happened in the midterms that triggered the backlash?

Democrats swept Republican opponents in races in deep red states and took control of both the House and Senate, per WIRED's reporting. Trump spent Tuesday evening attacking Fox News on Truth Social for "constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition," arguing the network bore responsibility for the losses. He later called into Fox News and congratulated the winning Democrats, WIRED reported. Trump also wrote that he "wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" and posted an image of a red hat reading "VETO."

Who in MAGA world is blaming Trump directly?

The list of Trump allies turning on him publicly is long. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones told his audience Tuesday night, "I think he's a Democrat, I'm gonna just say it right now ... I think he's the ultimate Democrat sleeper cell and he works for them. I'm 100 percent at war with Trump," according to WIRED. Right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh called the results "a political catastrophe of historic proportions" and labeled Trump "a 80 year old lame duck president," per the outlet. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn wrote on X that "Someone needs to look in a mirror," while also faulting Christian voters for low turnout, WIRED reported. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who broke with Trump earlier this year, wrote on X that "Tonight was a total referendum on Trump. He told people to vote like he was on the ballot and they did."

What specific policies are being blamed for the losses?

Walsh pointed to Trump's decision to start a war with Iran and what he characterized as a focus on trivial matters, including efforts to rename artificial intelligence "super intelligence" and the White House ballroom project, according to WIRED. Right-wing commentators Jack Posobiec and Nick Sortor both cited the Iran war as a factor in the losses without naming Trump directly, the outlet reported. Commentator Mike Cernovich blamed Trump's decision to ostracize libertarian voters. Even Elon Musk, who put hundreds of millions of dollars behind losing Republican candidates, noted it was "interesting" that an exit poll showed the Iran war was a "massive losing issue," per WIRED, though he stopped short of directly blaming Trump.

How did Trump respond to the results?

Trump's own public reaction focused on Fox News rather than his administration's policies. He wrote that the network "bears responsibility for these losses" for airing Democratic opponents, and he framed the outcome as disconnected from his own popularity by stressing he wasn't on the ballot, according to WIRED's account of his Truth Social posts. The VETO hat image posted afterward suggested a posture of opposition to the incoming Democratic majorities rather than self-criticism.

Who among Trump's allies has stayed silent?

Not every prominent MAGA figure joined the public blame campaign. WIRED noted that Musk, despite his financial stake in the losing candidates, did not directly identify who was responsible for the results beyond his joking remark that his "election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time." Rogan O'Handley, the influencer known as DC Draino who posts frequently about politics on X, also had not publicly reacted to the results as of WIRED's reporting. House Speaker Mike Johnson's response was still developing when the WIRED story was published.

The split illustrates a widening gap inside MAGA circles between figures willing to criticize Trump by name — Jones, Walsh, Flynn, and Greene among them — and allies like Musk who have acknowledged specific losing issues, such as the Iran war, while avoiding direct criticism of the president himself.

What does this mean for Trump going into 2027?

WIRED's reporting does not address what, if any, policy changes the White House might make in response to the criticism. The public rift suggests Trump enters the next phase of his term facing organized skepticism from factions of his own base rather than unified support, with commentators citing both foreign policy decisions and domestic messaging priorities as points of contention.

Artiglio is A coming-soon iPhone chief of staff for briefings and drafts. Not on the App Store yet.