MAGA culture fades as GOP panic grows

The David Pakman Show - February 9, 2026

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For years, the right has tried to brand criticism of Republican presidents as un-American, but that story is falling apart in public. When American Olympians like Hunter Hess and Chris Lillis criticize Trump administration policies while literally wearing the U.S. flag, it blows up the premise. They are not rejecting the country. They are appealing to it. This is dissent in the most traditional American sense, rooted in civil rights, labor movements, and opposition to unjust wars. MAGA messaging depends on calling critics anti-American, and that becomes impossible when the critics are elite athletes representing the country on the world stage.

At the same time, Trump and MAGA are becoming culturally embarrassing even if their political power has not fully collapsed yet. Not long ago, open Trump support carried little social cost in sports and entertainment. That has flipped fast. Athletes, performers, and even live crowds now mock or criticize Trump openly. MAGA culture has narrowed into grievance, obsession, and constant outrage, while Trump avoids moments like the Super Bowl where rejection would be visible and undeniable.

Trump himself is not helping. Recent press exchanges show someone unable to answer basic questions without contradiction or deflection. Asked about the racist Obama monkey video, he claims total control while insisting he knew nothing about it. He attacks reporters, calls himself the least racist president, and refuses to engage with the substance.

Karoline Leavitt then made things worse by trying to clean it up on Fox News. In what should have been an easy defense, she stumbled through excuses, called it just a meme, blamed a staffer, referenced The Lion King, and pivoted to media attacks. The result was chaos. Instead of calming Republicans, she reminded them how fragile and undisciplined this operation is.

One of the most striking moments came from a three-time Trump voter who called C-SPAN to apologize. He cited racism, dishonesty, and cruelty as his breaking point. The right response to this is not shaming, but it is also not pretending the warning signs were hidden. Accountability and an off ramp can coexist.

History offers a warning here. Leaders who centralize power around themselves rarely end well. Institutions weaken, loyalty replaces competence, and collapse follows sooner or later. Trump is not a dictator, but the instincts are familiar, and legacies built this way tend to collapse.

That context makes reports from insiders describing Trump as off his meds so damaging. Literal or metaphorical does not matter. What matters is that people around him are signaling loss of control, and Republicans in swing districts are panicking about being tied to it.

Finally, Republicans are now facing something worse than a bad House map. The Senate is suddenly in play. States once considered safe are tightening as Trump’s core messages lose credibility. That raises the risk of extreme tactics to cling to power. The answer is vigilance, turnout, and treating this moment with the seriousness it deserves.

On today’s bonus show:

Right-wing reactions to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, and much more...

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