Even Where MAGA Won, MAGA Lost
A vision of a multicultural America emerges from this election.
The Republican Party's strong showing in the midterms, despite widespread failures, highlighted the president's outdated vision of American identity. Even as Trump-backed candidates like Byron Donalds made history by becoming the first Black governor of Florida, the victories of other Black, Hispanic, and Native American officeholders demonstrated that the nation is far more diverse than the MAGA movement desires.
Despite Trump's efforts to paint the country as an invasion site for "strange people," elected officials of color rose to power across the country. This shift in power comes despite Trump's attempts to wield fear over "Sharia law" and "Somali gangs" in Texas, and his disparaging comments about Minnesota's Somali population. Trump's strategy of scapegoating ethnic and religious minorities proved ineffective, as voters rejected his claims of economic mismanagement and his authoritarian immigration policies.
The Republican Party now faces the reality that America is not the homogeneous "Real America" of conservative nostalgia, but a nation made up of people from all walks of life who share a commitment to the principle that all men are created equal.
Written by urgent.news from The Atlantic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
