Trump defends his MAGA bona fides amid backlash from his base

Trump’s once grip on his MAGA political base is showing signs of strain as some of his supporters have started pushing back on White House policy proposals.

President Donald Trump’s once unquestioned grip on his MAGA political base is showing signs of strain as some of his supporters have started pushing back on White House policy proposals they see as contrary to his long-held promises on immigration and the economy.

As Trump takes heat from even the most loyal segments of his political base, he has remained defiant.

“MAGA was my idea. MAGA was nobody else’s idea,” Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham in an interview that aired Monday. “I know what MAGA wants better than anybody else, and MAGA wants to see our country thrive.”

Trump remains popular with Republicans, and he’s still able to make or break candidates in Republican primaries — 88% of Republican registered voters approved of Trump in the latest NBC News poll, conducted in late October, before the latest elections. Among voters who consider themselves part of the MAGA movement, it’s even higher — 96% — highlighting the loyalty he commands from core supporters.

But there’s a belief among some of Trump’s MAGA supporters that is spilling out online that the president is increasingly swayed by wealthy donors who have access to him at private White House events, his exclusive Mar-a-Lago club and the luxury boxes he sits in when he attends sporting events, including a Washington Commanders football game on Sunday.