I was naive enough to believe at first that the MAGA movement was actually about the surface issues they claim to be concerned about, but in continually trying

I was naive enough to believe at first that the MAGA movement was actually about the surface issues they claim to be concerned about, but in continually trying to be understanding and steelman their positions, and in also personally knowing and interacting with a lot of these people, those positions just don't hold water, especially as they have gained power and have largely stopped putting any effort into maintaining a non-racist facade. The only coherent explanation for MAGA is that of white nationalist authoritarianism, fueled by fear of losing protected race-based social status[1]. In fact, I don't think really anyone is really confused by that anymore, the only people claiming otherwise are people that personally identify as white supremacists, that see it as in their best interests to try to protect the political momentum of their movement by trying to maintain the facade of not being racist- a strategy they adopted after major losses way back during the civil rights movement in the USA. There may be a small number of people that just don't follow the news and don't know what is happening, but they aren't out defending anything online in their free time. [1] "What Makes Trump & MAGA So Cruel? A Psychiatrist Explains" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T8jF8BEeCM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T8jF8BEeCM