OPINION:
In what CNN dubbed the “political breakup heard ’round the world,” the legacy media this weekend breathlessly reported on the fallout between President Trump and close ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican. Many speculated whether Mr. Trump’s MAGA base was splintering.
The rift between the two — which has been brewing for months over policy disagreements on Obamacare subsidies, the use of H1-B visas, Chinese students’ attendance at U.S. universities and the White House’s inordinate time focusing on foreign policy issues rather than domestic — came to a head this weekend over the Epstein files. Ms. Greene was calling for their release. Mr. Trump views the entire escapade as a distraction to his legacy.
These pages have focused very little on Jeffrey Epstein because I also feel that the entire ordeal has become a political football with no relevance to the issues that concern everyday Americans, such as affordability and crime. Still, the files should be released in full to put an end to all the speculation surrounding them.
Late Sunday, the president agreed and called on the House of Representatives to vote for their discharge Tuesday.
Mr. Trump’s MAGA base remains coalesced around him, rooting for him and believing his success will translate to theirs. Yet Mr. Trump won’t be on the ballot in 2028, so the Republican Party is naturally looking for its next leader. The choice is not obvious.
J.D. Vance, as Mr. Trump’s vice president, is the heir apparent. Yet he has notched no policy wins while serving as vice president and has no clear portfolio. Mr. Vance rose to the Senate in 2022, winning Ohio’s open seat vacated by Republican Rob Portman. His campaign floundered at times, unable to fully energize the electorate and raise money. It was Mr. Trump’s endorsement, coupled with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s turnout efforts, that pushed Mr. Vance through the finish line.
Despite calling Mr. Trump “reprehensible” and an “idiot” during his successful 2016 presidential run, Mr. Vance cozied up to the MAGA base by retracting the comments, saying they were “stupid” and that Mr. Trump was “the greatest president in my lifetime.”
Serving slightly more than two years in the Senate, Mr. Vance didn’t sponsor or co-sponsor any significant legislation that became law. He did master the cable news circuit, however. He was constantly refuting President Biden’s administration and advocating for Mr. Trump’s “America First” agenda, focusing primarily on curbing illegal immigration and restoring American manufacturing.
Mr. Vance’s resume remains light, however, in proving he can actually effectuate the change he now advocates and whether he genuinely believes in it.
Marco Rubio has been a strong secretary of state for Mr. Trump, backing up the president in tenuous times throughout the world. Mr. Rubio has been negotiating peace deals in the Middle East and coordinating meetings with Russia’s president to end the war in Ukraine. He has been targeting narco-state Venezuela to bring stability to the Southern Hemisphere.
Yes, Mr. Rubio has also been critical of Mr. Trump, but that was when Mr. Rubio was running against Mr. Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. It was his job.
Still, Mr. Rubio was unable to tap into the populist sentiment Mr. Trump identified that year. He notably choked in a debate with Republican presidential contender Chris Christie, and his nerves got the best of him while giving the Republican rebuttal to President Obama’s State of the Union address in 2013.
As secretary of state, Mr. Rubio has shown poise and strength. The question remains whether he can reconstruct Mr. Trump’s base in 2028 and translate his foreign policy wins into domestic priorities that drive out low-propensity voters.
This brings us to Marjorie Taylor Greene. Ms. Greene tapped into Georgia’s MAGA base in 2020 and won her congressional seat on an “America First” agenda. Like her or hate her, she has been consistent in her views, even when that means challenging Mr. Trump. She homed in on the affordability issue long before this month’s off-year elections, which roiled Republicans. She has an intuitive sense of the MAGA brand and what issues MAGA voters prioritize.
Unlike with Mr. Trump, however, it’s unclear whether Ms. Greene can mobilize the corporate interest and establishment donor support needed to win big-ticket elections. Many within the Republican electorate find her too polarizing and coarse. What Mr. Trump can get away with in style, seemingly, Ms. Greene cannot.
Mr. Trump is one of the most unusual politicians in American history. He was absolutely right last week when he said, “MAGA was my idea. MAGA was nobody else’s idea. I know what MAGA wants better than anybody else, and MAGA wants to see our country thrive.”
Yet the question remains: Where does MAGA go when Mr. Trump is gone?
• Kelly Sadler is the commentary editor at The Washington Times.
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