Opinion | U.S. democracy is bigger than MAGA - The Daily Iowan

In today’s political climate, republican and MAGA seem to be used interchangeably. But they couldn’t be more different. In fact, President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again,” or MAGA, movement is often considered a populist party, one where political ideology drives two antagonistic extremes, often considered as “the pure people” versus “the corrupt elite.”

Despite the acknowledgment of most left-leaning voters that MAGA does fall on the populist scale, many strongly associate those who voted for Trump with being MAGA enthusiasts. I even have a friend who almost always refuses to hear a Trump voter’s reasoning, because in her mind, they align with MAGA.

But that assumption oversimplifies both the Republican Party and American democracy.

Lincoln Menninga, a third-year student at the University of Iowa, cast his ballot for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, but he dislikes the way people align him with Trump extremism.

“I do not feel represented by MAGA,” Menninga said. “MAGA represents Donald Trump, and I feel it is disingenuous to equate one man and his actions to the beliefs and rationale of almost half of the country.”

Menninga isn’t alone in his true feelings about MAGA as a Trump voter. Less than 40 percent of Trump’s voters identify with MAGA, dividing the Republican Party into the MAGA movement and more traditional conservatism. The Republican Party was different before Trump’s first term, but this tension is seemingly ignored.

Traditional Republican values, the ones that most who voted for Trump had on their mind, are centered on limited government intervention, free-market capitalism, and a strong national defense. They believe in promoting individual liberty, personal and fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, reduced federal regulation, and constitutional originalism.

MAGA, however, values nationalism, economic protectionism, strict immigration enforcement, and anti-establishment sentiments, and is largely centered around Trump. There is a loyalty to their candidate over institution, election denial rhetoric, and harsh ideologies on progressivism as a threat to the historic values of the nation.

In short, MAGA doesn’t represent what most Republicans believe in or vote for, but unfortunately, Trump was the lesser of two evils in many voters’ minds and was a symbol of party loyalty or slight policy alignment.

But Americans need to see that one candidate or movement does not define American democracy. Instead, American democracy is defined by pluralism, even within parties.

Here, we value multiple competing interest groups, ideologies, and identities to influence policy, ensuring that no one specific party wins. It relies on diversity, negotiation, civic participation, and peaceful conflict resolution. The most important part: respecting all opposing views and sharing a commitment to the democratic process.

“Voting for Trump does not equate to supporting every aspect of the MAGA movement, and an open-minded and honest conversation should be had to piece apart someone’s mind if you genuinely want to know,” Menninga said.

It isn’t hard to see that MAGA doesn’t really value pluralism, yet many Republicans do. When we associate all of Trump’s voters as part of the MAGA movement, we oversimplify millions of voters, increase polarization, and ignore the internal dissent of many democratic participants. So, it is possible to have voted for Trump AND still value democratic institutions. Likewise, it is also fair to criticize the MAGA rhetoric without condemning every Republican voter.

So, as Democrats assume all Republicans are MAGA, polarization increases. As Republicans don’t always distinguish themselves from MAGA, the party narrows and turns it into a monolith.

“People need to understand that most conservatives are enticed by certain aspects of the MAGA agenda, but few fully buy into everything he claims to represent and the actions he takes,” Menninga said.

Republicans need to actively move away from Trump and show their support for their values, not for the ones that power has curated under a single name. Democrats need to see the attempt at pluralism from Republicans and help them in their disassociation from MAGA, not judge them all for who they voted for without understanding why.