Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha said, “This is not the Republican Party, it’s the MAGA party,” arguing that President Donald Trump’s continued success in Republican primaries demonstrates the extent to which the GOP has become aligned with the MAGA movement.
Concha highlighted Trump’s success rate in backing Republican candidates and pointed to recent defeats suffered by Republicans who have found themselves at odds with the president.
“Wow. Do the math. 118-118, and Bill Cassidy found that out, and John Cornyn found that out in Texas, and the useful idiot, that is the perpetual no vote Thomas Massie, found that out. This is not the Republican anymore, Charlie, it’s the MAGA party,” Concha said on Fox News’s Fox and Friends on Sunday.
Concha pointed to Trump’s enduring influence within the Republican Party, noting that the president’s endorsements have remained a powerful force in Republican primaries. Most recently, Trump backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his successful primary challenge against long-standing Sen. John Cornyn, underscoring the president’s continued sway with GOP voters.
Trump has targeted Republicans who break with him, with critics and losing primaries or leaving office in the years since his first term, including Rep.Thomas Massie (R-KY), who also recently lost his reelection primary bid to a Trump-backed challenger in a district he held for 14 years after supporting the release of all the Epstein files.
Against that backdrop, Concha argued that Trump’s political movement is likely to outlast his presidency, with younger Republican leaders poised to continue advancing his agenda.
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“JD Vance, Marco Rubio, if and when they win in 2028, are going to carry this mantle for some time,” Concha said.
Concha stated that Trump’s continued dominance in Republican primaries demonstrates both the president’s enduring popularity with GOP voters and the growing strength of the MAGA movement within the party.
