Former MAGA Diehards Who Are Turning On Trump In His Second Term

In the chaos of the 2024 election cycle, Donald Trump ran a campaign based on several major promises — from mass deportations to pinkie swearing not to start new wars, Trump was ready to offer his followers everything they wanted to hear. However, now that he's firmly settled into his second presidential term, Trump has been making moves that seem to be upsetting his base. Of course, there were all the celebrities who left the country after Trump won, but now it seems that some of MAGA's diehard fans might be inching their way out the door as well.

While Trump is still able to rule the White House with an iron fist by keeping his subordinates like Karoline Leavitt in line, the rest of the rank and file appear to be shifting in their seats. There will always be hangers-on, like Lauren Boebert and Leavitt, who just might be obsessed with Trump, but the rift is becoming noticeable. Going from a group of true believers to beginning to question their fearless leader, there's a growing handful of always-Trumpers who appear to have turned a corner. These include former political allies and even some men who helped Trump get elected, all with their very own reasons for pivoting away from the president.

At the end of Donald Trump's first term in office, the rift between himself and his then-Vice President Mike Pence was beginning to grow. When Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, several were heard calling for Pence in a way that suggested malice and possible harm, so it would track that the complicated relationship between Trump and Pence would grow even more dire in the wake of such a disrupting moment. Once Trump left office, the pair went their separate ways and it seems Pence never really found the will to fully forgive and forget.

In a May 2025 interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Pence made some jabs at Trump's self-obsessed nature. Since Trump never seems to recover from someone abandoning him, it tracked that Trump had also previously discussed his icy feelings towards Pence. However, it seems that Pence is now growing a bit more bold and is finding more time to sit and take interviews, often cozying up with news outlets Trump himself seems to despise. Besides the interview with Collins, Pence has also gone on NBC and CBS News, making the media rounds while casually avoiding Trump's preferred Fox News.

Ferociously loud and occasionally embarrassing, Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene came up in politics by fully enshrouding herself in ultra-conservative corners of the GOP. While she's made a name for herself by heckling previous presidents during the State of the Union, Greene has typically fallen in line when it comes to most anything President Donald Trump promotes. However, as his second term unfolds, it seems that Greene has grown a bit contentious with some of the policies Trump has been advocating for.

The rift started to widen when the Trump administration inserted itself into an ongoing conflict in the Middle East by orchestrating airstrikes on nuclear facilities in Iran. Though Trump claimed victory, many news outlets reported otherwise — something that seemed to really ruffle Greene. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Greene unleashed a mostly hinged post that lamented how Trump was essentially breaking "key promises" he ran on, including, "NO MORE FOREIGN WARS." While Greene might be souring on Trump, she still has a friend within the upper echelons of the White House — Vice President JD Vance and Greene have a unique relationship, which could possibly see her course-correcting back to Trump's base. 

The arrival into MAGA territory for spin-kicking podcast host Joe Rogan happened slowly, with Rogan happily swimming in more libertarian waters for some time. However, after Donald Trump appeared on Rogan's podcast, it seemed that Rogan had caught the MAGA bug and ended up throwing his support behind Trump leading up to the election. Fond feelings for Trump lingered for Rogan, who attended the inauguration ceremony in January of 2025. However, shortly afterward, as Trump ramped up aggressive tactics for mass deportation, the former "Fear Factor" host began backing away.

Since Trump entered office for a second time, Rogan has taken to his podcast to espouse his disdain for some of the ways the president has been handling immigration. In April of 2025, Rogan began pointing out his distaste at the lack of due process in many of the deportations taking place. Since then, Rogan has consistently stayed on brand with the messaging that he disagrees with the way the Trump administration is tackling deportations. In June 2025, Rogan discussed the ICE raids on "The Joe Rogan Experience" after violence erupted in Los Angeles, California. Then again in July, Rogan took to his podcast to denounce what he sees as an "overcorrection" on Trump's part. It seems as if Rogan is unwilling to let this stance from Trump slide, and it could indicate a final chapter in their mutual relationship.

When Donald Trump was filling his cabinet with people willing to inflate his ego, he made sure to include a long-time fan: Dan Bongino. The former host of "Unfiltered With Dan Bongino" became yet another Fox News personality to join the Trump administration when Bongino accepted the role as deputy director of the FBI. Leading up to joining Trump in Washington, D.C., Bongino had sunk his teeth into the enigma that is the Jeffrey Epstein case. With many fellow conspiracy theorists following suit, the concept that something devious and hidden within what has become known as "The Epstein Files" would come to light under Trump's second term. However, that has not been the case.

According to NPR, the president has truly fumbled the ball when it comes to his handling of releasing any pertinent information regarding Epstein. This has inadvertently put Bongino in a tough spot, as he cultivated quite a fan base on conspiracy theories swirling around everything Epstein. It got to the point that Bongino threatened to quit in July 2025, although Trump walked that back for him, telling CNN, "Dan Bongino is a very good guy ... I think he's in good shape." However, time will tell if Bongino can handle retaining such a shape for Trump.

Leading up to the 2024 presidential election, Elon Musk appeared to take great pride in going full MAGA. Musk spent millions on Donald Trump's campaign, which arguably contributed to his successful run. The two quickly bonded, participating in a whirlwind bromance that felt codependent at times, with Trump even noting that Musk was hard to get rid of. However, when Trump platformed his "Big, Beautiful Bill," a rift began to tear the dynamic duo apart. Right around the time Musk left the White House for good, leaving his Department of Government Efficiency running without him, the tech billionaire began making a series of posts meant to get under Trump's skin — and indication that the rise and fall of Trump and Musk's relationship was a bright and shining star, and their dissolution is still ongoing. 

Though Musk sort of apologized for some of the posts he made on X, the Tesla CEO then fired off a poll asking his followers "if you want independence from the two-party...system!" Musk then suggested, and claimed to form, the America Party, although, according to the BBC, there's been no proof from the Federal Electoral Commission that any paperwork has been filed. However, the feud between Musk and Trump seems to still have some legs, and with midterm elections taking place in 2026, there's still time and a chance for Musk to meddle in politics once again.