MAGA Got Everything It Wanted. It's Still Throwing Tantrums –Dr. Lauren Tucker

When domination doesn't deliver dignity, all that's left is fury.

Joy Reid recently asked the question that cuts through all the noise like a gospel note over a bad choir:

“Why are MAGAs so mad? You’ve got everything you want — so why are y’all still so mad?”

It’s a fair question, and one I’ve asked myself many times.

The MAGA movement has captured every lever of power that matters: the Supreme Court, most red-state legislatures, a compliant Congress, and a stranglehold on the Republican Party. They’ve gutted DEI, rolled back reproductive rights, and turned public education into a culture-war cage match. In Trump’s second term, they even get to watch him punish blue states like a toddler with a hammer and no nap.

So why are they still furious?

Because rage is the point.

Grievance Is the Glue

MAGA isn’t a political ideology — it’s a lifestyle brand built on grievance. Even in victory, it needs new enemies to fight: immigrants, LGBTQ kids, “woke” teachers, journalists, scientists, or anyone who refuses to chant with enough enthusiasm.

If the movement ever ran out of people to hate, it would collapse under its own contradictions. The hot air of fury keeps the MAGA bouncy house inflated.

Outrage is also a business model. Right-wing media and Trump himself monetize anger like crude oil. Rage equals engagement; engagement equals profit. Calm doesn’t sell gold coins or “God, Guns, and Freedom” hoodies.

Linsdey Graham said it out loud when he stated that his political shift towards Donald Trump was “to try to be relevant.” Rage makes relevance in the MAGA world.

Power Without Prestige Feels Like Loss

Joy Reid’s question points to something deeper: MAGAs aren’t just angry — they’re offended that the rest of America refuses to bow. They’ve mistaken the loss of unearned respect for oppression.

For generations, white, Christian, heterosexual men were the default setting for American virtue. They didn’t have to earn dignity; they simply inherited it. The culture mirrored their values and rarely challenged their authority.

Now, every expansion of equality feels like a personal demotion. Dominance without deference doesn’t scratch the itch.

They Don’t Want Acceptance. They Want Adoration

Here’s the paradox: MAGAs claim to despise the left, yet crave its validation. Being admired by other MAGAs isn’t enough. They seek the approval of the very people they’ve been taught to despise.

That’s how they know they’ve won.

In their worldview, dominance only counts if the defeated admit defeat. If liberals and urban America refuse to say “You were right,” victory feels incomplete. They don’t just want coexistence.

They want applause.

The Politics of Humiliation

This dynamic is what historian Ruth Ben‑Ghiat calls the politics of humiliation. Fascism thrives not on deprivation but on disrespect.

When people who once sat atop the hierarchy feel mocked or corrected, they translate it into existential injury. That’s why Trump doesn’t promise prosperity. He promises revenge. His rallies are therapy sessions for the humiliated. Every insult he hurls is a group exorcism of shame.

Case in point: The President’s office published an AI-generated image of Trump, the leader of the free world, with a crown in a fighter jet bombing protesters, American citizens, with shit, feces, caca.

Oh brotha.

Hate and Envy: A Package Deal

Let’s be honest. Much of what MAGA calls “elitism” is just envy in camouflage. They resent the education, confidence, and mobility that they believe liberal America represents. They sneer at “coastal elites” while secretly wanting the same ease and validation.

But envy violates their self-image of moral superiority, so it must be converted into disgust. The people they wish would respect them become the people they claim to despise. Jealousy gets rebranded as righteousness.

The Cult of the Unadmired

Authoritarian movements are powered by status threat, the fear of slipping down the social ladder. MAGA’s threat is emotional, not economic. They can’t stand living in a culture that no longer casts them as the heroes of every story.

They want to be seen not just as right but as righteous.

So they howl for respect while denying it to everyone else. They confuse equality with erasure, accountability with contempt, pluralism with betrayal.

When speaking at the No Tyrants rally in Madrid, Spain, I noticed a young man in a MAGA hat, standing off to the side, arms crossed, face set in defiance. After watching hours of footage from No Kings and No Tyrants rallies around the world, I saw the same thing again and again: one or two of the MAGA faithful, surrounded by thousands of democracy-defenders, holding the line of their own private protest. What was that all about? Here are some thoughts.

When MAGA supporters appear at anti-Trump protests, they’re not seeking acceptance — they’re seeking proof.

Proof that they still matter, proof that their defiance still draws eyes, proof that their anger still moves the room.

They mistake confrontation for courage and rejection for righteousness.

They’re not looking for peace.

They’re looking for purpose.

Dominance ≠ Dignity

Healthy self-respect comes from within. Authoritarian self-worth depends on witnesses.

MAGA’s identity requires external validation — being feared, obeyed, or envied. If “the libs” aren’t mad, they feel irrelevant. If “the woke” aren’t crying, they feel unseen. If the press doesn’t react, they escalate until it does.

Their anger isn’t proof of strength; it’s evidence of dependency — an addiction.

Trump: The High Priest of Resentment

Trump understands this perfectly. He performs revenge for them. Every insult to journalists, every mockery of women or opponents, is a vicarious victory.

He doesn’t offer policy; he offers catharsis. His followers don’t seek governance. They seek emotional release.

Rage Is Easier Than Reflection

Here’s the tragedy: many of these same Americans were betrayed by the elites they still cheer on — billionaires and politicians who gutted their towns and jobs. But admitting that would mean confronting the con. So they keep punching down instead of looking up.

Rage is easier than regret.

Respect vs. Recognition

A democracy can and must respect everyone’s humanity. But it cannot validate every worldview.

MAGA wants both — unconditional respect for conditional values. They demand admiration for cruelty, applause for ignorance, and sympathy for authoritarianism.

That’s not respect; that’s surrender.

As Joy Reid might say, they don’t want equality — they want progressives to bend the knee.

The Bottom Line

MAGA’s fury persists because, even in victory, they don’t feel seen as rightful heroes. They crave cultural supremacy, not equality. When the rest of America refuses to kneel, they interpret it as insult.

They mistake the loss of unearned respect for oppression.

They don’t hate liberals because we’re wrong. They hate liberals because we can’t give them the one thing their movement can’t manufacture: dignity.

This is why rallies like No Kings are so important, and why those against fascism, authoritarianism, and their followers must continue to organize and resist taking the knee to the fury of MAGA. Without visible, sustained resistance, the movement’s emotional leverage goes unchecked — and psychological control becomes political control. The fight isn’t over when we lose the vote; it’s over when we stop showing up.

Until they understand that dignity can’t be stolen, bought, or bullied — it must be built within — they’ll keep mistaking fury for power and grievance for grace.