Evangelical churches are 'quiet quitting' Trump as flocks sickened by tactics: expert

Large numbers of evangelicals and Catholic churches are "quiet quitting" President Donald Trump and leaving MAGA — hoping to avoid isolating people who are still devotees but are distancing themselves from the president's aggressive immigration policies and remarks, Axios reported on Wednesday.

Some congregation members are stepping away from supporting Trump and pastors are attempting to pander to them, even steering clear of political sermons and messages, according to the report.

"We've gotten more testimonials. I'm starting to now see 'Leaving MAGA' signs popping up on billboards, overpasses, and [at] No Kings protests," Rich Logis, who founded a group called Leaving MAGA, told Axios.

Logis is a Catholic ex-Trump supporter and says the Leaving MAGA group has seen a rise in downloads for its manual guiding people on how to "gently urge family members to quit MAGA," he said. The group has also seen a rise in subscribers, with more than 35,000 in July — in part driven by the administration's reluctance to release the Epstein files, he said.

Prior to the election, when he was a MAGA follower, Logis admits that he believed "there was some divine intervention with Trump getting elected." He also viewed those who did not support Trump as "enemies."

Now, thousands of churches have also downloaded the support kit that describes how to confront Christian nationalism with advice on how to quietly walk away.

"We know that there's a lot of really quiet movements that are going on," said Doug Pagitt, pastor and executive director of the progressive Christian group Vote Common Good.

Many avoid publicly denouncing Trump and MAGA over fears of retaliation or harassment, especially online.

Mass deportations are leading many people to quietly walk away from following MAGA, said Dave Gibbons, the lead pastor of Newsong Church in Santa Ana, Calif. The multi-ethnic church calls itself "home of the misfits."

The quit-MAGA movement is growing ahead of the 2026 and 2028 elections.

"Democrats haven't shown many signs of going after persuadable evangelical voters," Axios reports. "But nationwide, several moderate Christians are expected to seek office as Democrats, putting distance between themselves and MAGA at a time when Trump and his allies are leaning into Christian nationalism."