'MAGA's whole future in doubt': GOP will 'return to status quo' after Trump's second term

The GOP may "return to the status quo" after Donald Trump finishes his second term in the White House.

Political commentator Gerard Baker believes the split in the Republican Party over the release of Jeffrey Epstein's files is the first signs of a rift, and this may continue to dog the president in his second term. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Baker questioned whether the policies of "Trumpism" would survive the departure of the president, or whether the GOP would shift themselves back to less controversial or out-there policies.

He wrote, "The schisms underscore the growing fragility of the nascent coalition in the waning days of its founder. But the idea that the party can go back to some kind of status quo that existed before Mr. Trump is fanciful."

Baker also believes the MAGA faction of the GOP "seems slightly lost" after Marjorie Taylor Greene announced her resignation. Trump had called his one-time close ally a "traitor" after she was one of the first to break rank and back the release of the Epstein files.

Trouble for the MAGA wing of the party may come to a head sooner than expected, with a "crack" never in doubt for the devoted Trump followers. Baker added, "That the MAGA coalition would crack was never in doubt; the only questions were when and along what lines.

"Thinking anyone other than Mr. Trump could hold together his disparate supporters would be like thinking that someone other than Elvis Presley could keep together all the diverse ranks of Elvis fans.

"It would be foolishly premature to think Mr. Trump has in any meaningful political sense left the building, but the signs from the audience already suggest divergent demands for what comes next. And no impersonator, however convincing the outfit, will do."

Trump's "showmanship" was also brought into question, with Baker believing the entertainment has kept Trump relevant, but policy shortcoming and growing economic issues are making it tougher for the "Trump experiment" to carry on.

Baker added, "No one can keep the people entertained the way Mr. Trump has, but if the Trump experiment can’t alleviate the cost-of-living challenge for most Americans, MAGA’s whole future—whatever version of it you prefer—is in doubt."