US President Donald Trump speaks with the media as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, October 29, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Historian Heather Cox Richardson argues in her latest “Letters from an American” newsletter that MAGA is showing signs of weakening at home, pointing to several recent developments.
To begin with, she cites a report from Status that Fox News’s October ratings are down 27 percent in total viewers and 32 percent among viewers aged 25 to 54 compared with last year, while MS NOW and CNN are growing. She also relays The Independent’s report that Trump merchandise stores are shutting across the country, with one owner saying the store had “run its course.”
Richardson highlights Republicans backing Democrats. Texas Democrat James Talarico’s campaign is airing ads in which five ex-GOP officials urge votes for him over Republican Ken Paxton. In South Carolina, ex-governors Jim Hodges and David Beasley, from opposing parties, jointly endorse Democrat Annie Andrews. In Alaska, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski backed Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins for governor.
She adds that The New York Times describes Trump as angry, isolated and absorbing a diet of flattering coverage, and that the Times reports growing Republican alarm over a Senate map with several Democratic paths.
Additionally, Richardson discussed Brazil, where she says Flávio Bolsonaro, who is under investigation for financial crimes, fled to Miami after losing the election, and the State Department will grant him a visa. She calls his defeat a blow to what she sees as Trump’s plan to install allies across Latin America, and notes a Brazilian judge ordered an investigation of the Vance-linked Rockbridge Network, which denies involvement.
She ends with right-wing activists James O’Keefe and Cam Higby, charged in Minnesota after giving false names to poll workers in what they called a test of a “vouching” rule.