A support network helps former Trump supporters leave ‘MAGA’

NEW YORK (MNTV) — As support for President Donald Trump faces growing strains, a small but expanding effort is trying to help former supporters break away from the political identity and social networks built around his movement.

Leaving MAGA, launched in 2024, calls itself an “exit ramp” for people abandoning Trumpism, arguing that leaving often means more than changing opinions — it can mean breaking from a community built around outrage, conspiracy theories, and intense loyalty. 

It was founded by Rich Logis, a former committed Trump supporter and Fox News commentator who broke with the movement after the 2022 Uvalde school shooting and publicly apologized for promoting divisive rhetoric.

The group runs support meetings, online communities, media-literacy efforts, and a billboard campaign — nearly 40 billboards across 27 states reading “Having doubts? You’re not alone.”

Its approach is deliberately nonconfrontational, aimed at people already questioning the movement rather than at winning arguments. 

One former member, Stephania Messina, a onetime member of a conservative Christian community near Detroit, said she grew skeptical during the pandemic amid conflicting messaging and conspiracy theories, and describes rebuilding empathy as central to her departure. 

A family-support program coaches relatives not to argue constantly but to keep communication open.

Political theorist Laura K. Field argues MAGA’s strength lies partly in functioning as a community that provides belonging and identity, which makes leaving costly — former supporters may lose friendships and family ties. 

The group’s premise, and its challenge, is that if Trumpism loses supporters, changing their vote may prove easier than helping them rebuild the belonging that kept them inside.