Former President Donald Trump usually reserves his nicknames for his political enemies — Lyin’ Ted Cruz, Low-Energy Jeb Bush, Sleepy Joe Biden, Pocahontas. But Trump has finally given his own followers a nickname so they can more easily band together under a single identity — and likely so he can increase his already formidable merch sales.
Having coined MAGA — an acronym for Make America Great Again — so successfully that the moniker is now common shorthand for the far right wing of the GOP, Trump has now extended and transformed the word into “Magadonians,” a brand identity for members of his political tribe.
Getting real close to the QAnon pledge here. pic.twitter.com/WN2oG7Eqk6
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 2, 2023
The name has an ancient, even prehistoric, echo, which opens it to snarky jabs from the left, but appeals to the MAGA mindset.
Trump knows better than anyone that a sense of belonging, of not being forgotten, of group grievance is what he offers those who pledge fealty to him. A comprehensive survey found that “long-term pessimism was also widespread among Trump supporters. Two-thirds of Trump primary supporters thought life today for people like them is worse than it was 50 years ago.”
The former President nourishes this sense of pessimistic community and resentment by promising solidarity with even its most transgressive members, exemplified by his promise to pardon those convicted for January 6 crimes.
Any candidate who says they will pardon Jan. 6 defendants is not qualified to be President.
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) May 25, 2023
With Magadonians, Trump now creates an identity group for his followers to belong to, a category more refined than the catchall “Republican.” After all, Ron DeSantis and Liz Cheney are Republicans. Magadonians they are not.
In ripping former friend Fox News, Trump said Fox was losing out on servicing his “brilliant Magadonians,” who, he asserts, don’t want to hear about DeSantis.
“FOX should embrace MAGA,” Trump writes on social media, “because the very smart, even brilliant, Magadonians know that, despite all the fake lip service, FoxNews is pushing Ron DeSanctus, or anyone else for that matter, because they hate the greatest ‘america first’ president to ever put on a suit and tie, me.”
Soundwise, “Magadonians” brings to mind “Macedonians,” which refers to the people from Macedonia, a region in Southeastern Europe. Of course, the most famous Macedonian in history is Alexander the Great, the ancient Greek king from Macedon.
A renowned tough guy and tactician, Alexander the Great is someone Trump may hope to be associated with, even if anti-globalist America First agenda is diametrically opposed to Alexander’s goals — he created one of the largest empires in history, stretching from Greece to Egypt and as far east as India.
Magadonians also has a sonic — and slightly comic — resemblance to Guardians, a nod to the Marvel Universe and its fantasy world of heroic activity — again a point that draws snark from the left and pride from those who like to cheer on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The penetration of the word into everyday news coverage and election-cycle identity politics may be a good metric about whether Trump’s power to influence is rising or waning. If, like MAGA, it becomes a commonplace, expect GOP challengers to fold.
