‘White knuckles’: MAGA faithful admits midterms slipping from GOP — but they don’t care

Adam Nichols

Feb. 23, 2025, 12:58 a.m.

A stream of MAGA diehards told the Wall Street Journal Saturday that they saw Donald Trump’s whirlwind few weeks in power as putting the GOP’s hold on Congress at risk.

But they urged the president not to slow down.

The Trump fans spoke to the Journal on the last day of the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday — hours before Trump was set to speak.

They admitted a wave of anger that had swept the nation amid a flood of firings of the federal workforce didn’t bode well for the midterm elections in 2026.

But the action was worth the loss, they said.

“It’s not worth holding on to power with white knuckles and saying, ‘Oh, we’re scared we might lose the midterms, so let’s not do anything,’” Christopher Kelly, 67, from Iowa, told the Journal.

And he said action taken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was a dream come true for conservatives who want to see deep cuts to spending.

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“We’re riding a wave right now, but we know we have to evangelize to our fellow citizens the richness of what we’re doing, and how it’s conducive to human flourishing.”

He was talking as polls showed a significant downturn in Trump's popularity, and angry crowds were showing up at GOP politicians' town hall meetings.

Dennis Mayo, 75, from California, said of the cuts, “You have to sweep out the dirt before you find the good stuff and put it back.”

And Michael O’Neil of New Hampshire told the Journal, “A true leader doesn’t care about ratings. Lead from the front."