The fracturing of Maga and its implications for US policies

THE Make America Great Again (Maga) movement, once seemingly monolithic in its populist fervour, is showing deep internal fractures across four critical policy domains: trade, immigration, artificial intelligence (AI) and foreign policy.

These divisions reveal a fundamental tension between the movement’s traditional nationalist-populist base and the tech billionaires and pragmatists who have recently aligned themselves with US President Donald Trump’s second administration.

The trade wars within

The most visible early split emerged over Trump’s tariff policy. When the president announced comprehensive tariffs on Apr 2, financial markets plunged and economists warned of recession. The two camps entered open conflict.