MAGA Watches Trump's Name Come off the Kennedy Center: MAGAReport 6/12/26

Plus my weekend with the Proud Boys...

After two legal attempts failed to keep Trump’s name on the Kennedy center today, local and national news livestreams have watched the process of removing his name from the facade. (The removal is ongoing at the time of writing, 10:45pm on 6/12/26). The MAGA faithful are also watching.

Trump says he doesn’t care, but he sure wrote a lot about it on Truth Social earlier today:

His supporters on the forums I monitor have a mix of feelings. A surprising number, maybe a third, dislike that he put his name up there in the first place.

• Does it matter if it was an Obama judge? Never should have had Trump’s name in the first place

• should have had the name chiseled into the masonry.

  • Why? It was fake and gay to add it in the first place.

• I wasn’t a fan

• Stupid idea putting it there in the first place. Judge is still wrong though

• We wouldn’t be having this conversation if he hadn’t put it there in the first place.

Others are mad and think it’s corrupt that he’s being forced to comply with the law:

• It’s a good example of what they [judges and, presumably democracs] want to do with everything he’s accomplished.

• These judges are crooked AF. I’m tired of this grandpa

• Seems like there are a handful of deep state muppets on the bench who once removed will permit the canker on the body politic to heal.

And still others say that the Kennedy center sucks anyway so Trump shouldn’t be associated with it:

• Trump never wanted his name on there in the first place. That faggot Grennel just put it on there.

• That place was neglected shamefully until President Trump became interested in fixing it up.

• He was going to renovate it, and they no. He said have your fucking center back congress and fuck off, you fucks.

There is also a tone of defiance that is a common theme in this part of MAGA:

• I’d rather have him keep it up to show these judges what little power they have

It’s interesting to see this reaction to a very public, symbolic loss for Trump. On one hand, this does not matter in the grand scheme of what’s going on. On the other hand, disrupting the sanctity of American institutions has been a mission of Trump’s second term. Being forced to take his name off something is a rebuke to his power. All Presidents end up losing on some issues they care about, but for the hard core MAGA crowd, it can feel like a violation of their personal power which is wrapped up in Trump’s success.

In other news, I have an article coming out in Esquire next week in their America 250 issue! It is a first-person account of the weekend I spent with the Cape Fear Proud Boys back in March. Despite my friends’ fears, I was not murdered and dumped in the woods. They were actually very nice to me and engaged with me in good faith, which I am grateful for. The article is an honest description of what it’s like to spend time with them, and an exploration of the beliefs, tensions, and contradictions inside the group. It will eventually show up online, but if you’re in an airport or a place with magazines, grab it in print.

Thank you to everyone who supports the MAGAReport. You help me fund projects like this one, which required a lot of travel and hotels. I’m really grateful to you💛