MAGAReport for 12/16/2024

A photo essay on the MAGA community from the campaign trail

As we wait for inauguration and the next MAGA phase, I wanted to share this visual look at my year of following MAGA. My interest has been in the MAGA community and the Trump supporters, not the politics, campaign, or candidates. I interviewed scores of people and took hundreds of thousands of photos at rallies around the country. As I’ve been working up the proposal for my book and going through my notes and archives, I pulled together this photo essay. I’m not submitting this anywhere for publication, but if I did and someone allowed me to be artistic about it, I’d call it “Distortion”.

Elon Musk looks back at Trump supporters during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, October 5, 2024. This was Musk's first appearance at a Trump rally after becoming a dedicated supporter of the former President during the election cycle. He has been enthusiastically embraced by the MAGA community.

A woman raises her fist in support of President Trump as she waits in line to enter a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, August 30, 2024. Trump's now-famous raised fist captured in Evan Vucci's photo of the attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania in July has become iconic within the MAGA community. At every rally, crowds pump their fists while chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Trump merchandise is for sale outside a rally in Duluth, Georgia, October 23, 2024. Trump's status as a convicted felon has become a key part of the Trump mythology. The MAGA community sees it as linked to the Butler assassination attempt, Trump's other legal troubles, and the "stolen" election of 2020, all part of a coordinated effort by outside forces to keep Trump from regaining power.

YouTube celebrity Benny Johnson dances on stage in front of Trump's mugshot at a Turning Point rally in Duluth, Georgia, October 23, 2024. Benny Johnson was found in August to be one of a number of conservative influencers who accepted $10 million from Russian state media to spread Kremlin-supported propaganda in the United States. His speech at the Duluth rally was a slideshow of pro-Trump memes and he received one of the most engaged and excited receptions of the evening.

Hulk Hogan takes the stage in support of President Trump at a rally in Madison Square Garden in New York City, October 27, 2024. The former professional wrestler revived his 1980s stage persona to support Trump, appearing at the Republican National Convention and a number of rallies. Like all well-known pop-culture figures who support Trump, he has been one of the star attractions at rallies.

A Trump supporter wears a Hulk Hogan shirt with an image from the Republican National Convention outside a rally in Uniondale, New York, September 18, 2024. His tattoos capture a common attitude among the MAGA community at rallies, where language considered inappropriate is embraced, generally as a rejection of mainstream social mores.

Edward "Ed" X. Young gestures to the media outside a Trump rally in Johnstonwn, Pennsylvania, August 30, 2024. Ed attended over 100 Trump rallies in 2024. He became engaged to a woman he met at a rally in October and attempted (unsuccessfully) to have the campaign marry them on stage at the Madison Square Garden rally in late October.

Trump supporters line up ahead of a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, August 30, 2024. At a typical Trump rally, the line begins to form at 9am. Doors to the venue open in the mid-afternoon, programming begins around 4pm. Trump is usually scheduled to take the stage at 7pm, though he often doesn't begin his 2-hour speech until 8pm.

A young girl holds a homemade sign as she waits in line with other Trump supporters outside a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, August 30, 2024. Few children attend these rallies, but when they do, their parents have often helped them make signs and outfitted them in MAGA gear. The parents themselves often wear shirts and hats with curses and taunts on them, as is typical of rally-goers.

A man waits for the program to begin at a Trump rally in Butler Pennsylvania, October 5, 2024. The rally was held at the same site as the July assassination attempt and drew one of the larger crowds of the election cycle. Trump claimed the crowd was over 100,000 people-strong, but the venue cannot hold more than 57,000 people at full capacity. Experts using aerial footage and GPS data estimate the crowd numbered roughly 20,000-30,000.

Trump supporters cheer at a rally in Duluth, Georgia, October 23, 2024. Trump was re-elected on November 5^th as the 47^th President of the United States.