The MAGA Civil War Is Just Getting Started

Source: Alex Shephard

Alex Shephard is a senior editor at The New Republic since 2015, covering politics and culture, with work also in New York, GQ, The Atlantic, and The Nation. His articles focus on U.S. politics, including criticisms of Trump administration decisions on Iran and domestic issues. No fact-checking ratings, awards, or documented errors/retractions are mentioned.

Source: The New Republic

The New Republic, founded in 1914, is recognized by The New York Times for its intellectual rigor and left-leaning political views, maintaining influence as a biweekly print magazine (10 issues per year) with a daily online platform. It focuses heavily on criticism of Donald Trump and Republican figures in recent articles. While it has a century-long track record in opinion journalism, it lacks detailed fact-checking ratings and has faced controversies like the Scott Thomas Beauchamp fabricated Iraq War stories.

Source: Alex Shephard

Alex Shephard is a senior editor at The New Republic since 2015, covering politics and culture, with work in outlets like New York, GQ, The Atlantic, and The Nation. No evidence of formal fact-checking ratings, accuracy awards, or retractions exists. His opinionated analyses prioritize narrative framing over neutral reporting, aligned with the magazine's commentary style and audience.

Source Credibility

Author Alex Shephard, senior editor at left-leaning The New Republic, consistently frames Trump and MAGA negatively in his work, portraying their actions as chaotic failures.

Readers should know the outlet and author have a strong anti-Trump bias, which shapes the gleeful tone toward MAGA infighting as a "civil war."

unverified_claim

Claims specific critic statements without verification: MTG tweeted “25TH AMENDMENT!!!” over Iran; Carlson urged military to “disobey orders... say ‘no’” to Trump and called threats “evil”; Jones called threats “the definition of genocide”; early March Trump quote “MAGA is Trump.”

Presents contested or unconfirmed quotes as fact, exaggerating critics' extremism to portray them as unhinged.

Factual Error

States Owens theorized about “the murder of Charlie Kirk—for which she blames Israel”; Kirk is alive, no murder occurred.

Fabricates a murder event to tie Owens to antisemitic conspiracy, damaging credibility.

Framing

Repeatedly labels critics (Greene, Carlson, Owens, Jones) with "antisemitic" or conspiracy history (e.g., "Jewish space lasers," "raving antisemite") as compound assumption labels without new evidence tied to Iran criticism.

Mechanism-free moral labeling dismisses their anti-war stance as bigotry rather than policy disagreement, smuggling in character attacks.

Missing Context

US-Israel strikes on Feb 28, 2026 killed Iran's Khamenei amid Iranian protests, nuclear tensions, and failed negotiations; described as defensive/preemptive by US/Israel.

Frames war solely as Trump's "betrayal" without cause (Iranian suppression, nuclear threat), altering moral calculus from response to aggression.

Missing Context

Trump's Truth Social post was 482 words attacking critics including Megyn Kelly (not just listed four); Owens did reply "It may be time to put Grandpa up in a home."

Omits Kelly, selectively lists to fit "MAGA" critics; confirms Owens reply but buries in sensationalism.

Emotional Manipulation

Headline "The MAGA Civil War Is Just Getting Started" and opener "Who’s the biggest nut job in MAGA?" use snarl words and sensationalism; portrays Trump as "weak," "lost touch with reality."

Primes readers for schadenfreude over right-wing chaos, not neutral reporting on policy split.

Omission

Source asymmetry: Quotes only anti-Trump MAGA critics extensively; no pro-war MAGA voices or Trump defense.

Creates false consensus that MAGA opposes war, ignoring base support or war rationale.

Factual Error

"Owens’s bloom has faded a bit after a sharp turn toward conspiracy theorizing in recent years, especially regarding the murder of Charlie Kirk—for which she blames Israel"

Charlie Kirk is alive; fabricates a murder to link Owens to antisemitic conspiracy.

Missing Context

Trump's post targeted 5+ including Megyn Kelly; critics like Bannon/Cernovich claims unverified.

Selective list inflates "MAGA" opposition; ignores broader targets.

Emotional Manipulation

Headline "MAGA Civil War Is Just Getting Started"; opener "biggest nut job in MAGA?"; speculates Owens/Carlson 2028 runs.

Sensationalizes real rift into chaotic circus for engagement/schadenfreude.