Conventional Wisdom: MAGA Infighting Edition

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By Newsweek StaffShareNewsweek is a Trust Project member

CW surveys Donald Trump's base in revolt—against each other.

JD Vance ⬅➡

Has a commanding lead in the 2028 GOP nomination polls, but no one’s political fate is more tied to Trump than his VP—and watching your party tear itself apart over tech billionaires and pedophile files is a recipe for failure to launch.

Peter Thiel ⬇

Maneuvered Vance onto the 2024 ticket, and his Palantir has been rewarded with $113 million in federal deals, but the MAGA base he cultivated now revolts against his H1B-loving, AI-deregulating Silicon Valley worldview. Built the populist monster; forgot monsters eat their creators.

Elon Musk ⬆

Back in Trump's good graces after his DOGE defenestration, the H1B war he vowed to fight, and feuds over tariffs and the Epstein files. The world's richest man discovered that bridges rebuild themselves when you own them.

Laura Loomer ⬆

Sparked the H1B war, convinced Trump to fire national security officials she deemed disloyal, got credentialed to cover the Pentagon after the press corps walked out and watched Trump reuse the "Marjorie Traitor Greene" nickname she coined four years ago. It’s good to be the Grand Inquisitor.

Ron DeSantis ⬆

"Trump without the chaos" got demolished in 2024 as "Ron DeSanctimonious" for daring to challenge the boss. Now he's breaking with Trump on AI regulation and H1B visas just in time for 2028—when breaking with Trump stops being disqualifying and starts being differentiation.

Originally a staple of Newsweek's print edition, Conventional Wisdom used arrows to track whose stock was rising or falling in the political circus. We're reviving it in the digital age because the problem it lampooned—hyperbole and partisan certainty masquerading as insight—has only intensified.

CW assigns arrows—up, down, or sideways—to the figures and forces shaping current events. The arrows don't predict the future or claim special insight. They capture the prevailing winds of the moment, uncluttered by tribal howling. In an era when partisan media reinforces rather than questions assumptions, CW operates from the center—skeptical of left and right alike, committed to puncturing inflated reputations and recognizing overlooked truths.

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