Trump’s MAGA brand is collapsing — and that makes him an even greater threat

With the 2026 midterms only four and one-half months away, President Donald Trump continues to suffer from low approval ratings in poll after poll — including an American Research Group poll that was conducted June 16-20 and found his overall approval at only 30 percent. Trump's MAGA brand, according to Salon's Chauncey DeVega, is collapsing — which, he warns, makes the president more dangerous, not less.

"Trump stores are closing across the country," DeVega explains in Salon. "In Philadelphia and Crystal Lake, Illinois, shops that sell MAGA merchandise are shutting down due to a lack of interest. The Trump Truth Store + Hangout in Crystal Lake has only been open for several months. But in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, the owner explained the difficult decision she made to temporarily close the location, saying that President Trump's war against Iran was the immediate cause of the collapse in business…. The closure of these stores points to an undeniable fact: Donald Trump is deeply unpopular."

DeVega continues, "His precipitous decline in the polls — which show key parts of his base, including white working-class voters, fragmenting — is much deeper than a single issue such as the economy or Iran. A growing number of Americans are rejecting what Trump and MAGA — a development that is a much greater political problem than winning the day or week of the election cycle."

In the past, DeVega observes, MAGA was "one of the most successful brands in American history."

"A successful brand creates a deep emotional connection between the consumer and the product," according to the Salon journalist. "To that point, modern branding is less about the function of the product, and more about identity and the self. This is especially true in the era of social media, hyper-individualization, personal branding and micro celebrity. As a brand, MAGA achieved rare semiotic unity…. Eleven years after its launch in 2015, that brand is in crisis."

But Trump, DeVega warns, will not quietly fade away as his brand continues to tank in popularity.

"In politics, a damaged brand is often an increasingly desperate and reckless one," according to DeVega. "This makes Trump and MAGA more dangerous — not less. In an attempt to recapture the earlier energy of the MAGA movement, when Trump's transgressive nature, norm-breaking and personal insults were still shocking — and grossly titillating for his MAGA followers and others attracted to his banner — he is testing new slogans on his Truth Social platform.... But I am now increasingly certain that most supporters of this version of Trumpism and MAGA will pretend they were not associated with it. Toxic brands have few defenders."

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