Today’s interview is with Rich Logis, founder of Leaving MAGA and the author of the book One Betrayal Too Many: Why I Left MAGA.
Rich’s story is interesting because he wasn’t always a critic of Donald Trump. In fact, he was deeply inside the movement. He supported Trump starting in 2015, defended the MAGA movement publicly, and believed he was part of a political and cultural mission to “save” the country. For years he was immersed in the media ecosystem and messaging that surrounded the movement.
But eventually something changed.
In his book One Betrayal Too Many, Rich describes how a series of events began to break the hold the movement had on him. It wasn’t one single moment. Instead, it was a slow accumulation of doubts — about the rhetoric, the misinformation, and the constant demand for loyalty above all else. Over time, he began to see the gap between what the movement claimed to stand for and what it was actually becoming.
That experience ultimately led him to create Leaving MAGA, an organization focused on helping people who want to step away from the movement do so without losing their identity, their community, or their voice. The group works with former supporters and families trying to navigate the personal and psychological challenges that often come with political de-radicalization.
In this conversation we talk about what originally drew him into the MAGA movement, why it can be so difficult for people to leave it, and what finally convinced him that it was time to walk away. We also talk about the emotional side of political identity — why movements become communities, and why breaking away can feel like losing a part of yourself.
Whether you agree with Rich or not, his story provides an inside look at how political movements gain loyalty, and what it actually takes for someone to step outside of them.
If you want to learn more about his work, you can find his organization at LeavingMAGA.org, and his book One Betrayal Too Many
