How MAGA is turning on itself

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

News Commentary, Philosophy, Politics, Society & Culture, News

4.5 • 11.1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2026

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

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Summary

For years, right-wing influencers and politicians have pushed the conservative movement to have more controversial, anti-establishment views. Why are some of those figures now upset about where the movement has ended up? In today’s episode, guest host Bryan Walsh speaks with Vox Senior Correspondent Zack Beauchamp about conservatives who decry the extremist direction that the right is moving but refuse to recognize the role they played in pushing the movement in that direction. The two discuss US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), pundit Ben Shapiro, podcaster Candace Owens, the drivers of conservative extremism, and what the party might look like after Donald Trump. Guest Host: Bryan Walsh, Vox Senior Editorial Director Guest: Zack Beauchamp, Vox Senior CorrespondentRead Zack’s essay: The MAGA stars freaked out by their own movement We would love to hear from you. To tell us what you thought of this episode, email us at thegrayarea@vox.com or leave us a voicemail at 1-800-214-5749. Your comments and questions help us make a better show. And you can watch new episodes of The Gray Area on YouTube. Listen to The Gray Area ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:48.7	Music blaring.
0:51.2	Phones going off in the library.
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1:11.7	The DellXPS, built for you. Dell.com. U.K.4.L.S. Learning.
1:16.5	Welcome to the gray area. I'm Brian Walsh, filling in for Sean Elling.
1:20.7	There's a sketch in the Tim Robinson comedy show, I think you should leave, where a hot dog-shaped car plows into a storefront. And a guy in a hot dog costume turns to the crowd and says, we're all trying to find the guy who did this. It's a meme you'll see about once a day on the internet. And according to my guest, it's also a pretty good picture with the American Right in 2026. My guest is Vox senior correspondent, Zach Beecham, who wrote a piece about what he
1:46.0	calls the hot dog man, the Maga stars who are suddenly loudly panicked about what's happening
	...

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