Former President Biden's disclosure that he had Stage 4 prostate cancer was quickly met with sympathy late Sunday. By Monday morning, the questions — from Democrats and Republicans alike — had begun.

Why it matters: The timing of Biden's announcement, coupled with the way his handlers tried to cover up his health issues in the past, fueled speculation about how long he'd known about the cancer.

People in both parties, whether they love Joe Biden or despise him, wondered whether the announcement was timed to change the subject after a week of reports about his physical and mental deterioration when he was president.

• Those reports included recordings, first posted Friday by Axios, of Biden being interviewed by prosecutors in 2023 about his handling of classified documents. Biden had such difficulty recalling events that prosecutor Robert Hur later described him as a "well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."

Zoom in: On Monday, medical experts didn't exactly calm the suspicions about Biden's cancer diagnosis — even as they said it was treatable and that he could live several years with the disease.

• "He's had this for many years, maybe even a decade, growing there and spreading," Ezekiel Emanuel, an oncologist who was a Biden White House COVID adviser, told the stunned hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
• Emanuel later told CNN that the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test used to detect prostate cancer isn't always reliable. Emanuel and other doctors noted that Biden, 82, is well beyond the 55-70 recommended age range for prostate cancer screening.
• But given how thoroughly presidents' health is scrutinized, it would be surprising if Biden hadn't been tested before his recent symptoms appeared, Emanuel said on "Morning Joe": "It's a little strange."

Zoom out: Several former Biden White House aides acknowledged they were perplexed.

• "I love Joe Biden," a former campaign and White House aide told Axios. "But I don't feel the same about some of the people around him. So I feel terrible saying this: I just don't know what to believe."

President Trump and the White House initially offered sympathy for Biden and did not engage in speculation on Sunday.

• But on Monday, Trump told reporters: "I'm surprised the public wasn't notified a long time ago ... I think if you take a look, it's the same doctor who said Joe was cognitively fine."

Some of Trump's MAGA loyalists struck a similar chord on social media, sending a mix of prayers and I-told-you-so messages about Biden's health — an issue they'd been harping on for years.

• Vice President Vance questioned the care Biden received and whether his advisers were honest, telling reporters: "We can pray for good health — but also recognize that if you're not in good enough health to do the job, you shouldn't be doing the job."
• Donald Trump Jr. asked on X whether former First Lady Jill Biden was part of "another coverup."

Flashback: The Bidens have been silent about cancer in the family before, according to "Original Sin," a book by Axios' Alex Thompson and CNN's Jake Tapper that's being released today.

• When the Bidens' son Beau was attorney general of Delaware in 2013, he had brain surgery to remove a tumor and was diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma — one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.
• Beau and then-Vice President Biden's teams deliberated whether to explain his situation publicly, but decided to say nothing for months, according to "Original Sin."

In February 2014, Dr. Wai-Kwan Alfred Yung released a statement that Beau had a "clean bill of health."

• Beau Biden died 15 months later, soon after he left office.
• The book says that for the last year of his life, as he had difficulties with speech and other everyday tasks, Beau Biden was quietly flown around the country for experimental treatments and usually admitted into hospitals under an alias: George Lincoln.

Even some members of the Biden family didn't understand the lack of transparency.

• According to "Original Sin," Beau's wife, Hallie, expressed frustration about concealing the disease rather than telling people. The public would rally around Beau, she argued to friends. But Joe and Beau Biden opposed going public.

What they're saying: A Biden spokesperson declined to comment on Monday.

• But on Tuesday the former president's team shed some light on Biden's diagnosis, saying that his "last known PSA [test] was in 2014," meaning he stopped getting tested when he was 70 or 71, about the age at which the test no longer is recommended.
• The spokesperson added: "Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer."

This story has been updated to reflect the Biden spokesperson's comment on Tuesday.

The MAGA masses are growing disillusioned with Justice Department officials who are failing to deliver damning information on a laundry list of hot-button issues — especially Jeffrey Epstein's suicide.

Why it matters: The movement's back-against-the-wall mentality is kicking up fresh suspicions that nefarious government actors are out to stall President Trump's agenda.

• Drumbeat calls for repercussions in the Epstein case — among others — are not going anywhere, and the administration will likely have to answer to the base until some handcuffs click.

Driving the news: Kash Patel and Dan Bongino — the FBI's No. 1 and No. 2 officials — insisted in a Fox News interview Sunday that Epstein killed himself. Those comments contradicted a popular conspiracy theory that he was killed to protect high-profile clients of his sex trafficking network.

• MAGA podcasters were delighted and later outraged when they were invited to the White House earlier this year to get supposedly new documents on Epstein's death from Attorney General Pam Bondi, only to learn that little new information was included in their beefy binders.
• Prominent voices in the movement like Laura Loomer have also demanded arrests of Biden administration officials who, in their telling, weaponized the justice system against then-candidate Trump.

The other side: The administration has offered some overtures to the base, including Trump posting Monday that Democrats "HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO" for celebrity endorsements last year that he claims were paid for and amount to "AN ILLEGAL ELECTION SCAM."

• But it's not enough for MAGA.

What they're saying: After Bongino reiterated that Epstein killed himself, he was flooded with responses of disbelief.

• "WHO has bought the both of you?" one X user asked of Bongino and Patel, referencing the Fox News interview.
• "We are months into the Trump administration, past the 100-day mark, and Pam Blondi has failed to bring any real charges against anyone," Loomer, a right-wing provocateur with ties to Trump, added on "War Room" Monday, using a nickname for Bondi.

Between the lines: MAGA followers are feeling emboldened after extensive reporting about former President Biden's mental acuity and newly revealed cancer diagnosis, viewing the developments as confirmation of their suspicions and rebuttal to claims they're merely conspiracy theorists.

Reality check: Not everyone is ready to flip the table. While some people like Bondi are still building up their MAGA bona fides, others like Patel and Bongino have longstanding credibility with conspiracy-minded Trump fans — in part by echoing claims about Epstein.

• "The MAGA base's frustration is understandable, but if they think people like Bongino or Patel have 'gone native' then they've gone nuts. Pam Bondi's early Epstein flub was a symptom of trying to do too much at once, and toss some meat to the base to keep them sated. That was silly," The National Pulse's Raheem Kassam texted Axios.
• "But the underlying point remains, Kash and Dan are bad-asses at the height of their efficacy. They deserve more time and more trust."

Steve Bannon and other top MAGA voices tell Axios that President Trump's second 100 days — ending Aug. 7 — will be pivotal in determining how much of his second-term agenda he'll actually deliver.

Why it matters: Trump has harnessed executive power in unprecedented ways — to curtail immigration, gut federal agencies and punish his enemies. But almost nothing he's done so far has been codified in law, ratified in treaties, or otherwise set in stone.

Trump is now demanding Congress send him a "big, beautiful bill" that cuts taxes, hardens the border and expands energy production. He's fighting the judiciary to allow him to step up deportations. And he's globetrotting to try to revamp trade relations with China and end years of fighting in Gaza and Ukraine.

• "What happens between now and Labor Day," Bannon told Axios, "really defines — more than even the first 100 days of flood-the-zone — not just Trump's second term, but Trump's legacy."
• "It's stopping the Third World War," Bannon added. "It's laying out his definitive economic and financial plan, how we're going to finance it. Plus it's his assault on the 'Deep State' [and] the redefinition of the Article II [Executive Branch] powers. And these are all converging into one huge f***ing fight."

The big picture: The next phase of Trump's presidency includes future-proofing his agenda. Republicans are pushing for favorable court rulings to establish precedents — and for Congress to codify his actions, including voting on the steep cuts in federal staffing.

• Trump is also battling in the courts to conduct mass deportations with limited due process, and restrict birthright citizenship.

To top it all off, he's waging a global trade war, attempting to resolve shooting wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and trying to swiftly cut a nuclear deal with Iran.

• A 90-day détente in a trade war with China helped alleviate the tariff pain. But the lack of a permanent deal is injecting unprecedented uncertainty into the economy.

What they're saying: "I'd say if there was one word to sum up what MAGA wants, it's 'more,'" said Ben Bergquam, a conservative journalist frequently featured on right-wing media.

• Bergquam said that includes a hunger for "more arrests of the enemies within," including judges and prosecutors.

When asked if he's confident Trump will be able to execute, Bannon said: "100% — it's Trump."

• "This is the age of Trump," Bannon added. "June 15 is the 10th anniversary of coming down the golden escalator. And I would say the 10 years have been a preamble to these [next] 100 days."

Reality check: The GOP has a tiny House majority and the president's sprawling bill — which one MAGA source dubbed a "no-fail exercise" — is far from the finish line. Republican senators want to rewrite much of it.

• Republicans in Congress could start to feel heat over tariffs if price increases take hold. And there's no guarantee they'll hold onto the House in next year's midterms.

Top MAGA influencers Ben Shapiro, Laura Loomer and Mark Levin broke sharply with President Trump Monday over his decision to accept a $400 million private jet from the Qatari government.

Why it matters: The revolt marks one of the few times since Trump's return to power that key voices in his base have publicly questioned his judgment — revealing cracks in a MAGA coalition built on unwavering loyalty.

• Trump, who will visit Qatar as part of his Middle East trip this week, has scoffed at criticism of the royal family's extraordinary gift, saying it would be "stupid" to turn down a new Air Force One.
• But for pro-Israel Republicans, Trump's coziness with Qatar — which they see as a chief sponsor of Hamas — crosses a red line.

What they're saying: "I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him. But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million 'gift' from jihadists in suits," tweeted Loomer, an influential MAGA conspiracy theorist who played a key role in ousting national security adviser Mike Waltz.

• Mark Levin and Ben Shapiro, two of the most prominent pro-Israel voices on the MAGA right, have expressed deep alarm at Trump's growing ties with Qatar — a U.S. ally that denies accusations that it finances terrorist groups.
• "Taking sacks of goodies from people who support Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Al Jazeera, all the rest, that's not America First," Shapiro said on his top-rated podcast.

The intrigue: Shapiro also warned that the Trump family's crypto ventures — including the president's meme coin — are inviting "influence peddling" allegations that could damage the MAGA agenda.

• "I think if we switch the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we'd all be freaking out on the right," Shapiro said. "If you want President Trump to succeed, this kind of skeezy stuff needs to stop."

Between the lines: Democrats have already stalled stablecoin legislation over Trump's crypto dealings and are now demanding investigations over the Qatari plane.

• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) suggested on Fox News that Trump's acceptance of the gift could be unconstitutional, arguing that it's "not worth the appearance of impropriety."

Yes, but: The rare criticism was not uniformly vociferous across the MAGAverse.

• Some pro-Trump podcasts made only glancing references to the story on Monday, and other influencers paired mild discomfort with continued expressions of trust in the president.
• Many MAGA loyalists landed on the same strategic response they embraced after Signalgate: Don't give the media — or Democrats — an inch.

The MAGA movement is no longer just fighting for President Trump. His most fervent loyalists are now engaged in what they see as a battle for "Western civilization" — a rallying cry for the modern right.

Why it matters: The conservative ecosystem that has developed around Trump — and is touted daily in MAGA media — is key to understanding what's behind many of his policies.

• It also helps explain the right's zeal on certain issues.

Zoom in: For MAGA loyalists taking this long view, "Preserving Western Civilization" is the new "Make America Great Again."

• They proclaim America as a Judeo-Christian country that's the successor to the great European civilizations of Greece, Rome and the United Kingdom. They see a modern "Western civilization" as one that prizes freedom, the rule of law as they interpret it, meritocracy and the nuclear family.
• It's a movement wrapped in nostalgia. That's why Trump's Make America Great Again slogan resonated: To many in the modern right, society was at its zenith in the 1950s — and the liberalism of the 1960s and '70s drove the decline of their ideal society.

The movement sees today's DEI initiatives, expanded LGBTQ rights, fluid gender roles and illegal immigration as signs of a society run amok.

• Preserving Western values was a theme of Vice President Vance's major speech in Munich in February, when he decried censorship and mass immigration.
• Terry Schilling, founder of American Principles Project, a group that casts itself as "America's top defender of the family, told us: "Western civilization is the concept that there is a natural order of things, and that we have rights that come from God ... and there are rules."

Zoom out: Critics say the Western civilization movement looks regressive and racist.

• Trump policy attacks on asylum-seeking immigrants, and on programs benefiting historically marginalized communities, help reinforce that image.
• The period of U.S. history the movement heralds included subjugation of women, segregation, and discrimination against nonwhites, those in the LGBTQ community and many others.

Between the lines: The Western civilization movement sees the 1950s as a time in which society's rules of the road were fixed in values that were held by the country's founders. Its followers reject the notion that those values — and American traditions — should evolve.

• "Every fight is existential," said Rachel Bovard of the Conservative Partnership Institute, citing debates over LGBTQ rights and DEI. "Society crumbles under things like this. That's the lens through which we view all these things."

The guideposts of the Western civilization movement run through MAGA media in ways large and small.

• Podcasters Steve Bannon and Jack Posobiec recite dates on their shows with "the year of our Lord" and "Anno Domini."
• Social media posts lament the growing South Asian population in the United Kingdom.
• The growing pro-natalism movement encourages conservatives to have large families. Articles in far-right media tout marriage and children, and even advice for women on ways to be more "marriageable."
• In recent years, conservative activists have blasted college English departments for adding courses that focus on racially diverse writers, instead of staying focused on Shakespeare and Chaucer.

Reality check: The far-righters in the Western civilization movement cast their cause as noble, but their language can be divisive and offensive.

• In MAGA media, Islam is referred to derisively in some contexts as "Mohammedanism." Some in the movement call for the deportation of immigrants who are in the U.S. legally if they don't assimilate to "American culture." Slurs such as "tranny" are flaunted.

Critics say Trump set the stage for this by giving credence to strands of discrimination.

• "We should be open as Democrats about being proud of, and driven by, traditions like faith and democracy — and that Trump is savaging them," said Democratic strategist Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson in the Biden administration.
• "Tweeting pictures of yourself as the pope while promoting thugs with deep ties to Nazi sympathizers ... is anathema to the Judeo-Christian principles I was raised to respect," Bates added.

Those in the movement deny that it's discriminatory — but acknowledge that it's exclusionary.

• "Civilization is exclusive," conservative podcaster Michael Knowles told Axios. "That's true of every place, and that's true of every idea. If you're Christian, then you're excluding the beliefs of Muslims. If you're Muslim, you're excluding the beliefs of Christians. Something has to define us."
• "This doesn't mean that a Muslim can't get along well in the West," he added. "But it does mean that if people from other backgrounds wish to come to the West, they have to get with the program."

The bottom line: Supporters say the movement offers a preview of post-Trump conservatism in America.

• "The culture wars, the economic wars, all these debates, national security debates, the constitutional debates. This is all central to Western civilization," Schilling said.

President Trump and Vice President Vance are publicly criticizing Russian leader Vladimir Putin in starker terms than in the past.

• But the MAGA base isn't piling on — and remains as skeptical of Ukraine as ever.

Why it matters: Big voices in the base aren't contradicting Trump — but they're not echoing him, either. Top MAGA voices still say they trust the White House as it tries to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine — they just aren't shedding their longstanding skepticism of Kyiv as talks continue.

• Jack Posobiec, a top MAGA podcaster, told us: "In general, the MAGA base is not on board with extending or expanding the war and trust Trump when he is in negotiation mode. But I don't think extra payments [to Ukraine] will go over well."

Catch up quick: Trump and Vance — who had an Oval Office altercation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — have recently been name-checking Putin more.

• After Russia shot missiles at civilian areas in Ukraine last month, Trump said of Putin: "It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through 'Banking' or 'Secondary Sanctions?'"
• Vance this week said that Russia was "asking for too much," later clarifying that Putin was asking to control Ukrainian territory Moscow doesn't even occupy as part of a peace deal.

The comments marked a stark reversal for Trump and Vance, who've repeatedly directed their displeasure with the war at Zelensky — though it follows a classic Trump negotiating tactic: alternating between praise and tough talk.

Still, after months of hearing about Zelensky as the chief obstacle to a ceasefire deal over his repeated requests for aid, the base has built up animosity toward the Ukrainian leader.

• MAGA adherents still refer to him as a dictator for declaring martial law and scrapping elections during the war.

Now, direct criticisms of Zelensky are not quite as loud as he and Trump appear to be more in sync, but Ukraine is still kept at arm's length.

• "If there is hostility that exists toward Zelensky on the right, it's because he comes across as arrogant and entitled. He's brought that on himself. Dude did a Vogue cover shoot during a war," the Conservative Partnership Institute's Rachel Bovard added. "If the Trump admin puts forward a viable plan to peace and it turns out that the person refusing to negotiate is Putin, that's as big of an issue as if it was Zelensky. Just end the dang war."

Sean Spicer — Trump's first White House press secretary, who now hosts his own podcast — told Axios: "Two things can be true at once. Russia has overplayed its hand and missed President Trump's offer for a lasting peace. Ukraine is still an issue for most in MAGA world."

Top MAGA media voices fixated on the Vatican and the possibility of a conservative pope are hoping the conclave will help boost a global traditionalist Christian movement.

Why it matters: The papal succession — happening far beyond America's shores — touches the heart of the MAGA movement's push to block what it views as the destruction of "Western civilization."

The big picture: MAGA has gently criticized Pope Francis since his death last month, knocking his liberal social policies such as allowing blessings for gay couples and a focus on migrants. (Francis still did not endorse same-sex marriage and maintained other traditional stances, including opposition to abortion.)

• Now, MAGA sees a chance for a new pope in a more traditionalist vein.
• "What we're all praying for, because we've seen, at least in Europe and the United States, this resurgence of the traditional Christians. People are tired of the mamby, pamby, light, shallow, substance-less Christian faith," Jack Posobiec, one of the most prominent Catholic MAGA voices, said Wednesday on "War Room."

Zoom in: Conservatives have repeated a small handful of names they'd prefer to be the new pope, though the guarded process is incredibly difficult to predict or influence.

• Raymond Burke: The American cardinal is a prominent voice in the church's conservative wing. He has clashed with Francis, saying in 2014 the church was like a "ship without a rudder." He was believed to be frustrated with Francis' stances on homosexuality and divorce.
• Péter Erdő: The Hungarian cardinal is an expert on the church's esoteric legal intricacies. He won over conservatives when he closed church doors in Hungary to migrants a decade ago, warning "we would become human smugglers if we took in refugees." He later reversed himself after meeting with Francis.
• Gerhard Müller: The German has taken strong stances in support of conservative social issues. He recently said he wants the next pope to be "strong on doctrine" and stand up to the "gay lobby."
• Pierbattista Pizzaballa: An Italian cardinal who is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pizzaballa has earned publicity for offering himself in exchange for some of the hostages taken by Hamas in its Oct. 7 terrorist attack. He has voiced support for traditional aspects of the church, but he's viewed as a wild card after having spent decades in the Middle East away from the church's power center in Rome.
• Robert Sarah: A Guinean cardinal, Sarah is one of the first names offered by many traditionalists. He is the former head of the Vatican's liturgy office and was a vocal Francis antagonist, decrying the introduction of "ruptures and revolutions." He is also an advocate for the Latin Mass, a practice fiercely defended by traditionalists.

Zoom out: MAGA views itself as warriors for a more traditional America — but also for the protection of "Western civilization," which in the movement's definition is centered in Judeo-Christian tradition and ancient societies such as Greece and Rome.

• "All of us will be articulating our views quite vociferously, I expect," Michael Knowles, a Catholic and conservative podcaster, told Axios after Francis' death when asked about the insular succession process. "But that said, I don't know that it will have much effect."

MAGA media is seizing on its new influence in Washington — staffing up, enjoying unprecedented access to power, and making market splashes.

Why it matters: Corporate America has typically shunned right-wing media. But expanded exposure to Washington's powerbrokers is helping MAGA outlets and personalities establish themselves as key media players.

These outlets are landing bigger advertising deals and distribution contracts, and developing stronger talent networks.

• And investors are taking notice.

Zoom in: Fox Corp.'s acquisition in February of Red Seat Ventures, the production company that manages shows from Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, served as an early market signal of the commercial power of pro-Trump voices with digital platforms.

• Kelly — the fastest-growing right-wing podcaster in the fourth quarter of last year, per The Righting — announced in March that she'll launch her own podcast network, MK Media.

Fox News, which has a straight-news daytime operation and more overtly conservative programming in primetime, raked in 160+ new advertisers between November 2024 and April 2025, according to iSpot data provided to Axios. A Fox spokesperson said there have been 200 new advertisers since the election.

• The Daily Wire's valuation tops $1 billion, Axios reported in December.
• Rumble and Newsmax are each publicly trading at values exceeding $2 billion, despite earning just $30 million and $171 million in revenue last year. Truth Social's parent company is currently valued at more than $5 billion on the public market, despite earning $3.6 million in 2024.

The explosion builds on earlier signs that the pump was primed for right-wing voices to expand.

• Carlson in 2023 raised $15 million to grow his media company.
• Backed by donors including Omeed Malik, conservative operatives dropped over $1 million last year to launch the Washington Reporter, designed to reach conservative members of Congress and staffers.

Reality check: Because most MAGA-affiliated outlets are privately held startups, data on their financial growth is scant.

Zoom out: Beyond the cash flow, these outlets are experiencing unprecedented access to the White House, which reinforces the image they seek as media heavy-hitters.

• Reporters and podcasters like The National Pulse's Raheem Kassam, The Daily Wire's Mary Margaret Olohan and Jack Posobiec have been invited on foreign trips with Cabinet officials.

Since President Trump took office, representatives from outlets including Washington Reporter, The Daily Wire, TownHall.com, Rumble, X and others have appeared at White House press briefings in seats reserved for new media outlets. Other reporters, including from LindellTV and Real America's Voice, are frequently called on to ask questions.

• Even global leaders are engaging: Breitbart's Matt Boyle has interviewed leaders of Cyprus, Greece and Israel.

The big picture: Bans on Trump across most social media platforms following Jan. 6 sparked a massive effort by conservatives to create their own media outlets, news outlets, and tech platforms to combat what they believe is broader corporate leftism.

• Elon Musk purchased X. Peter Thiel and JD Vance invested in Rumble. Kanye West bought (and subsequently sold) Parler.

"Conservatives were exiled from the establishment, legacy media platforms where most Americans used to get their news," Andrew Kolvet, a top adviser for Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, tells Axios.

• "This forced entrepreneurial creators out into the media wilderness to hone their skills and either sink or swim based on talent. ... Real talent rose to the top and built massive, durable audiences of increasing size and influence."

MAGAworld's repeated races to defend Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth help illuminate what it takes for the president's most hardcore supporters to truly have your back.

The big picture: Agreeing with President Trump on policy isn't enough to earn the MAGA movement's full-fledged backing. For that, it helps to have been around since the beginning — and having the right enemies is just as important as having the right friends.

MAGA is ready to fight "when we know who the people are, they've been in the trenches with us before, they're fighters. We know the media is just coming after them," said Steve Bannon, the popular podcaster and MAGA leader.

• The base may not be as ready to jump to someone's defense if it doesn't know "how solid they are in backing the president's program and how far they're prepared to commit to it and fight for it and suffer for it," he said.

Zoom out: Already, Hegseth has survived multiple scandals.

• He faced a grueling Senate confirmation process marred by allegations of sexual assault and binge drinking. Trump's media allies helped push Hegseth over the finish line by threatening to mount primary challenges against any Republicans who voted against him.
• After winning confirmation, he was criticized for sharing Yemen attack plans in a Signal group chat organized by Mike Waltz, Trump's national security adviser, that accidentally included a journalist.
• He was later reported to have sent similar plans to a Signal chat he established that included his wife, among other allies.
• Hegseth's Pentagon has also been beset by infighting, leading to a furious leaking investigation and a slate of firings. Even as recently as Monday, former employees were lobbing bombs at Hegseth.

Zoom in: Throughout it all, support from MAGA hasn't wavered, and Trump told The Atlantic that he had a "positive talk" with his Defense secretary. But the same can't be said of others.

• Waltz drew more ire over Signalgate 1.0 for having the number of The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg.
• MAGA media has also been quick to throw barbs at Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Tom Cotton (Ark.), who are largely supportive of Trump but historically have more interventionist tendencies or fall out of line on one particular government nominee.

What they're saying: Hegseth's survival shows that loyalty to MAGA and Trump – and fights with their enemies – will be repaid in times of need. But Trump's battle-hardened base has a good nose for those who haven't always been by its side.

• "We see the same old D.C. playbook being used against you. We don't believe it. We think it's completely fake, and we know it's just to take you out on transparently pretextual grounds. So now, you have the backing of the president's entire movement, because he wants you, and also you have the extra validation of the people that we hate attacking you," the Conservative Partnership Institute's Rachel Bovard said.
• "It goes to skin in the game," she added of more recent MAGA converts. "Because I think, there's this part of MAGA that's like, 'Look, we've been out here beating these drums, and a lot of us have taken punches in the face, arrows to the back, the mainstream media shames us,' that kind of thing.
• "And if you weren't part of that, and you were just staying between the velvet rope lines, and now all of a sudden, you are going to say the right things to ascend to the right position, you have to prove yourself a little bit."

The FBI's arrest of a Wisconsin judge shocked the establishment. But it's exactly the kind of escalation the MAGA base has been agitating for.

• "This is not the time for summer soldiers or sunshine patriots," MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec told Axios, invoking founding father Thomas Paine.

Why it matters: Friday's arrest of Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan, on charges of obstructing an immigration arrest, is a stunning escalation of President Trump's battles with political opponents.

But listen to the reaction from influential voices in MAGAworld, and you can see why you can expect more moves like it.

• "I wouldn't necessarily say that what we've seen out of the DOJ so far rises to the level of full wrath when you're talking about accountability for people who waged lawfare," Natalie Winters, a correspondent for Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast, said Friday after the arrest. "We haven't had any names released."

The backstory: When Trump took office, his diehard fans were craving a pedal-to-the-metal offensive against the "deep state." Trump delivered a shock-and-awe series of first-100-day actions and executive orders.

• But MAGA podcasts and social-media posts showed the true believers wanted more: arrests of political foes.

On Day 1, supporters got a dose of Trump maximalism when he blanket-pardoned most of those charged over the Jan. 6 riot — including those accused of violence.

• The movement then expected a wave of arrests of bureaucrats. It never came.
• "I don't know about you, but I'm still waiting for prosecutions," Judicial Watch head Tom Fitton said earlier this month.

Behind the scenes: Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have urged patience, insisting to the base that they're hard at work targeting "deep state" provocateurs and other enemies of MAGA. Friday's arrest took some pressure off.

• Patel has "been taking a little heat from our base, actually," Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said on Charlie Kirk's podcast. "Kash and Pam both — [Trump faithful] want to know: What are they doing? They need to get started. This just shows you they do a lot of stuff behind closed doors and they can't do it in public, but they're acting fast on it."
• "Just because you're not seeing something in the news does not mean that it's not happening," Mike Davis of the Article III Project, and a top Trump ally, added on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast. "There's a lot going on. There's a lot more that's coming. I can assure you … we're firing on all cylinders in the Trump administration."

Catch up quick: Dugan was arrested Friday for allegedly obstructing the arrest of a man who was in the country illegally, but was appearing in her courtroom on different charges. Dugan allegedly told FBI agents they needed to go see the court's chief judge before ushering the defendant out through a side door.

• The defendant was ultimately apprehended after a brief foot chase.

Duggan's arrest came after a former judge in New Mexico was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Thursday on evidence-tampering charges.

• Jose Cano, a former Doña Ana County magistrate judge, and his wife were allegedly allowing alleged Venezuelan gang members to stay on their property. Their arrest similarly sent MAGA into an uproar, combining immigration, crime and the "deep state" into one rallying cry.

Go deeper: Congress erupts over FBI arrest of Wisconsin judge

The MAGA faithful are ecstatic over the FBI's arrest of Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan Friday on charges of obstructing an immigration arrest.

Why it matters: The incident represents several escalations all at once.

• The Trump administration has sought new ways to force the hands of local officials who don't want to help with federal immigration enforcement.
• And it has been willing to needle and even defy judges, especially over immigration.

What they're saying: "Lock em up!!" Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), a staunch Trump ally, told Axios after the arrest.

• "Good. We need to see more arrests!!" Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) said on X.
• "Take note, local officials. Obstructing federal immigration enforcement will no longer be tolerated. The American people have spoken. And their voice is clear," posted right-wing podcaster Jack Posobiec.

Catch up quick: FBI agents arrived at Dugan's courtroom last week to arrest a man who was in the country illegally. He was appearing before Dugan on separate charges.

• Dugan confronted the agents in the hallway outside her courtroom, according to the FBI's criminal complaint, and told them they needed to go see the court's chief judge.
• She then escorted the defendant through a side door and out the back of the courthouse, the charges state.
• He made it outside, but was arrested after a brief foot chase.

What they're saying: "What has happened to our judiciary is beyond me," Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox News. "The [judges] are deranged, is all I can think of."

The other side: "They arrested a judge?! They can no longer claim to be a party of law and order. This will have to be a red line for congressional Republicans. Unbelievable," said Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio).

The White House is sprinkling the traditional press corps with an array of MAGA-friendly journalists who dilute scrutiny, denigrate Democrats and ultimately flatter President Trump.

Why it matters: As traditional media loses influence, the White House is giving increasing access to a growing cast of Trump-friendly reporters, podcasters and influencers who boost his narratives from inside the house.

The increased access comes as part of the Trump administration's push to elevate "new media," which includes nonpartisan digital outlets like Axios and Semafor but also Trump-aligned outlets.

• The new approach yields more supportive questions, fortifying the MAGA media ecosystem from the inside out.

The big picture: The shift comes amid the administration's war on traditional media — including lawsuits, access restrictions for AP, and access reductions for Reuters and Bloomberg.

Zoom in: MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec has traveled with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to the northern border.

• ZeroHedge, a finance blog that U.S. intelligence accused of spreading Russian propaganda in 2022, was tapped by the White House for the "New Media" slot in the press pool last Thursday.
• Matthew Foldi of the Trump-friendly Washington Reporter tweeted Tuesday, when he sat in the White House's "new media" seat: "@POTUS is truly well served by his all star comms team."
• Breitbart's Matthew Boyle has scored exclusive interviews with Trump, Vice President Vance and several Cabinet members.
• Mary Margaret Olohan, The Daily Wire's new White House correspondent, accompanied Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Panama. Raheem Kassam, The National Pulse's editor-in-chief, was also on the trip.
• Natalie Winters, the White House correspondent for Steve Bannon's "War Room," is all over the White House complex.

What they're saying: Reporters for these outlets often ask questions that mirror administration rhetoric. Trump is often elated to hear reporters speaking his language.

• During a briefing this month, Cara Castronuova, who works for an outlet run by MyPillow founder and Trump loyalist Mike Lindell, asked about Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's position "against Jan. 6 hostages."
• Before Trump's annual physical last week, Castronuova told Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that Trump "actually looks healthier than ever before, healthier than he did eight years ago, and I'm sure everyone in this room could agree. Is he working out with Bobby Kennedy, and is he eating less McDonald's?"

Brian Glenn, the White House correspondent for Real America's Voice, poured fuel on U.S.-Ukraine tensions by asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office whether he owned a suit.

• In Trump's White House meeting with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Glenn asked: "Ireland is known for very happy, fun-loving people ... Why in the world would you let Rosie O'Donnell move to Ireland if she's going to lower your happiness level?"

The big picture: The administration's strategy also reflects the evolving ways Americans digest news. Traditional outlets' readership and viewership have dropped, while some podcasters and upstart websites reach millions of people.

• "The Trump administration is departing from those previous norms because those previous norms don't make any sense any longer in the modern media environment," said Kenneth Miller, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
• "The legacy outlets have lost their importance. And so for the White House, why pander to their preferences? The way that they reach voters — and the way that they reach their supporters — is through these newer outlets."

The other side: White House officials note that Trump and his staffers still take hard-hitting questions.

• White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said: "There has never been a White House that communicates as often and as openly with the American press [as] President Trump."
• "The president and the press secretary take questions from all outlets and have given more journalists a chance to cover this White House than any other administration before," Rogers added.

MAGA media is gearing up to go to battle for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his primary fight against mainstream Republican Sen. John Cornyn next year.

Why it matters: The Cornyn-Paxton race is emerging as an early proxy war between the establishment and Trump wings of the party, with some of the party's biggest bullhorns getting off the sidelines.

• Top MAGA luminaries — working to cement President Trump's hold on the party and eradicate even the perception of dissent — have expressed skepticism of Cornyn in part due to stances like support for arming Ukraine and a bipartisan gun reform bill.
• In Paxton, MAGA sees a pro-Donald Trump knife fighter worthy of their support.

Zoom in: Charlie Kirk, the podcaster with close White House ties, had Paxton on his show Wednesday. Kirk knocked Cornyn for "questionable votes" and said that "a warning shot is necessary to make sure the uniparty is put on defense."

• Steve Bannon, the powerful host of "War Room," told us he plans to host Paxton on his show and cover the race "a ton," accusing Cornyn of being the "epitome of the establishment."

State of play: Cornyn was bullish in the aftermath of Paxton's announcement, touting his support for Trump's priorities and panning his opponent's past legal troubles.

• In 2023, Paxton was impeached but not convicted for allegedly using his office to help an Austin real estate developer and improperly firing some staffers who reported him to the authorities. He also allegedly had an extramarital affair. Paxton denies all the accusations.
• A Cornyn campaign spokesperson panned Paxton as a "fraud" and noted the senator "voted with President Trump more than 95% of current Senators" during the president's first term.
• "This will be a spirited campaign, and we assure Texans they will have a real choice when this race is over," the spokesperson said.

Paxton swatted away Cornyn's proximity to Trump, saying on Kirk's show that "he's going to be a good boy for the next year and a half, and then he'll go back to being what he is, which is a moderate."

The bottom line: Texas has hosted notable proxy wars before, including over Paxton's impeachment, a school choice push by hardliners and a fight over the state House's speakership. But it hasn't seen a fight like this at the federal level at a time when the broader GOP is so beholden to an incumbent president. Cue the fireworks.

• "It's the Cornyn-Bush faction, the business community that runs Texas versus the grassroots, MAGA, Trump base," Bannon said.

Donald Trump Jr. will travel to Romania later this month shortly before the country's presidential election is held after a months-long delay.

Why it matters: MAGA heavyweights, including Trump Jr., Vice President Vance and Elon Musk erupted after Romania's top court annulled the first round of the country's presidential election over worries of Russian meddling — lambasting it as evidence that European countries are silencing the right.

• Vance in particular has argued European elites pretend to care about democracy while ignoring the will of their voters, if those voters happen to choose "extreme" candidates.

Catch up quick: Romanian government intelligence indicated that Moscow ran digital influence operations to benefit ultranationalist candidate Călin Georgescu, who had praised Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and won the election's first round.

• Trump Jr. slammed the decision at the time as "another Soros/Marxist attempt at rigging the outcome & denying the will of the people," referencing Democratic megadonor George Soros.

The latest: The new first round of voting will be held on May 4, with a runoff penciled in for May 18. Trump Jr. is visiting on April 28.

• The Romanian Constitutional Court last month barred Georgescu from running.

Zoom in: Trump is traveling to Romania to attend Trump Business Vision 2025, a business event, as part of a speaking tour organized by Salem Media, according to a source familiar with the matter.

• The person said Trump Jr. will not meet with government officials publicly or privately.
• Trump Jr.'s tour will also take him to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia.

The news of Trump's visit was first reported by Romanian media outlet G4media.ro.

If you watched or read any legacy media outlets last week, President Trump's firings at the National Security Council and National Security Agency after an Oval Office meeting with conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer were hard to miss.

• If you only paid attention to MAGA media, the news was hard to find.

Why it matters: There was plenty of big news last week, chiefly Trump's tariff plan. But taking staffing advice on national security from a 9/11 truther also qualifies as news. Coverage around it was one of the starkest examples of the different media universes that exist for different parts of the country.

Zoom in: The New York Times called the Loomer-fueled firings "a remarkable spectacle." Reuters reported that "Loomer, who has a history of peddling Islamophobic conspiracy theories, did provide Trump with a list of national security staff perceived by her to be disloyal to Trump."

• Trump told reporters on Air Force One that Loomer didn't influence the firings. Loomer has declined to say what she and Trump discussed, but said in a statement she "will continue reiterating the importance of strong vetting, for the sake of protecting the President and our national security."

MAGA media barely tiptoed near the story.

• Top MAGA podcaster Charlie Kirk posted on X: "Any person who helps expose and expel the warmongering cabal from power does this country a service."

MAGA online outlets and social media accounts focused heavily on tariffs, but also highlighted transgender teachers, local politicians and the live-action "Snow White" film's poor box office performance.

• The NSC story is a "silly distraction," said Mike Davis, the president of The Article III Project and a frequent MAGA media guest.

The bottom line: Where people get their news is an increasingly powerful indicator of how they formulate their politics and helps explain how divided the country has become. And few stories like the NSC and NSA firings so succinctly capture just how wide the country's media gap is.

The verdict is in: President Donald Trump's voters are lively when he's running for the White House. They're downright lethargic when he's not.

Why it matters: This is not just the assessment of Democrats. It's coming straight from the vice president and leaders of the MAGA movement. And it can have massive implications for the results of key gubernatorial races this year and for next year's midterms.

Catch up quick: Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race, lost by 10 points in a 50-50 state. Trump endorsed Brad Schimel, and Elon Musk bankrolled millions of dollars in ads and events, swooping into Wisconsin the weekend before Election Day to juice turnout.

• While Republicans won two House special elections in Florida by about 15 points, those were drops from over 30-point margins in the same districts just last November.

Zoom out: Low-propensity, working-class voters helped fuel Trump's 2024 win.

• But MAGA luminaries are fretting that those same voters only turn out when Trump's name is on the ballot, making the GOP base less intimidating in off-year races and putting narrow congressional majorities at risk.

Vice President Vance wrote on X: "The political problem on the Republican side of the aisle is how to get our base to vote in off-cycle elections. We've seen the establishment (finally) accept Donald Trump's leadership of the Republican Party. Now it's time to try to actually learn from his political success."

• The well-wired Charlie Kirk — founder and president of Turning Point USA, the MAGA youth network — said on his show that many "lower propensity voters, the people that showed up in massive numbers for President Trump ... decided to embrace the couch instead of the ballot" on Tuesday. "I want to examine what we need to do as a party and a movement to motivate people," Kirk added. "President Trump was able to motivate people."
• Steve Bannon said on his "War Room" podcast: "President Trump's name is not going to be on the ballot. It is about MAGA. It is about the direction of the country. ... You can't do TV ads and get these people to the polls, it just doesn't work. We have to put our shoulder to the wheel."

Between the lines: To avoid becoming a quadrennially successful party, conversations are breaking out about the need to address the GOP's turnout problem.

• "Democrats have performed much better the last few years in special elections, generally over-performing — but it ended up not spilling over to 2024," GOP pollster Robert Blizzard said.
• "Republicans will need to energize the low-propensity, Trump base to be successful in holding the majority in 2026. A tweet or single rally likely won't be enough, it will take significant, sustained interaction with voters."
• When asked what that interaction looks like, Blizzard responded, "To be determined."

MAGA media is railing against an international "deep state" following a series of setbacks for overseas allies of President Trump.

Why it matters: Trump's loyal movement has sought to steadily expand its influence abroad, allying itself with right-wing parties and leaders in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

• Now, they're denouncing legal challenges faced by some of those allies and are egged on by a leader in the White House eager to intervene in other countries' affairs to enforce his worldview.

Zoom in: Marine Le Pen, the leader of a far-right French party, was convicted of embezzling European Parliament funds Monday and deemed ineligible to stand in French elections for the next five years. Trump called the verdict a "very big deal."

• "She was banned for running for five years, and she's the leading candidate. That sounds like this country," he added.
• Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is being prosecuted for allegedly staging a failed coup after losing reelection in 2022.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fending off corruption allegations while Israel wages war in Gaza.

Between the lines: The MAGAverse draws parallels between those cases and the criminal prosecutions of Trump before his return to office.

• At the same time, prominent Trump allies in the media are using the foreign case to attack U.S. judges for blocking Trump's executive orders.

What they're saying: "They'll do anything to stop a nationalist populist movement of Europe," well-connected podcaster Charlie Kirk said on his show Monday, while also raising the prospect that Trump could tariff France over the ruling.

• "This is exactly what Trump is facing here in the United States with these judges, with these radical judges," Steve Bannon, a top adviser in Trump's term, said on his "War Room" podcast.
• "We told you that the legal profession is kind of their last bastion that they own and control, whether it's in Brazil, whether it's in the United States of America, whether it's in France, in Israel they got the same thing."

An unstoppable force — President Trump's famed "never back down" mentality — has met an immovable object: the cold, hard Signalgate receipts published by The Atlantic.

Why it matters: The MAGA movement's ability to bend reality through brute force is facing its stiffest test yet, courtesy of the most explosive and widely read story of Trump's second term.

• The result is a cocktail not seen since Trump's first term: A scandal that won't quit, and a base left scrambling to defend what many see as indefensible.

Zoom in: The Trump administration's official response emerged Wednesday within minutes of The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg publishing messages he had initially withheld that showed top officials discussing an attack on the Houthis in Yemen.

• It centered in large part on semantics: Trump officials pointed to The Atlantic's use of "attack plans" in its new headline to accuse the magazine of walking back its initial claims about leaked "war plans."
• There is a distinction in military parlance: "War plans" are typically more comprehensive, strategic frameworks that account for multiple scenarios, while "attack plans" usually pertain to a specific tactical operation.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth mocked the "war plans" characterization: "No names. No targets. No locations. No units. No routes. No sources. No methods."

Zoom out: That argument fell flat with much of the national security community, which expressed horror at Hegseth's public sharing of detailed information about the sequencing of U.S. airstrikes in Yemen.

• The Trump administration's claims that the information wasn't classified — despite the use of exact times and weapons packages planned for the attacks — have been heavily disputed by current and former U.S. officials.
• Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) called for an independent investigation, while other Republicans suggested the Trump administration should own up to its mistake and stop deflecting.

Between the lines: The MAGA media ecosystem — the frontline of Trump's communication machine — has splintered into a series of competing theories to try to explain away the scandal.

1. It's 5-D chess: Some pro-Trump influencers suggested the leak was intentional, and that Goldberg was tricked into publishing a curated message that showed thoughtful deliberations about U.S. policy toward the Houthis.

• "I'm going to have to go ahead and say I think they're manipulating this journalist because he basically published their PR message for them," said MAGA podcaster Tim Pool.

2. It's a "Deep State" setup: The timing of The Atlantic leak, one day before Trump national security officials were due to testify before Congress, has sabotage written all over it, according to influencer DC Draino.

• The Federalist CEO Sean Davis went a step further, suggesting the scandal was a "pretext to ban Signal and force all communications back onto channels that can be accessed by corrupt intel bureaucrats."

3. It's a mistake, but it's refreshing: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), activist Charlie Kirk and other top Trump supporters have praised the officials involved in the Signal group for acting in private how they do in public.

• "It shows integrity, it shows symmetry, it shows consistency," Kirk said on Fox News, drawing a contrast with Trump officials in his first term who sought to undermine the president's agenda.

4. Goldberg can't be trusted: Pro-Trump voices inside and outside of the White House have relentlessly attacked the credibility of The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, saying he overhyped the contents of the group chat.

• "I'm shocked that the perpetrator of the 'suckers and losers' hoax would exaggerate and lie about what was in these messages!!!" wrote Donald Trump Jr., referring to Goldberg's 2020 reporting on Trump's alleged disparaging of fallen veterans.

5. Take the L: Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who represents a significant segment of Trump voters who aren't hardcore loyalists, called for national security adviser Mike Waltz to be fired for mistakenly adding Goldberg to the Signal chat.

• Portnoy was brutally honest: "I don't care if you're right or left ... It's obvious these texts are real. It's obvious they're classified. It's obvious we gave away strike information two hours before it happened. ... Somebody has to go down for this."

The bottom line: For the first time arguably since the election, Trump's allies have lost control of the public narrative — including on X, the platform owned by the president's billionaire adviser Elon Musk.

• Trump himself effectively acknowledged as much on Tuesday, complaining to reporters: "They've made a big deal out of this because we've had two perfect months."
• "If this story proves anything, it proves that Democrats and their propagandists in the mainstream media know how to fabricate, orchestrate and disseminate a misinformation campaign quite well," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Top MAGA-world figures are leaning into a fight with the judicial system over the constitutionality of President Trump's deportations last weekend of alleged Venezuelan gang members.

Why it matters: A federal district judge ruled that flights carrying the migrants to El Salvador had to be turned around — an order the White House says had "no lawful basis."

• But MAGA podcasts were adamant on Monday that the judge was in the wrong, indicating an appetite among Trump's base to lean into what could turn into a major showdown with the judicial branch.

Zoom in: "I think there ought to be a much broader swath of impeachments," Steve Bannon said on his show, talking about federal judges. "We have to fight fire with fire. … They want to slow the Trump administration's flood the zone."

• "Immigration under national security concerns is obviously an area where number one, the judiciary, and particularly these district judges, have gone completely overboard," Jack Posobiec added on his own show.
• The Article III Project, a "brass knuckles" conservative legal group, launched a petition to build support for Congress to impeach the judge who ordered a halt to the deportations.

Catch up quick: The Trump administration has said it refused to turn around two planeloads of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang after Judge James Boasberg ordered them back because the flights were already over international waters.

• The migrants are now in an infamous El Salvadoran prison.

The big picture: Tensions were already building among Trump and his allies over federal court rulings halting policies such as mass firings and ending birthright citizenship.

• But now, MAGA influencers are betting that the political winds are blowing in their favor when it comes down to removing supposed gang members from the country.

"Essentially, it puts the Democrats in a place where they have to say, 'well, we're defending criminal gang members,'" Andrew Kolvet, the executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," said on the podcast Monday.

• The story is "going to be huge," Bannon texted Axios.