The Danger of MAGA History

Trump is all in on patriotic history. He wants a triumphal past. His Second Inaugural Address was saturated by nation-glorifying imagery and rhetoric. In the MAGA historical imaginary, America wins all the time—except when internal enemies block the application of “common sense.” The past Trump desires is the present MAGA has embraced: rugged, manly, expansionist, culturally uniform, and unapologetic.  

The problem with MAGA history is not simply that it is untrue—America’s past includes much to celebrate, but also much to mourn and repent. The deeper issue is that MAGA history is nakedly ideological. It obliterates what it does not desire and poisons what it cannot abide. Instead of being open to multiple perspectives, it strives to be univocal. MAGA, as we are seeing, refuses to share reality—or history—with those who do not pledge their fealty to its leaders.

Here’s a piece I published in The Progressive (January 2025) on “The Danger of MAGA History.” It’s about memory holes, memory trolls, and the hijacking of history via executive edicts and administrative overhaul.

https://progressive.org/latest/the-danger-of-maga-history-karn-20250130/