Donald Trump’s latest round of political muscle-flexing is so aggressive that even some of his die-hard MAGA supporters are reportedly shifting uneasily in their seats. The president has built his brand on vengeance and defiance, but according to new reporting, his most recent moves are striking nerves inside his own base.
On Monday’s edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Axios founder Mike Allen revealed that several MAGA-world Republicans told him they were unsettled by the spectacle of federal agents raiding the home and office of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton. The raid, which unfolded live on cable news Friday, was just one piece of a larger pattern of Trump lashing out at his perceived enemies. Allen explained that for Trump loyalists, “this seemed like new territory.”
The backlash began building over the weekend after the Wall Street Journal published an editorial accusing Trump of using the powers of his office for personal vendettas. “It’s hard to see the raid as anything other than vindictive,” the editorial board wrote, noting that Bolton had already fallen out of favor with Trump during his first term before publishing a tell-all book.
“The real offender here is a President who seems to think he can use the powers of his office to run vendettas. We said this was one of the risks of a second Trump term, and it’s turning out to be worse than we imagined.”
That sentiment was echoed by Allen, who told the panel that the raid made many within MAGA circles feel “uncomfortable.” These weren’t Never-Trumpers or establishment Republicans, he stressed, but people who remain deeply loyal to Trump. “Even for President Trump, this seemed like new territory,” Allen explained, hinting that the optics of raiding Bolton’s home rattled the faithful.
Still, Allen cautioned that the full picture hasn’t yet emerged. Citing reporting from Axios colleague Marc Caputo, he noted that investigators may be looking into the sharing of classified information, meaning the raid could go beyond Bolton’s book. “There may be more to this than we know,” Allen admitted, but the unease remains.
At the same time, Trump has been ramping up his combative approach on other fronts. His decision to position troops in Washington, D.C., and openly threaten to deploy federal forces into blue-state cities like Baltimore and Chicago has alarmed critics who say he’s dangerously close to militarizing domestic politics.
The aggressive moves follow a summer of clashes with Democratic governors like Maryland’s Wes Moore and California’s Gavin Newsom, both of whom have accused Trump of trampling on states’ rights.
🚨 EXPOSED: The FBI raid on John Bolton isn’t about a book—it’s about dismantling an 80-year stranglehold on American sovereignty.
Bolton’s deep ties to City of London financiers & his role in the 2019 coup attempt finally revealed.
The mask is coming off. @BarbaraMBoyd pic.twitter.com/zyRefAWmWr
— Promethean Action (@PrometheanActn) August 23, 2025
On top of that, Allen pointed to Trump’s evolving approach to the economy, which is leaving some Republicans scratching their heads. “The command economy, the involvement of the American government in business, such a change,” Allen observed. He cited Trump’s pursuit of deals that give the federal government a financial stake in industries like semiconductors and steel, including taking a “golden share” in Intel and seeking a cut of Nvidia chips sold in China. “This is a huge one,” Allen said, adding that it highlights how far the GOP has shifted under Trump’s influence.
For Trump’s fiercest critics, these developments confirm fears that his second term would unleash unchecked retaliation and intervention. For his supporters, it’s an awkward moment of reckoning. MAGA Republicans rarely admit discomfort with Trump’s behavior, but Allen’s reporting suggests that even within the movement, there are limits and Trump may be testing them.
Whether those uneasy voices will grow louder or stay muted remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Trump’s appetite for confrontation is only intensifying, and it’s beginning to make even his own allies squirm.
