AI Summary
5 min readMAGA rethinks Ukraine
Laura Lumer, the inveterate MAGA trickster who once tried to start an ISIS support group in college and crashed a Shakespeare in the Park production of Julius Caesar, did something that no one in the MAGAverse seems to do: she admitted she was wrong. After years of criticizing Ukraine and praising Russia, Lumer went to a bomb shelter in Kyiv and came back a convert. "People love being keyboard warriors and saying things are fake," she said. "I was once that person too, but then I decided to come to a war zone and see things for myself."
How MAGA got pro-Russia in the first place
The roots of MAGA's pro-Russia, anti-Ukraine posture go back to 2016. When Robert Mueller's investigation confirmed Russian interference in the election to help Donald Trump, Trump responded by needing to protect the legitimacy of his win. That led to an overcorrection: not only was there no interference, but what was so bad about Russia anyway? As Trump put it at the time: "Putin's a killer. A lot of killers. You think our country's so innocent?"
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of Today, Explained
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 (00:01) **Laura Lumer’s Surprise Ukraine Reversal** - The episode opens with the story of MAGA influencer Laura Lumer, who shocked her followers by visiting a bomb shelter in Ukraine and admitting she was wrong about the war.
- 2 (01:52) **Why MAGA Turned Anti-Ukraine** - Isaac Arnsdorf explains the political roots of MAGA skepticism toward Ukraine, tracing it back to the 2016 election.
- 3 (04:31) **What Lumer Now Says About Ukraine** - After her visit, Lumer publicly adopted a pro-Ukraine, anti-Russia position, arguing geopolitically that Ukraine’s fall threatens the West.
- 4 (05:29) **Trump’s Businessman View of the Conflict** - Trump’s approach to Ukraine is framed by his transactional, real-estate mindset, seeing Russia as big and powerful and Ukraine as small and weak.
- 5 (07:02) **Lumer’s Full Reversal on Putin** - Lumer has gone further than Trump, calling Putin the “bad guy” and advocating for extreme measures against him.
- 6 (08:05) **Why Lumer Matters to the MAGA Movement** - Trump personally likes Lumer, promotes her content, and plans to meet with her at the White House, giving her influence over Republican Ukraine policy.
- 7 (09:29) **The MAGA Civil War Over Ukraine** - Pro-Russia voices like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson are doubling down, creating a rift within the right.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
After years of skepticism, an important MAGA figure is warming to the Ukrainian cause. And she has the ear of the president.
This episode was produced by Kelli Wessinger, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Gabriel Dunatov, engineered by Patrick Boyd and David Tatasciore, and hosted by Noel King.
Political activist Laura Loomer films with her cellphone as President Donald Trump takes part in an event at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images.
Listen to Today, Explained ad-free by becoming a Vox Member: vox.com/members. New Vox members get $20 off their membership right now. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More from this podcast
Today, Explained →