Chris Cuomo Lists 5 Ways Trump Betrayed MAGA Voters in 2025

NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo has outlined five fundamental reasons he believes former President Donald Trump has betrayed his MAGA supporters, arguing these failures could influence the 2026 midterm elections. In his Thursday podcast, The Chris Cuomo Project, Cuomo presented what he described as the “top five reasons that President Trump has screwed MAGA over.”

“These are the big structural things that broke the fundamental promises that he needed to [keep],” Cuomo said.

Watch the episode in the video clip below, or read the breakdown of Cuomo’s five failures:

1. Domestic Economic Promises ‘Blown Out’

Cuomo criticized Trump’s handling of the “America First” economic agenda, particularly affordability and healthcare. “The whole America First agenda has been blown out the ass of this administration and everyone knows it,” Cuomo said.

He argued that Trump’s tax cuts primarily benefited wealthy Americans while failing to address campaign promises to overhaul healthcare costs and confront powerful industries. “Healthcare is crushing people. He knows it. He ignores it. He distracts you from it,” Cuomo said. “Affordability had become a huge fundamental promise.”

2. Tariffs and the Iran War

Cuomo grouped tariffs and the administration’s military conflict with Iran as a second major failure, claiming both contradicted Trump’s populist, anti-war messaging.

“The tariffs were a wild notion that they would bring back manufacturing anytime soon,” Cuomo said. He argued they instead “helped drive inflation, crushed small businesses [and] sent billions to farmers to offset losses that he created with his policy.”

On Iran, Cuomo accused Trump of betraying a central MAGA promise by involving the United States in another Middle East conflict. “The main reason this is such a big deal is the war in Iran, because he promised he wouldn’t do this anymore,” Cuomo said.

3. Making Government Less Efficient

Cuomo’s third point focused on Trump’s attacks on institutions and the so-called “deep state,” arguing the result was a less effective government.

“The whole point of disruption of institutions and deep state and all that was to make it better,” Cuomo said. “He’s made it worse.”

He accused Trump of undermining public trust in government while weakening agencies through cuts and political pressure. “He’s made the DOJ more about lawfare than ever,” Cuomo said.

4. Healthcare Costs Still ‘Killing’ Americans

Healthcare earned its own spot on Cuomo’s list, now “a top three expense for every American family,” he said. “It was never supposed to be that way.”

Cuomo highlighted failed attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act while warning that many MAGA voters increasingly rely on Medicaid and other public programs. “Healthcare is killing them,” Cuomo said of Trump supporters. “His choices—action and inaction—have made it worse.”

5. Political Culture and Trust in Institutions

Cuomo’s fifth failure centered on Trump’s impact on political culture and institutional trust. He argued that Trump’s rhetoric and actions have deepened divisions and eroded faith in democratic norms.

“He promised to unite, but he’s done the opposite,” Cuomo said. “The political culture is more fractured than ever, and trust in institutions is at an all-time low.”