BILLINGS, Mont. — Recent studies show approval for President Trump is dwindling, as the president speaks in Kalispell Wednesday to campaign for Republican congressional candidate Aaron Flint.
Pew Research Center reports a 67% rate of approval for the president this month among his 2024 voters, a 28% drop from the voters’ 95% approval rate at the beginning of his second term.
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Rich Logis, founder and CEO of Leaving MAGA, told MTN many are distancing themselves from the MAGA movement.
“There are likely thousands who are leaving,” Logis said. “Many leave quietly and privately.”
Logis considered himself a MAGA and Trump supporter five years ago.
“I had a second family when I was in MAGA,” Logis said. “It's not so easy to just walk away from a community and a second family.”
He told MTN he left the movement after experiencing several doubts over time.
“The first accelerant was actually not Donald Trump; it was my governor in Florida, Ron DeSantis, who platformed COVID anti-vaxxers at a press conference. And after he did that, in the summer of 2021, I started diversifying my news and information sources,” Logis said.
“The final straw for me was May 24, 2022, which was the day of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting,” he added. “They did as I anticipated, which was calling for more guns and more access to guns. And I, as a firearm owner and a parent, I found that to be insensitive and offensive.”
Logis has placed 50 billboards across 30 states, including one in Billings, which advertise his organization and say, “Having doubts? You are not alone.”
He spoke in Billings on Saturday, talking to people in the same position he was in years ago.
“Some of the action items that we focus on are how to navigate relationships with MAGA-identified friends and loved ones,” Logis said. “Approaching their friends and family in MAGA and saying to them, ‘You know, I believe that we agree more than we disagree. Let's find common ground.’”
However, there are also many who continue to show support for the president and his administration.
Billings resident Kelly Larson is not attending Trump’s rally in Kalispell, but she told MTN she has been to three of his rallies in the state.
“Kind of wishing we were there again, even though we've gone to so many,” Larson said. “You just feel the love for America in the room.”
Related: Looking back at President Donald Trump’s 2024 Bozeman rally ahead of Kalispell visit
Larson told MTN she approves of Trump’s performance but is unhappy with current gas prices.
“Gas should be down,” Larson said. “It shouldn't be as high as it is. But I think maybe it's because they got rid of those refineries in California.”
She told MTN she approves of the president’s tariffs.
“I think he's got good intentions,” Larson said. “He's getting manufacturing back here, so we don't have to rely on other countries.”
Larson told MTN she believes support for the president remains strong. She said she has family in Kalispell for the president’s speech.
“My cousin says the energy up there is just awesome,” Larson said. “Who doesn't want to make America great again?”
