MAGA’s Double Standards Laid Bare: Immigration, Influence and the Politics of Access

Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to "drain the swamp," yet the past year’s revelations show a Washington rife with contradictions — from family histories that contradict policy positions to private influence reshaping public institutions. This report collects the most telling examples of influence, spectacle, and hypocrisy across the conservative movement and the Trump orbit.

Ruth Glosser and an Ironic Family History

Ruth Glosser spent her life preserving the story of her family’s escape from persecution. In an unpublished memoir, A Precious Legacy, she recounts how her ancestors survived Russian pogroms and the Holocaust by emigrating to the United States. Her grandfather, Wolf Laib Glosser, left Antopol (now in Belarus) and by 1920 had brought his immediate family to America — a migration that ultimately saved them when most of Antopol’s Jewish community was murdered by the Nazis.

"It’s up to our generation to leave a testimony that affirms what our grandparents experienced," Ruth wrote. "…wise enough and lucky enough to have made that dangerous journey so that we could live in peace and freedom."

The story takes on contemporary irony because Ruth’s grandson is Stephen Miller, widely known as an architect of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies. Several relatives have publicly rejected Miller’s enforcement-first stance. Dr. David S. Glosser, a retired neuropsychologist and Miller’s uncle, told Politico that if Miller’s policies had existed a century earlier "our family would have been wiped out." The Glosser family’s rise — from selling bananas on a New York corner to building retail businesses in Philadelphia — underlines the immigrant trajectories Miller’s policies would have imperiled.

Katie Miller's husband's family has an intriguing backstory. Perhaps one she might want to share on her podcast? / Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

AmericaFest 2025: Fractures and Spectacle

AmericaFest 2025, Turning Point USA’s four-day event billed as a tribute to Charlie Kirk, revealed sharp divides inside the conservative movement. Public feuds erupted: Ben Shapiro criticized fellow commentators for amplifying conspiracies; Donald Trump Jr. declared the Republican Party "effectively dead," and Vice President J.D. Vance mixed appeals for unity with crude insults reportedly directed at political figures.

One of the weekend’s most talked-about moments was James O’Keefe’s "Make America Rave Again" party at The Duce in Phoenix — part political after-party, part EDM show. The event featured DJs, costume changes, fire twirling, and a dance routine set to Above & Beyond’s "Blue Sky Action," encapsulating the blend of political theater and pop spectacle now common on the right.

James O’Keefe, Undercover Footage, and the Epstein Files

James O’Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, has long specialized in undercover sting operations that critics say rely on deceptive editing. O’Keefe left Project Veritas in 2023 and has since launched O’Keefe Media. His group released a video featuring Joseph Schnitt — identified in the footage as a Deputy Chief of Special Operations at the Department of Justice — suggesting that released Epstein documents would be "heavily redacted." When large portions of the Epstein files later appeared blacked out, O’Keefe’s supporters hailed the footage as vindication. At AmericaFest, O’Keefe actively recruited would-be undercover journalists, offering free admission to applicants for his operation.

Caption: James O'Keefe during one of his many costume changes at Friday's Make America Rave Again Party. Credit: Instagram. / The Swamp

Cozy Circles: Mar-a-Lago and Media Access

Frequent sightings of media figures, policymakers, and donors dining or socializing at Mar-a-Lago have underscored questions about access and influence. Reported attendees included television anchors and officials such as Bret Baier and FCC Chair Brendan Carr — scenes that highlight how social proximity can translate into political opportunity.

Defense Tech and Private Power: Grok in Government

The Department of Defense announced a partnership to deploy Grok, an AI chatbot managed by Elon Musk’s X platform, across government systems. Supporters described the move as an embrace of innovation; critics warned about the optics and the risks of placing a privately owned, opaque AI under the control of a powerful tech owner with political ties. Musk has been a major backer of Trump-aligned efforts, a fact that has fueled concerns about conflicts of interest and donor access. Observers also noted potential tension with other tech backers in the Trump orbit, such as Peter Thiel and his company Palantir, which has long supplied the Pentagon with data tools.

Dogged Reforms With Modest Returns

Congressional leaders touted reforms tied to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as a win. In practice, the agency’s measurable fiscal impact in 2025 was limited: lawmakers identified roughly $9 billion in recoverable spending adjustments, while the federal workforce shrank by about 317,000 employees without producing major spending reductions. The national debt rose to nearly $38.4 trillion by year’s end — more than $2 trillion higher than a year earlier — underscoring the gap between political rhetoric about efficiency and fiscal outcomes.

Much attention has been paid to Karoline Leavitt’s mouth after a portrait in the Vanity Fair article revealed injection sites in her top lip. / Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Photograph by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Gossip, Media and Political Theater

Washington’s culture of gossip and serialized personal revelations continued to draw attention. Ryan Lizza’s Substack series about his relationship with Olivia Nuzzi split readers between those entertained and those exasperated; he has indicated the serial will end after one final installment.

Conclusion

These stories together sketch an ecosystem in which personal history, performative spectacle, private wealth, and government power collide. They raise urgent questions about who sets policy, who gets access, and how narratives of patriotism and populism reconcile with entrenched networks of influence.

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