Michael Knowles’ most recent podcast episode, Marjorie Taylor Greene Joins the Resistance, breaks down the sudden feud between the Congresswoman and Donald Trump as something that goes deeper than headlines about “RINOs,” CNN appearances, or MAGA drama. To Knowles, this moment isn’t about policy disagreements at all. It’s about something far older and far more fundamental: politics is about people forming coalitions — deciding who is in, who is out, and who can be trusted when the stakes are highest. The Trump–MTG feud is not about Epstein files, “kindness,” or tariffs. It’s about protecting coalition integrity. The catalyst was bizarre enough. MTG — long considered one of Trump’s fiercest loyalists — appeared on CNN delivering what amounted to a political confession, apologizing for “toxic rhetoric” and insisting America needs “kindness.” For the populist firebrand who built her brand on fighting the Left, the pivot was stunning. It became even more explosive when Trump responded by breaking out the R-card and labeling her a “RINO.” Knowles argues that the real story is not the apology, not the rhetoric, and not the optics — it’s the unmistakable sign of a coalition cracking. Knowles insists that politics, in its practical, day-to-day reality, is not primarily about ideas or ideology. Yes, ideas matter, and ideology matters. But in real political life, power is gained by teams of people working together, ideally to serve the common good, and in dysfunctional systems, to serve themselves. A successful movement depends on maintaining a coherent coalition — one that knows who belongs under the tent and who can be relied upon when everything is on the line. To illustrate this, Knowles points to Liz Cheney. Cheney voted with Trump and House Republicans on over 90 percent of policy issues — “probably more,” he says. But when it came to the vote that actually mattered, the vote that determined narrative power and political legitimacy — the January 6th committee — Cheney sided with Democrats. In Knowles’ framing, that vote revealed her true allegiance. All the “correct” policy votes in the world cannot outweigh the single decisive moment where a politician chooses the other coalition. That is the standard by which he judges political loyalty. Knowles now sees something similar happening with MTG. For years, she wasn’t just part of the MAGA coalition — she was one of its loudest champions. But recently, she has been needling Trump. Trump finally hit back. And just like that, Knowles says, they appear to be on different teams. Her CNN apology and use of left-wing rhetorical tropes were not evidence of personal growth in his eyes — they were signals of a potential coalitional shift, a Liz Cheney-style wobble away from the movement she once energized. This is where Knowles brings in Charlie Kirk. Kirk, he argues, understood political coalitions better than almost anyone. His unique talent was holding factions together, knowing whom to include, whom to exclude, and how to manage internal rivalries without letting them fracture the mission. Kirk recognized that without a coalition, no idea — no matter how principled — can ever become law. That’s the heart of Knowles’ analysis: The Trump–MTG feud is not about Epstein files, “kindness,” or tariffs. It’s about protecting coalition integrity. When movements turn inward, they rot. When they fracture, they lose power. And when they lose power, the country loses direction. The question ahead, Knowles suggests, is simple and ominous: Is Marjorie Taylor Greene merely wobbling — or switching teams? In politics, that distinction determines everything. READ MORE from Tyler Rowley: How Thomas Sowell Changed Coleman Hughes’s Mind About Human Nature The Right’s Nick Fuentes Problem — and Tucker Carlson’s Role in Mainstreaming It Tyler Rowley is a Catholic author and founder of Right Mic, a newsletter that curates the most recent and relevant conservative podcasts.