A disturbing "new normal" has taken hold in American politics under President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement, according to Fox News analyst Juan Williams, who argues that conduct once capable of ending careers is now tolerated so long as the president says it is okay.

Williams, a longtime political analyst at Fox News and one of the rare liberal Democratic voices on the conservative network, has never shied away from leveling harsh criticisms against Trump, including in his recurring columns for The Hill. His career in political journalism includes more than two decades at The Washington Post and a stint at NPR, which dismissed him in 2010 over remarks he made on Fox — a move quickly followed by an expanded role at the network, where he later co-hosted "The Five." In his latest piece, published Monday, he took aim at the "questionable MAGA behavior" on display in the ongoing midterms — the November 3, 2026, contests in which all 435 House seats and roughly a third of the Senate are on the ballot — lamenting how normalized such conduct has become under Trump.

Among the examples he raised was Rep. Max Miller, the Ohio Republican — a former Trump White House aide whom Trump endorsed when he first won his House seat in 2022 — who is still running for reelection despite harrowing accusations of domestic abuse leveled against him by his ex-wife — who is also the daughter of Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno — concerning both herself and their two-year-old daughter.

Williams also pointed to the baffling claims of Victor Marx, the GOP nominee for governor in Colorado, including that he "rescued 45,000 captives, both children and women, from abuse," that he "called in a U.S. military airstrike that killed 70 ISIS fighters," that he was forced to kill a man at age seven, and that he has "exorcised demons — and can do so over the telephone, he says, if need be."

"Note there is no record of the rescues," Williams wrote. "Note there is no record of any civilian using American military airpower against Middle Eastern terrorists. Who knows about the demons. Despite his history and wild claims, Marx remains the Republican nominee for governor of Colorado. He is endorsed by the Republican Governors Association. This is far from normal politics."

Williams further argued that this "see-no-evil" approach to scandalous behavior stems from Trump's mostly unwavering support from a substantial chunk of the Republican voter base. Unless Trump decides certain behavior is unacceptable, other Republicans will not speak out for fear of incurring his wrath.

"They give the president between 80 percent approval, according to YouGov polling," Williams detailed. "That support is far above the 35 percent approval given Trump by all voters in a Reuters poll. Nationally, disapproval of his presidency now stands at 57.2 percent, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls. All that separates Trump from near zero approval is his base. They stand by him and other Republicans with highly questionable records and statements. This is the new normal induced by Trump in 2026."

The November 3 midterms will be the first nationwide federal election since Trump returned to the White House, and they will decide which party controls the House and Senate for the final two years of his term.

Source: Alternet