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“Silence Is Consent? Trump’s Absence Fuels GOP Drift as Massie, Paul Push Unchecked”

By Khadija Khan
June 3, 2025

Washington, D.C. — It’s been twenty-seven days since former President Donald J. Trump last made a public statement, and in that time, the power vacuum he left behind in the Republican Party has been filled by two of its most strident libertarian voices: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Representative Thomas Massie. The duo’s increasingly dominant role in pushing through the so-called DOGE Cuts has stirred outrage, confusion, and deep concern among Trump’s loyal base.

The silence from Trump — the man who once commanded daily headlines and shaped the entire narrative arc of American politics — has now become the story itself. As conservative factions splinter and moderate Republicans struggle to define a post-Trump identity, the absence of their once-unquestioned leader feels like more than just a lull.

“And where is Trump, vilifying Thomas Massie and Rand Paul?” asked conservative commentator Jake Delano in a primetime panel on Fox Edge. “Not one word about getting the DOGE cuts codified? Silence is consent. In this case, it spurred them on.”

The DOGE Cuts: Disruption or Deception?

Named half-ironically after the internet meme that came to represent shallow hype culture, the DOGE Cuts — short for Deficit-Only Government Expenditures — were introduced in early May by Massie and co-sponsored by Paul. The package includes a series of superficial federal spending reductions, most of which come from discretionary funding: administrative travel, federal arts grants, environmental subsidies, and even the National Endowment for Democracy.

Notably, the cuts leave entitlement programs, defense spending, and corporate tax loopholes untouched — a move critics call “fiscal cosplay.”

“These aren’t real cuts. They’re political theater,” said Dr. Rhea Connors, a policy analyst at the Brookings Institute. “They’re designed to create headlines and give the illusion of responsibility without touching the machinery that drives the debt.”

And yet, in the absence of Trump’s voice — no rally, no Truth Social post, not even a trademark all-caps tweet — the bill has passed through committee with shocking ease.

“The MAGA base would have torched this thing if Trump had simply said it was garbage,” said former GOP aide Laura Kinney. “But with him silent, the gatekeepers looked around, saw no fire, and just let it through.”

A Movement Leader Missing in Action

For years, Donald Trump thrived as the gravitational center of Republican politics. He was more than a former president; he was a brand, a movement, a media empire, a daily event. From Mar-a-Lago to Mount Rushmore, his image loomed large over the party’s every move. But today, that gravity appears to be collapsing inward.

“The Republican Party used to fear crossing Trump. Now, without his input, they’re improvising,” said Rufus Adedayo, a political editor at The National Report. “Massie and Paul are exploiting that vacuum to push their own ideology — one that often stands in contradiction to what Trumpism claimed to represent.”

While Trump loyalists once promised to dismantle the globalist consensus and rebuild American industry, the DOGE Cuts reduce trade protections and de-prioritize domestic infrastructure — both pillars of the MAGA platform.

“This isn’t America First,” said Danielle Crowder, a longtime pro-Trump influencer with over 800,000 followers on X. “This is CATO Institute cosplay wrapped in MAGA merch. And Trump’s silence is letting it happen.”

Strategic Retreat or Internal Chaos?

Some within Trump’s inner circle insist the silence is deliberate.

“He’s not gone. He’s just watching,” one senior advisor said on condition of anonymity. “There’s a plan. Don’t mistake stillness for surrender.”

Theories abound. Some say Trump is preparing a major summer rally blitz. Others suggest legal pressures have finally begun to constrain him. A more speculative camp believes internal division in his post-presidency operation has triggered a reorganization that will reshape Trumpism entirely.

“He’s always worked off instinct and momentum,” said Karen Penfold, former deputy comms director for the 2020 Trump campaign. “If that instinct tells him to let these guys hang themselves with their own rope, that’s what he’ll do.”

But critics aren’t buying it.

“This is his party. These are his consequences,” said Dr. Omar Bell, professor of political science at Howard University. “If he allows people like Massie and Paul to redefine his legacy, then he’s no longer a leader — he’s a ghost.”

The Rising Power of the Libertarian Bloc

While Trump remains publicly absent, Paul and Massie have wasted no time filling the ideological gap. Their messaging is aggressive: cut spending now or lose the republic. Their budgetary approach is grounded in libertarian austerity, trimmed down to memes and metrics.

In televised appearances, they brand themselves as the “real conservatives,” casting Trump-era spending as reckless and unsustainable. “We told you so” has become their rallying cry.

“For all the talk of draining the swamp, Trump’s budgets were among the most bloated in history,” Massie said on NewsOne America. “We’re doing the job he never had the courage to do.”

Those comments have sparked outrage across MAGA spaces.

“Massie is rewriting history — and Trump’s letting him,” said Florida-based grassroots organizer Chloe Lambert. “It’s infuriating to watch.”

Silence as Strategy — Or Surrender?

Even Trump’s most vocal allies are struggling to make sense of the quiet.

“He always had a reason before,” said Rep. Troy Madison (R-GA), a staunch MAGA loyalist. “He’d go dark before launching something huge. But this? This feels different.”

Analysts are torn.

• Some believe Trump is preparing for a post-Paul/Massie reckoning, letting them “expose” themselves before rebuking them.
• Others argue the former president is testing how far his lieutenants will go without supervision — a loyalty check of sorts.
• A more dire assessment: Trump’s influence is waning, and he knows it.

“Silence doesn’t protect you when your silence enables policies that betray your voters,” warned Julie Ng, editor-in-chief of The Conservative Current. “It damns you.”

The Electoral Fallout

With midterms on the horizon and early presidential polling already underway, many GOP candidates are unsure whether to follow Trump’s old blueprint — or embrace the new libertarian austerity gospel.

“If he doesn’t speak soon, he risks permanently losing control of his narrative,” said Republican pollster Doug Parson. “And once it’s gone, it doesn’t come back.”

Internal RNC memos, leaked last week, reveal growing anxiety about the party’s ideological future. One strategist wrote, “The base is loyal to Trump, but it doesn’t know what Trump wants anymore.”

What Happens Next?

Without Trump’s direct endorsement or opposition, the DOGE Cuts are expected to move to a full vote next week. Analysts predict a narrow pass, with moderate Democrats quietly backing it as a symbolic gesture toward fiscal “responsibility.”

In the meantime, conservative America holds its breath, waiting for the familiar voice that once spoke daily, relentlessly, unapologetically.

“Trump used to say what no one else would,” said Cody Freeman, a steelworker from Ohio who attended every Trump rally within a 200-mile radius from 2016 to 2024. “Now, when we need him to call these phonies out, he says nothing. That ain’t the guy I voted for.”

The Verdict? Silence Isn’t Just Absence

In politics, silence isn’t passive. It signals. It shapes. It allows. And in this case, Trump’s extended silence is being interpreted not as disengagement — but as permission.

For Massie and Paul, it’s the green light they’ve waited years to see.

For his base, it’s a betrayal they never expected.

And for Trump himself? The longer he waits, the more the movement he built transforms — without him.