‘MAGA junkie' fired from government job now regrets voting for Trump
A self-described 'MAGA junkie' says she regrets voting for Donald Trump after she was fired from her job in the federal government.
Jennifer Piggott of West Virginia told CNN she was one of 125 probationary employees fired from the Treasury Department 's Bureau of Fiscal Service last month as part of Trump's efforts to downsize the federal government.
Piggott is a self-described 'MAGA junkie' who voted for Trump three times — but has since lost faith in the Republican.
'I cried. It's scary, it's a really scary thing,' she said. 'I was embarrassed.'
When CNN asked if she regretted voting for the president, Piggott responded: 'Yes, I do.'
'To cut the knees off the working-class Americans just doesn't make sense to me,' she continued. 'I expected more from President Donald Trump.'
According to recent court filings, Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency has fired at least 24,000 federal probationary employees. A federal judge has ruled that DOGE fired at least 16,000 of these employees illegally, but the Trump administration is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court.
Piggott said she was fired over poor performance, despite getting the 'highest rating' on a performance review less than three weeks before she was let go. She told Reuters that other voters she knows also didn't expect this level of 'devastation.'
"Nobody that I've talked to understood the devastation that having this administration in office would do to our lives," Piggott said. "As much as I think that President Trump is doing wonderful things for the country in some regards, I don't understand this at all.'
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields defended the firings to Reuters, claiming Trump has been given a popular mandate to carry out the mass layoffs.
"The personal financial situation of every American is top of mind for the president, which is why he's working to cut regulations, reshore jobs, lower taxes, and make government more efficient," Fields said.
CNN spoke to another Bureau of Fiscal Service employee who recently retired over fears she would lose her benefits if she were fired as part of the Trump administration's downsizing efforts. The unnamed employee also voted for the president.
When CNN asked if she would have supported Trump knowing what he would do, she responded: 'I'm not sure I would have.'
'The way that it's been done — I'm for balancing the budget, that type of thing, but not in this context,' she said. 'It's just not right.'
Piggott says Trump is 'creating a disaster,' and she doesn't know 'what America is going to look like if this continues.'
'I expected that you would do what was right and cut waste and fraud and all of those things that you promised us before we elected you in office,' she told CNN. 'But you're not doing that.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Photos of South Korea's last circus
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump says supporters ‘more in love' with him than ever despite Iran divisions
'I may have some people that are a little bit unhappy now, but I have some people that are very happy, and I have people outside of the base that can't believe that this is happening, they're so happy,' he said. Pete Hegseth (Jose Luis Magana/PA) Defence secretary Pete Hegseth told legislators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing Mr Trump with options on Iran but would not say whether the military was planning to assist with Israeli strikes. 'I may do it, I may not do it,' Mr Trump said Wednesday. 'I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' Some longtime defenders of his America First mantra are criticising him for considering a greater US role in the conflict between Israel and Iran after a week of deadly strikes, and reminding their own audiences of Mr Trump's 2024 promises to resist overseas military involvement. Steve Bannon, one of Mr Trump's 2016 campaign's senior advisers, told an audience in Washington that bitter feelings over Iraq were a driving force for Mr Trump's first presidential candidacy and the Maga (Make American Great Again) movement, saying that 'one of the core tenets is no forever wars'. Steve Bannon (Alamy/PA) But Mr Bannon — a longtime Trump ally who served a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the US Capitol attack on January 6 2021 — went on to suggest Mr Trump will maintain loyalty from his base no matter what. On Wednesday, he acknowledged that while he and others will argue against military intervention, 'the Maga movement will back Trump'. Ultimately, Mr Bannon said Mr Trump will have to make the case to the American people if he wants to get involved in Iran, and he has not done that yet. 'We don't like it. Maybe we hate it,' Mr Bannon said, predicting what the Maga response would be. 'But, you know, we'll get on board.' Alex Jones, the right-wing conspiracy theorist and Infowars host on Wednesday posted on social media a side-by-side of Mr Trump's official presidential photo and an AI-generated composite of Mr Trump and former president George W Bush, who Mr Trump and many of his allies have long disparaged for involving the US in the so-called 'forever wars' in Iraq and Afghanistan. Writing 'What you voted for' above Mr Trump's image and 'What you got' above the composite, Jones added: 'I hope this is not the case.' Alex Jones (Alamy/PA) Commentator Tucker Carlson's rhetoric towards Mr Trump has been increasingly critical, with the longtime supporter — who headlined large rallies with the Republican during the 2024 campaign — this week suggesting the president's strategy was breaking his pledge to keep the US out of new foreign entanglements. Mr Trump hit back at Carlson on social media, calling him 'kooky'. During an event at the White House later on Wednesday, the president said Carlson had 'called and apologised', adding that Carlson 'is a nice guy'. On Wednesday, Carlson's conversation with Republican senator Ted Cruz laid bare the divides among many Republicans. The two sparred for two hours over a variety of issues, primarily potential US involvement in Iran, and Carlson accused Mr Cruz of placing too much emphasis on protecting Israel in his foreign policy worldview. 'You don't know anything about Iran,' Carlson said after the senator said he did not know Iran's population, or its ethnic composition. 'You're a senator who's calling for the overthrow of a government, and you don't know anything about the country.'
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Tulsi Gabbard sidelined in Trump administration discussions on Israel and Iran
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, an outspoken critic of past U.S. military interventions abroad, appears to have fallen out of favor with President Donald Trump as he weighs military action against Iran, according to multiple senior administration officials with knowledge of the matter. Gabbard allies insist that, while there is some White House tension, some of the public blowback is overstated, and none interviewed by NBC News expect her to leave the administration as a result of the president's Iran policy, even if that includes direct U.S. involvement. Gabbard's politically perilous position burst into the open this week when Trump brushed her back over her testimony to Congress in March. At that time, she said the U.S. intelligence community did not believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon — a comment at odds with Trump's recent public statement about the threat posed by Iran's potential nuclear program. 'I don't care what she said. I think they were very close to having one,' Trump told reporters Tuesday on Air Force One. A person with knowledge of the matter said the U.S. intelligence community's view has not changed since Gabbard's testimony in March. But the idea that a president would openly refute his director of national intelligence immediately spurred questions about whether she is now iced out of decision-making on the issue. It also reflects a rift that is playing out publicly in Trump's MAGA coalition, with some supporters advocating standing by Israel in whatever military action it takes against Iran and others saying intervention would go against the 'America First' philosophy. Trump's criticism of U.S. involvement in past conflicts — and his campaign promise to be a ' peacemaker ' in his second term — brought in unusual bedfellows, such as Gabbard, who had been a Democratic congresswoman. Multiple senior administration officials said Gabbard has been sidelined in internal administration discussions about the conflict between Israel and Iran. Even two of her allies who spoke to NBC News acknowledged that her standing took a hit when she posted a video on June 10 after a trip to Hiroshima, Japan. The video, which featured the simulated destruction of American cities and Gabbard warning about the dangers of nuclear war, annoyed the White House team, the officials said. Gabbard did not attend a meeting of top officials June 8 at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, to discuss tensions between Israel and Iran, which raised fresh questions about her status in the administration. A White House official told NBC News that Gabbard was not present only because she had to take part in scheduled training as a member of the National Guard. Gabbard's past positions on Iran, coupled with her recent comments and Trump's responses to them, have forced top administration officials into a difficult position. Gabbard has seemingly been at odds with the administration line, but not to the point where they feel the need to abandon her. 'Tulsi is a veteran, a patriot, a loyal supporter of Pres Trump and a critical part of the coalition he built in 2024,' Vice President JD Vance said in a statement Tuesday. 'She's an essential member of our nat sec team, & we're grateful for her tireless work to keep America safe from foreign threats.' Other Republicans, though, have taken shots at her recent Iran comments. 'She obviously needs to change her meds,' Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Jewish Insider last week. Gabbard has long used her public platform to oppose U.S. military action against Iran and has been working behind the scenes to try to find a diplomatic solution, two of the administration officials said. In one case, Gabbard sought to enlist the help of European allies who have communication channels with Tehran, an official said. That stands, at times, in direct conflict with Trump's public comments about the now open fight between Israel and Iran, a fight he himself has acknowledged might now require U.S. intervention. 'I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,' Trump told reporters Wednesday. Gabbard allies who spoke to NBC News acknowledge that the video was not received well by White House officials but said reported rifts between her and Trump on the issue have been overstated. 'I have heard that also,' a Gabbard ally said of the tension spurred by the Hiroshima video. 'But I don't think it reached the level of the president himself. I am told the matter has been 'resolved.'' The Gabbard ally downplayed any idea that she would resign over the public Trump rebuke or whether the United States got directly involved in the Iran-Israel conflict. 'The online claim that she will resign if the president decides to take direct action in Iran are false,' the person said. The video, however, did circulate widely among White House aides, and it left many wondering why she was taking such a public position as tensions escalate and Trump appears ready to get further involved. 'I think she is generally in OK standing,' a Republican operative familiar with administration thinking said. 'In situations like this, folks with more traditional Republican and neocon views are going to use the opportunity to minimize her influence.' Asked about the recent video on Hiroshima, Gabbard's deputy chief of staff, Alexa Henning, said: 'Acknowledging the past is critical to inform the future. President Trump has repeatedly stated in the past that he recognizes the immeasurable suffering, and annihilation can be caused by nuclear war, which is why he has been unequivocal that we all need to do everything possible to work towards peace.' As a Democratic congresswoman, presidential candidate and supporter of Trump's 2024 campaign, Gabbard portrayed herself as a fierce opponent of what she sees as America's misguided military interventions overseas, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. assistance for rebels in Libya and Syria. In last year's electoral campaign, Gabbard accused the Biden administration of bringing the United States 'closer to the brink of nuclear war than we ever have been before.' During Trump's first term in office, Gabbard strongly criticized his handling of Iran and his decision to pull the United States out of a 2015 nuclear agreement that imposed limits on Tehran's nuclear work in return for an easing of sanctions. If Trump decides to order military strikes on Iran amid talk by Israel that military pressure might cause the Tehran regime to collapse, Gabbard would find herself in an awkward political position. She has vowed to ensure America no longer engages in 'regime change' wars. Gabbard's being warmly welcomed into Trump's MAGA political base during the last presidential election was seen at the time as an injection of ideological diversity. A Trump administration official acknowledged that the heterodox views that made her a welcome addition to the MAGA movement now mark her as an outsider in an administration appearing to coalesce around a policy antithetical to those views. 'If you adopt a Chihuahua, you should not be surprised that you have a Chihuahua,' the person said.
