He worked for Trump. Then Rich Logis left MAGA

On Sept. 15, Rich Logis, author of “One Betrayal Too Many,” and founder of Leaving MAGA, agreed to an interview in the reception area at the Jefferson Inn in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

Founder of Leaving MAGA, Rich Logis, said he was involved in Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns and became a MAGA activist, and left in 2022. “I worked on Kamala’s [Harris, presidential] campaign and will vote Democrat in Nov.,” he said and added that he was a registered Independent voter.

Logis said when he was in the throes of MAGA, he did not read or watch diverse media and that he wrote for The Federalist. Now, he reads The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Atlantic, which are liberal-leaning media sources.

When asked about his funding sources, Logis answered that his nonpartisan nonprofit was not required by law to reveal its major funding sources. His 990-tax form in May 2025 reveals contributions at $26,574, and that Rich Logis did not receive any salary. However, during the interview, Logis said he was paid a salary, but he did not reveal the amount.

The Leaving MAGA website and his book’s foreword reveal a trail mix of connections.

Leaving MAGA board member Adrienne Evans’ website indicates she is a progressive, Democratic-aligned activist. Evans is executive director of United Vision for Idaho, a progressive coalition.

Leaving MAGA board member Zach Elwood is a political polarization researcher who writes about anger, contempt, tribalism and political polarization as he examines the dynamics of political division. Tribalism is favoring one’s group over others.

Leaving MAGA board member Noelle Cook is an author focused on extremism, political behavior and conspiracy beliefs.

Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger represented Illinois and left Congress in 2022 after he was stigmatized for investigating the Jan. 6 White House protest. He became a prominent Republican critic of Trump and wrote the foreword to Logis’ “One Betrayal Too Many.”

Principles First, founded in 2019 by attorney and ex-Bain manager Heath Mayo, is a centre-right group opposing events like CPAC. The organization’s annual summits spotlight the Leaving MAGA movement. Jeff Carson is a U.S. Army veteran and the Chief Operating Officer and former vice president at Unite America. Secretary Michael Beck serves on the leadership committee.

Well-known anti-MAGA activists: Adam Kinzinger, a former U.S. Congressman, Asa Hutchinson, formerly an Arkansas Governor, J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge, co-founder of the Society for the Rule of Law George Conway, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have spoken at Principle First events.

Principles First provides the political alliance for anti-Trump conservatives, and Logis uses their summits to coach people to leave the MAGA movement with empathy-driven community-building strategies: the my tribe is nicer than your tribe method.

Logis said that MAGA had filled his need to be seen and heard and, during the interview, said he felt remorse and that he deeply apologized for his contributions to MAGA and their impact.

Emotionally charged political concerns from Trump’s MAGA are similar to Leaving MAGA, but they have different messages.

Trump’s political movement has emphasized threats involving immigration, crime, government and elections.

Elwood argues that “us-versus-them” mindsets fuel polarization and calls for a more understanding approach.

When asked how President Trump’s response to the pandemic influenced Logis’ decision to leave the MAGA movement, Logis said that Trump went rogue and did not listen to the doctors and was “talking about injecting bleach.”

According to FactCheck.org, Trump said in response to Covid:

Trump, April 23: A question that probably some of you are thinking of if you’re totally into that world, which I find to be very interesting. So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light, and I think you said that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way. And I think you said you’re going to test that too. Sounds interesting, right? And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it’d be interesting to check that. So that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful.

Logis said the last straw for leaving MAGA was when Trump was not in office in 2022, but that Logis knew how the Republicans would respond, “and they did, by calling for more guns,” after the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas massacre.

According to Reuters, after the Uvalde massacre, Trump opposed new gun bans, called for increased security at schools, including allowing trained teachers to be armed and called for more mental health services.

Logis said America needed border enforcement, but that ICE was sometimes inhumane. He believes in people having the right to own guns, but that we need stronger federal regulations.

“Gay marriage is not an important issue for me,” Logis said about his personal beliefs. “Abortion should be legal, but if a fetus is viable, it should not be legal. Pronouns are not a threat. Religion does not belong in public policy.” He said that the Muslim religion was not a threat. Logis said there was not an epidemic of transgender men in women’s sports or bathrooms. “What happened to live and let live?”

“We don’t take positions on issues,” Logis said about the Leaving MAGA movement.

Logis said he was raised Catholic but was not attending church.

Logis said something needed to change, and when asked about replacing elected local boards in municipalities and counties with a professional management team under contracts, Logis provided a broad answer. “We don’t want to forget state and local. People deserve a government who is responsive to them and enact change with knowledge.”

The idea behind replacing elected boards with people winning on popularity is that contracted, proven business professionals would use their knowledge to strategize actions that lead to positive changes for the good of all while maintaining state mandates and a balanced budget. (It was not Logis’ idea, but the editor of Sandhills New’s idea.) A professional management team would settle many political party disparities.

The Leaving MAGA movement’s number one goal is coaching people to leave the MAGA movement.

Logis said most people who leave MAGA become Democrats.

Sept 16, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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