FreedomWorks Shuts Down, Blaming Trump's Influence

The once-influential conservative group FreedomWorks has dissolved, with its president citing the ideological divide created by Donald Trump as a major factor in its demise.

The conservative group FreedomWorks, once a driving force behind the tea party movement, has officially shut its doors, citing the ideological upheaval brought on by the Trump era as the primary reason for its decline.

FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon told Politico in an exclusive interview that the group had dissolved, effective immediately. Wednesday marked the last day for the organization's roughly two dozen staff members.

The group's closure follows a series of setbacks in recent years. FreedomWorks laid off nearly half of its staff last year, and its revenue has plummeted by almost as much since 2022.

Brandon attributed the group's demise to the rise of the MAGA-style populism espoused by Trump. He said that Trump's supporters tended to be more populist than libertarian-leaning conservatives, and this created a rift within FreedomWorks' own membership.

"A lot of our base aged, and so the new activists that have come in [with] Trump, they tend to be much more populist," Brandon told Politico. "So, you look at the base that just kind of shifted."

The shift in the base led to divisions within FreedomWorks, with members aligning themselves with either the MAGA or "Never Trump" factions. This impacted the group's ability to raise money, as donors increasingly asked about the group's stance on Trump.

Brandon emphasized that FreedomWorks was not explicitly for or against Trump, but rather supported or opposed his actions based on their alignment with conservative principles. However, this nuanced approach did not resonate with donors, who sought a more clear-cut position.

"We're not for or against Trump," said FreedomWorks' board member Paul Beckner. "We're for Trump if he's doing what we agree with, and we're against if he's not. And I think we've seen an erosion of conservative donors."

Despite the challenges faced by FreedomWorks, Brandon remains optimistic about the future of libertarianism. He intends to launch a new organization focused on politically independent millennials and Gen Z'ers.

"These are people who are coming into political consciousness with a distrust of the government," said Brandon. "They're looking for something different, and I think libertarianism has a lot to offer them."