It seems that the only thing that unites the contradictory entourage of US President Donald Trump is the figure of the president himself. Let’s look at what overlapping interests people with such different political and life views have.
Supporters of reducing international obligations and classic Republicans
Let’s start with representatives of the main group from Trump’s entourage — supporters of America First and MAGA in a broader sense. These include Vice President JD Vance, head of the office of management and budget Russel Vought, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, former director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tom Homan, secretary of defense Pete Hegseth, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, political strategist Steve Bannon, conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson.
Their basic document is Project 2025, which we wrote about earlier. The key theses that the representatives of this group are guided by include strengthening the power of the president, reducing the size of the state apparatus and increasing its efficiency, deregulating the economy, fossil fuels as the basis of energy, returning production to the United States, reducing migration, reducing funding for medicine, and protecting conservative values. In their foreign policy, they adhere to reducing international obligations and participation in international organizations.
Secondly, it is worth listing the classic conservative Republicans: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, senior senator from South Dakota John Thune, senior senator of Kentucky Mitch McConnell, senior senator for South Carolina Lindsey Graham. This group consistently defends fiscal conservatism, advocates for limited government, low taxes and budget discipline as a path to economic prosperity. In foreign policy, they support a strong international presence of the United States, reliable alliances and the importance of American leadership in global security. On a social level, classic Republicans are inclined to traditional values, but prefer a moderate approach to social issues. Enjoyment of the Republican Party’s victory over the Democrats overshadows their local discontent with Trump’s selective decisions. At the same time, this group is closer to neoconservative thinking that characterizes figures like George Bush, Dick Cheney, Mitt Romney.
Businessmen and techno-anarchists, religious leaders and supporters of retribution
Next are the classic businessmen who have always supported the Republican Party. Among the representatives of the conventional business are Timothy Mellon, Scott Bessent, Phil Ruffin, Richard Uihlein. Their companies traditionally support the Republicans because of their policy of tax cuts and deregulation, which promises lower costs and greater freedom of enterprise. Also, for them, it is especially valuable that the Republican Party consistently advocates for market solutions instead of government intervention, which resonates, and also often limits the rights of trade unions.
The fourth conditional group is made up of businessmen — owners of large technology corporations, one of whose goals is to replace classical institutions with AI technologies. Among them are the co-founder and CEO of Tesla Elon Musk and venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Journalists call them techno-anarchists, for whom cryptocurrency is a tool for achieving economic freedom and fighting against the centralized control of financial institutions.
A separate role in the entourage of the re-elected US President is played by representatives of radical religious movements, which have recently gained incredible influence in the United States. These are charismatic mystical religious organizations, which are sometimes called the New Apostolic Reformation. Among their representatives are Mike Johnson, Samuel Alito, Paula White-Cain. According to the results of several opinion polls, they have influence on more than 40% of Americans. Advocating for the “kingdom of God here and now”, they agitate to establish control over the “seven hills” (Seven Mountains Mandate): government, business, education, family, art, media and religion.
There are still individuals who are difficult to place in any of the above groups, for example, Donald Trump Jr. Since he is just beginning his political path, it would be correct to assume which group he will join in the future. However, given the trends in his visual demonstration of emotion and the overall course of US political history, we can even assume that Trump Jr. will create a kind of revenge cohort and unite around himself those who will openly criticize all the institutions and politicians who did not allow Trump to work during his first term and also humiliated his father during the impeachments. This group will not have a positive program, but it does not need one on the path to retribution.
Contrary to the widespread myth that the listed groups are united only by the figure of Trump himself, in many ways their goals and aspirations intersect. For example, they all advocate for reducing the role of the state in society and the economy: fewer taxes, less government spending and regulation. They all chose Trump as their president because they believe that he is able to break the old system. And, given that the ideas of Project 2025 are scheduled for a long period, the US President’s entourage has a high chance of continuing to be supporters or partners.
