Whenever I hear someone say President Trump “kept his promises,” I can’t help but shake my head. The truth is far more complicated than the “Promises Made, Promises Kept” slogan suggests. At this point, it’s clear that America First must separate from MAGA. Those who blindly follow Trump, who treat him as infallible, and who silence any internal dissent are no longer aligned with the movement’s original intent. America First was about policy. MAGA is about personality. We created a coalition between “us” ( MAGA, America First, DOGE, MAHA) and the end endless war types, to defeat Democrats. We are not butt-buddies in the cult.

Every time someone parrots the line that Trump “kept his promises,” it feels like gaslighting. That’s just not how things played out. We’ve reached the point where America First needs a clean break from the MAGA people. You can’t be about serious policy while marching in lockstep behind a personality cult. The blind obedience, the silencing of critics, isn’t a movement anymore; it’s a religion, it’s a cult.

The phrase “Promises Made, Promises Kept” sounds nice, but it doesn’t match reality. As we stand today, the America First agenda is being suffocated by the cult of MAGA. A rift is inevitable and has arrived. Those committed to principle, policy, and the national interest can no longer share a tent with those who demand loyalty to one man above all else. Questioning leadership should not be heresy; it should be the norm.

Let’s stop pretending Trump kept all his promises; he didn’t. The “Promises Made, Promises Kept” chant has become a shield for blind loyalty. It’s time for a reckoning. America First has to divorce MAGA. You can’t claim to stand for the country while worshipping a man, no matter how much we love him. This movement was never supposed to be about obedience. It was supposed to be about America’s fight against Democrats’ marching progressivism.

Every time someone says Trump “kept his promises,” I check to make sure I haven’t slipped into a parallel universe where facts are optional and Kool-Aid is the national drink. “Promises Made, Promises Kept”? Please. That slogan has aged like Pat Benatar’s face. We’re well past the point where America First needs to file for divorce from MAGA. The marriage was doomed the moment policy took a backseat to praising the dear leader, as if he walked on water at Mar-a-Lago. You can’t be about putting America first if your real religion is Trump Worship.

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), enacted on July 4, 2025, did not eliminate taxes on all tips as some might have hoped or mistakenly believed. Instead, this landmark legislation introduced a new, significant tax deduction for “qualified tips”, aiming to provide “targeted” financial relief to individuals in service industries.

The slogan “no tax on overtime” from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) is misleading. What happened with overtime pay is that the OBBBA introduced a new federal income tax deduction for “qualified overtime compensation,” rather than eliminating all taxes on overtime like Trump STILL claims.

The slogan “no tax on seniors’ Social Security” is also a gaslighting simplification and, in many cases, a misrepresentation of what the law does. While the OBBBA provides significant tax relief for many seniors, it does not eliminate federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for all beneficiaries like the slogan calls for. It is just a fraction of the original Trump promise, yet he claims 100% as a kept promise.

Every time I hear “Promises Made, Promises Kept,” I half-expect someone to cue the laugh track. We’re at the stage now where America First is like the sober spouse in a marriage with a drunk MAGA partner shouting slogans at the dinner table. Time to move out. The cult-of-personality crowd can keep the flags, the memes, and the messianic delusions. The America First types will take the actual policy and the grown-up conversations, starting with the fact that Trump did not keep many of his promises. We should celebrate the good stuff of this presidency and point out the bad. Even if Trump gets mad at you, calls you names, and tells you he doesn’t need you anymore.

C. Rich

C. Rich is the voice behind America Speaks Ink, home to the America First Movement. As an author, freelance ghostwriter, poet, and blogger, C. Rich brings a “baked-in” perspective shaped by growing up on the streets and beaches of South Florida in the 1970s-1980s and brings a quintessential Generation-X point of view.

Rich’s writing journey began in 2008 with coverage of the Casey Anthony trial and has since evolved into a wide-ranging exploration of politics, culture, and the issues that define our times. Follow C. Rich’s writing odyssey here at America Speaks Ink and on Amazon with a multi-book series on Donald Trump called “Trump Era: The MAGA Files” and many other books and subjects C. Rich is known to cover.  CRich@AmericaSpeaksInk.com

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