Question of the day
Wednesday, Apr 15, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
Don’t call Darren Bailey MAGA
NOT SO MAGA: Darren Bailey, the Republican who once eagerly aligned himself with President Donald Trump and his political movement, is now drawing a more careful distinction: He’s not MAGA — he’s just a Republican.
In an interview, the GOP gubernatorial candidate said a MAGA Republican would accept whatever Trump said without question. Bailey says that’s not him.
And to back it up, he has doubled down on criticizing Trump’s recent attack on Pope Leo XIV and his posting a meme appearing as Jesus.
“It’s divisive. I wish President Trump would simply apologize and acknowledge that he messed up, and I think that would correct a lot,” Bailey told your Playbook host.
It’s a notable bit of daylight between Bailey and a figure he once courted aggressively on the campaign trail. It also suggests that some Republicans may be recalibrating their stance as they try to balance Trump’s lasting influence with the realities of appealing to voters in a tough national climate in November.
* The Question: Do you believe Bailey’s claim that he’s not a MAGA Republican? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
- West Sider - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:22 am:
The guy who literally two weeks ago said his values remain the same? That Darren Bailey?
- chicagogal77 - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:24 am:
Take a look at what his stances actually are… very MAGA
- Big Dipper - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:29 am:
Gaslighting the low-information voters
- DS - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:34 am:
To paraphrase Shania Twain:
So you found your spine over a modern golden calf?
That don’t impress me much.
- Dance Band on the Titanic - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:35 am:
Sounds more like he finally figured out, albeit too late, that being MAGA doesn’t sell in the suburbs.
- Riversidian - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:38 am:
I voted “yes” because I believe that he’ll be whatever he thinks he needs to be to get elected. Right now, that is not MAGA in the Illinois general. I would have voted “no” if this question was asked during the primaries, though.
- Rudy’s teeth - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:41 am:
We remember Darren Bailey’s comments about the Highland Park tragedy and “Let’s move on.” Also, Bailey called Chicago a Hellhole during his first campaign. Did Bailey apologize for those remarks?
Crickets from Bailey.
This latest gesture from Bailey is another strategy in his campaign for governor. Bailey’s grasping at straws as he has nothing else.
- Pundent - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:42 am:
I believe that Darren Bailey is an opportunist willing to do and say anything in the moment that benefits him. And that seems to be a core MAGA tenet.
- Skokie Man - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:42 am:
He showed us exactly who he was when he ran the first time. He is willing to say anything and align with anyone if he thinks it will increase his political viability. This is just another chapter in the same story.
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:42 am:
I voted “No”.
It seems Bailey has adopted the trumpian attitude of “if I just say it they will believe me” even though it is 100% obvious to any thinking person that his statement is false.
It does indicate he realizes a maga candidate cannot win, but that genie is out of the bottle.
- Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:45 am:
No.
Who told you to go to Florida to kiss the, er, ring when you ran for Congress?
Who told you to photoshop your grinning mug onto Trump’s mug shot?
If Bailey thought fully embracing Trump would get him within single digits of Pritzker, he’d pucker up so fast and loud you’d hear it in Cairo.
- Siualum - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:47 am:
I voted no, I think he’s still maga. I bet if trump phoned him tomorrow and said jump, Bailey would say how high. But it also seems that maybe the republican party is starting to see, finally, that trump is out of control and doesn’t represent traditional republican values. One hopes.
- don't like it - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:49 am:
“…let’s move on and celebrate!” - Darren Bailey, his immediate comments, less than one hour after the Highland Park mass shooting.
No thanks. JB has to pull that clip for an ad this cycle
- Mike Bosts Veterinarian - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:50 am:
Bailey is still Bailey, but he has finally realized that his base alone won’t carry him to Victory. He has to make appeals to the Independents and this is an attempt to do that. As much as I don’t care for Bailey, this is at least some semblance of a strategy from his campaign…which isn’t something we have seen before.
- DQCardsFan - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 11:53 am:
Which way is the wind blowing at the moment?
- Torco Sign - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:00 pm:
His supporters are already replying negatively to his sudden spinal growth. He’ll be sucking up to Trump within a month.
- twowaystreet - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:00 pm:
He will be whatever Republican he thinks he needs to be in order to have a shot at winning. If he really believed what he said, his reflection would have come when it wasn’t politically convenient.
And he’s doing a poor job at convincing people otherwise. You want people to believe you’ve changed? Stake out positions that aren’t popular with Trump voters. Don’t point to the one thing that he did that wasn’t popular with Republican voters.
- Jocko - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:03 pm:
==He’s not MAGA — he’s just a Republican.==
As Mark Twain once said, that’s a distinction without a difference.
- New Day - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:16 pm:
It’s possible that he’s changed somewhat following his personal tragedy. I think that’s perhaps one reason why he is now willing to criticize Trump (that and he knows there’s a very limited MAGA constituency in IL). But we’re talking real marginal stuff. So yea, he’s still MAGA.
- gemstone - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:18 pm:
NO. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” - Maya Angelou
- NIU Grad - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:19 pm:
This is a great preview to what a post-MAGA Republican Party will look like. All of the sycophant politicians who have been standing behind him for ten years now, smiling and laughing while he rambles, will be hoping we all have the memories of goldfish.
- H-W - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:20 pm:
I voted No.
=== I wish President Trump would simply apologize and acknowledge that he messed up, and I think that would correct a lot. ===
Clearing up Trump’s feelings for the Pope would not clear up anything about Trump. Doing so would not make Trump more palatable.
Bailey is using simple-minded logic. He knows the last run at courting Trump supporters was a failed strategy. So not he wants to avoid the name Trump. Unfortunately, saying you no longer support Trump does not prove you no longer support policies that define the Party.
Unless Bailey is “reborn” into the mindset of most Illinoisans, his attempt to rebrand himself will still be evaluated according to the policies his party espouses. He needs a complete makeup, not a new cosmetic.
- thisjustinagain - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:21 pm:
Darren Bailey is simply not credible at this point, and he certainly isn’t a moderate Republican by any stretch.
As to Jocko at 12:03pm, one can be a Republican without being a MAGA Republican; that is a hugh distinction with a different. Ask Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheny about that.
- Travel Guy - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:24 pm:
The hallmark of MAGA is abandoning any established beliefs you may have if it will give you votes. That perfectly defines Darren Bailey.
- Excitable Boy - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:36 pm:
No. Mild criticism of 2 posts on social media doesn’t mean anything.
- sewer thoughts - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:40 pm:
saying whatever he feels in the moment, even when disagreeing with the font of MAGA, is in process the meta-MAGA.
Darren Bailey is the MAGA we met along the way.
- don the legend - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:45 pm:
Voted No. Bailey knows he will be at the top of the ticket (assumes Tracy is less known than Bailey}. No Trump on the ballot so less to lose by defending the original Jesus over the doctor Jesus.
- Stephenson County - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:46 pm:
All the non-maga republicans left the party long ago.
- Norseman - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:47 pm:
No. If it lies like a MAGA, vilifies people like a MAGA and rejects science like a MAGA, it’s a MAGA.
- Steve Rogers - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:49 pm:
Voted no. Sure, Jan
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:50 pm:
No, of course not, nobody does, and I do not understand why Bailey is debasing himself like this.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 12:54 pm:
Yes, but qualified. No if he keeps pushing the MAGA policy of demonizing undocumented immigrants and other typical right wing base policies.
Trump as Christ may have gone too far for Bailey and others, but what about Trump as divinely sent, to triumph over persecution by Democrats and the radical left? That might be a comfortable middle ground where Bailey and others don’t have to be apostates.
- Archpundit - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 1:15 pm:
Don’t believe him, but credit for the Chutzpah. He’s pretty much the perfect example of the guy who thinks governing is easy if you just use common sense.
- Inverted Pyramid - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 1:15 pm:
I know Darren Bailey.
I voted no.
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Apr 15, 26 @ 1:17 pm:
I voted No. I’ve not seen any evidence that he still doesn’t support Donald Trump. If you are a Donald Trump supporter you are MAGA by definition. Unless and until he completely disavows Trump he’s a MAGA.