This raucous hive, which tends to hype up every win by the president, was uncharacteristically muted in response to the meeting with Mamdani. What was supposed to be a “socialist showdown,” in the words of a Fox News chyron, was instead filled with smiles, good vibes and the president’s endorsement of Mamdani’s leadership. “I feel very confident that he can do a very good job,” Trump told reporters. With no ideological confrontation to rally around, political influencers and commentators associated with the MAGA movement struggled to summon a unified response. The diverging reactions across the conservative spectrum — from long-standing...