Aryana Pressley Equates MAGA to ‘The Confederacy’
Rep. Ayanna Pressley drew a direct line between President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and the Confederacy while campaigning for fellow Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Ed Markey.
Pressley made the remarks Monday during an appearance at Roxbury Community College in Boston, where she was supporting Markey in his Democratic primary contest against Rep. Seth Moulton.
Her comments went well beyond criticism of Trump himself. Pressley argued that removing Trump from office would not eliminate what she sees as the political forces behind his movement.
“It is bigger than Trump,” Pressley said. “Because whenever we do the work of ousting the occupant of the Oval Office, the Confederacy is still alive and well. That’s all MAGA is.”
She then expanded the accusation.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA): "The Confederacy is still alive and well. That's all MAGA is." pic.twitter.com/xMQznVVR5x
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) August 26, 2026
“White supremacy is still alive and well,” Pressley continued. “Anti-blackness will still be alive and well.”
The remarks amounted to a sweeping characterization of MAGA, a political movement encompassing millions of voters who have supported Trump and his “Make America Great Again” agenda.
Pressley did not qualify the comparison in the quoted remarks by limiting it to particular organizations, individuals or policies within the movement. Instead, she said of the Confederacy, “That’s all MAGA is.”
The comments came as Massachusetts Democrats fight over who should represent the state in the U.S. Senate.
Markey is seeking another term but faces a primary challenge from Moulton, setting up a contest between two established Democratic politicians. Pressley has put herself firmly behind the incumbent.
She endorsed Markey in March after previously considering a run for the Senate herself.
When announcing that endorsement, Pressley cited their work together on several progressive priorities, including immigration and criminal justice.
“I am proud to endorse his re-election so we can continue advancing the justice-driven solutions our communities need to not only survive, but thrive,” Pressley said at the time.
Her appearance in Boston demonstrated that the endorsement is more than a name on a campaign announcement. Pressley is now actively making the case for Markey while using the campaign event to deliver a broader attack on Trump and the political movement associated with him.
Comparing MAGA to the Confederacy is a particularly severe charge.
The Confederacy consisted of the states that seceded from the United States beginning in 1860 and 1861 and fought the federal government during the Civil War. Slavery was central to the secession crisis and the Confederate political order.
MAGA, by contrast, is the modern political slogan and movement built around Trump and his supporters. Pressley’s remarks treated the two as connected through what she described as the continued existence of white supremacy and anti-blackness.
That framing also makes clear that Pressley does not view the political conflict as one that ends with Trump.
Her phrase “whenever we do the work of ousting the occupant of the Oval Office” presented defeating Trump as only one part of the struggle she believes Democrats face. In her telling, the movement behind him would remain after he was gone.