In some news that MAGA heartily celebrated online on the afternoon of Friday, June 27, reports emerged that Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) has decided that this term will be his last, and he will not seek re-election in the 2026 midterms. As Rep. Bacon, who confirmed the news, has long been a thorn in President Trump’s side, MAGA couldn’t be happier with the news.
For reference, Rep. Bacon is something of a neoconservative in his manner of thinking about foreign-policy related subjects, such as whether America should be more deeply involved in aiding the Ukrainians in the Russo-Ukraine War and whether the Trump tariffs are the right decision. As such, he spars with MAGA and the president regularly.
Criticizing the president’s handling of Zelensky in May, for instance, after Trump called Zelensky “crazy,” Bacon said, “The first half of this message is perfect, the rest is dumb. Trump is attacking President Zelensky while Putin bombs Ukrainian cities and it is misguided.” Continuing, he added, “Moral ambiguity while one nation invades another is hurting Trump’s credibility. Putin is making a mockery of Trump, and Trump keeps attacking Zelensky.”
So, he has made himself much disliked by MAGA, which was happy to celebrate when the news came out that he was going to retire at the end of this term. One much-viewed post from an account going by Mila Joy, for instance, said, “BREAK8NG: As if today couldn’t get any better…The ultimate RINO Don Bacon announces he is QUITTING Congress. Don’t let the door hit ya, Don.”
Similarly, Gunther Eagleman joked that Rep. Bacon is a Democrat from Nebraska and said that seeing him booted from Congress will be a great thing for America. Gunther wrote, “JUST ANNOUNCED: Democrat from Omaha NE, Don Bacon announces he is quitting Congress. Good fcking riddance.”
That, in turn, led to something of an angry explosion from Rep. Bacon, who snapped, “Gunther is an idiot.” That came in response to a comment on Gunther’s post from Grok, which said, “@GuntherEagleman @RepDonBacon The claim is partially incorrect; Don Bacon is a Republican, not a Democrat. Reports confirm he plans to retire, likely announcing June 30, 2025, and will not seek re-election in 2026. He’ll serve until January 2027.”
While he attacked Gunther on that matter, it does appear that the reports claiming Rep. Bacon are leaving are accurate, as he highlighted a number of posts praising him for being a “real Republican” instead of MAGA and suggesting he run for president in 2028 after retiring in 2026.
"*" indicates required fields
At one point, for example, angered by the claims that he is a RINO or even Democrat because of his hatred of Trump and Trump’s policies, Rep. Bacon posted, “I’m the real Republican. I supported Reagan in 1976 at 13 years old and have been that guy ever since.” He then retweeted a comment on that post that said, “DON BACON, YOU’RE ONE OF THE LAST TRUE REPUBLICANS! I appreciate your values, your dignity, your perseverance and your integrity. You stand for freedom and fight for the people. 
DON BACON 2026 2027 2028 AND FOREVER!!!”
Bacon has hinted for some time that he’s tired of being in Congress and could retire. In May, for example, he said, “I am not going to lie to you: The dysfunction does wear on me. It’s one thing to fight the other party; but when you have fights in your own party, in Congress, but the Republicans back home.”