Austin, Texas was the home of the 2026 TribFest from Sept. 24-26 (Photo Credit: @JonGuevara/@OurVoces)
In 1979, R&B trio Shalamar sang that the second time around is always better than the first time.
While that is debatable, day two of the 2026 Texas Tribune Festival (TribFest) provided more hot-button topics and high-profile guests.
And that is definitely not debatable, just ask those in attendance.
RegalMag.com was on hand to hear discussions from Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), as well as discussions on “What America Owes” “The War on DEI,” a polarizing topic because diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs continue to come under attack from President Donald Trump and other members of the Republican Party.
Rep. Greene closed out the first day of the TribFest as the keynote speaker on Sept. 24 at the First Baptist Church in Austin, Texas.
The former congresswoman once had the ear of President Trump.
But her insistence on the release of the Epstein files and other issues found her in the president’s crosshairs.
Feeling disappointed with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, Greene decided to quit Congress.
She has since taken her message to television programs and events like the TribFest.
While some in the First Baptist Church audience doubted her sincerity before her keynote address, her passion for her positions were felt throughout the sanctuary as she had to catch herself after using profanity in a house of worship.
Greene made it clear that she thinks the MAGA movement is dead.
She added that Trump will be remembered for betrayal after reneging on many of his 2024 campaign promises like getting to the bottom of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, focusing on America first while avoiding foreign wars and making everyday life more affordable for Americans struggling because of inflation.
She said that she had fights with the president about the Epstein files, and that her clash with him did not occur suddenly.
Additionally, Greene said that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is the biggest liar in Congress.
When Greene pressed Trump about releasing the Epstein files, she said that he responded by informing her that some of his friends would get hurt if the information became public.
Greene emphasized that the America First movement is different than the MAGA movement.
America First puts the lives on Americans first, instead of prioritizing the struggles of people in other countries.
On the contrary, Greene emphasized the fact that the MAGA movement is whatever Trump says it is, paraphrasing the president’s words about his political movement, which is experiencing a decline in popularity.
Nevertheless, Greene represented a demographic that Trump tapped into in 2016, which was the conservative voter who did not vote regularly or did not stay engaged in political conversations daily.
The former congressperson from Georgia said that prior to Trump’s first run for the White House, she did not vote regularly.
Greene added that she did not vote for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) in 2012 when he lost to former President Barack Obama.
But now she says, “MAGA is a cult.”
Greene said that many MAGA diehards posted stickers of former President Joe Biden on gas pumps when gas prices became exorbitantly expensive during his term in the White House.
However, she does not see those same MAGA members putting up Trump stickers at the gas pumps to protest high prices that increased because of Trump’s war with Iran.
To make matters worse, Trump promised no new foreign wars during the 2024 campaign.
But he entered a war, for no clear reason initially, and has struggled to get out of it since, which has led to a loss of American lives and less money in the pockets of regular working-class Americans.
But Greene rejects the notion that many on the political left have about MAGA members being stupid people.
Although Trump once mocked the intelligence of people at his rallies by saying he loved the poorly educated, Greene said that his voters are not stupid people.
She said Trump’s voters were just Americans who hated the government.
With the recent controversy surrounding Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, it was serendipity for the 2026 TribFest to host a panel discussion on “The War on DEI.”
In fact, state Rep. Ramon Romero (D-Fort Worth, Texas) labeled French as the racist candidate, not the conservative candidate for railroad commissioner.
French criticized an image of South Asian University of Texas students celebrating the Longhorns’ victory over then number one-ranked Ohio State, by saying that the racial makeup of the student body was a problem because the number of White students has decreased recently.
Angel Huang, a University of Texas (UT) student and Director of Partnerships for Texas Students for DEI lamented the fact that younger UT students have no idea of the programs that previously existed for minority students on the Austin, Texas campus.
Huang fears that future minority students will just accept the lack of programs for minority students as the norm.
Yasmin Cader, deputy executive for program, strategy and culture for the ACLU said that the term diversity, equity and inclusion was a political catchall to attack history and the sciences.
During past years, the term that was used to capitalize on culture wars for political gain was critical race theory (CRT).
The CRT controversy has just morphed into the DEI battle.
Imani Perry and Adam Serwer piggybacked on “The War on DEI” panel saying that history is under attack in the United States during their discussion entitled, “Imani Perry and Adam Serwer on What America Owes.”
Thus concluded the second day of TribFest.
With that said, does the second day seem better than the first?
Regal Court, what do you think?
- Movie Review: ‘731’ Another Film That is a Warning - September 26, 2025
