Summary Sacks predicted that, in the years after 2020, Donald Trump would (1) become a Republican kingmaker whose endorsement shapes primaries and (2) build a Fox‑News‑style media vehicle fused with his grassroots movement, so that Republicans risk primary challenges if they cross him. Both dynamics largely materialized, even though some details (like literally replacing Fox or every Republican needing his endorsement) were overstated.

1. Kingmaker status and primary leverage

• High-impact endorsement record. Analyses of the 2022 and 2024 cycles show Trump endorsements are both numerous and highly successful in GOP primaries. Ballotpedia/Axios and other trackers found his endorsees won around 90–95% of their 2022 primaries, with similar high win rates for 2024, especially among non-incumbents in contested races. Commentators explicitly described him as a GOP kingmaker whose backing is often decisive. (spectrumlocalnews.com)

• Republicans seeking or fearing his endorsement. Studies of 2022 primaries show Trump-endorsed candidates almost always won, and a large share of GOP candidates highlighted Trump or “MAGA/America First” branding in their materials, strongly suggesting they saw alignment with him as electorally valuable. (brookings.edu) Senior Republicans and analysts repeatedly note that his support is something most Republican candidates want, and that his backing can make or break a primary campaign.

• Primary threats against dissidents. Trump has repeatedly used or threatened primary challenges to discipline Republicans who cross him. High‑profile examples include:

  • Liz Cheney, who lost her 2022 Wyoming primary in a landslide to Trump‑backed Harriet Hageman after leading the Jan. 6 committee and voting to impeach him. (theguardian.com)
  • Georgia officials Brian Kemp, Brad Raffensperger and Chris Carr, all targeted by Trump for certifying Biden’s 2020 win; Trump backed challengers against them in 2022 (Perdue, Hice, Gordon). (gpb.org)
  • Ongoing or threatened challenges against figures like Rep. Thomas Massie and Sen. Thom Tillis, where Trump or his allies openly float primary opponents as punishment for insufficient loyalty. (apnews.com)
    In parallel, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has publicly said many GOP lawmakers are “afraid” of retaliation from Trump if they oppose him, explicitly mentioning fears of being primaried. (nypost.com)

• But not literally ‘every’ Republican. There are notable exceptions where Republicans have survived or thrived without Trump’s endorsement or even against his wishes:

  • Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp crushed Trump‑backed David Perdue by ~50 points in the 2022 GOP primary and went on to win re‑election. (gpb.org)
  • Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger beat Trump‑endorsed Jody Hice outright in the 2022 primary. (cnbc.com)
  • Sen. Lisa Murkowski won re‑election in Alaska in 2022 despite Trump’s active opposition and endorsement of Kelly Tshibaka. (cnbc.com)

  These counterexamples show that Sacks’s phrase “every Republican will need to go get his endorsement or they will be primaried” is too absolute. However, the broader pattern—Trump’s endorsement is highly prized, and many Republicans fear or face MAGA-aligned primary challengers if they oppose him—is accurate.

2. Fox‑News‑style media plus grassroots movement

• Creation of a Trump-centric media platform. In 2021–2022, Trump founded Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) and launched Truth Social, a social network explicitly positioned as a pro‑Trump, “free speech” alternative to mainstream platforms. Major references (including Britannica and multiple language Wikipedias) describe Truth Social as a Trump‑owned Twitter‑like platform built in response to his bans from mainstream social media and heavily centered on his political movement. (en.wikipedia.org) TMTG itself markets Truth Social as the home for millions who have “rejected the pervasive censorship regime,” i.e., the core MAGA base. (tmtgcorp.com) That’s very close to “Fox News hybridized with a grassroots movement.”
• Expansion into streaming ‘news TV’ via Truth+. Beginning in 2024, TMTG rolled out Truth+, a live TV streaming platform integrated into Truth Social. Company releases and outside coverage describe Truth+ as an ultra‑fast TV streaming service carrying “pro‑freedom news networks like Newsmax, Real America’s Voice, OAN, and more,” plus a library of “non‑woke” content, marketed as an alternative to mainstream media. (globenewswire.com) This is essentially a Trump‑branded distribution hub for right‑wing cable news and commentary, tightly linked to his own social platform and movement.
• But not a full replacement or direct peer to Fox. Where Sacks overshot is in implying Trump would supplant Fox with a direct competitor on the same scale. Fox News remains overwhelmingly dominant in cable news: it has led all cable outlets in ratings for years, captured well over half of the cable news audience in 2024, and in 2025 is even challenging or surpassing the broadcast networks in prime‑time viewership. (press.foxnews.com) Truth Social/Truth+ have modest user bases and large financial losses; Politico reports TMTG lost over $400 million in the most recent year despite a meme‑stock valuation. (politico.com) So Trump did build a Trump‑centric media ecosystem that carries news and harnesses his grassroots—but it hasn’t displaced Fox as the premier right‑wing TV outlet.

3. Overall assessment

Taken together:

• Trump did become a central kingmaker in GOP politics, with a powerful, widely sought endorsement and a demonstrated willingness to sponsor or threaten primary challenges against Republicans who defy him.
• He did build a media vehicle—Truth Social plus the Truth+ streaming platform—explicitly tied to his MAGA grassroots movement and hosting pro‑Trump news content, serving as an alternative information ecosystem alongside Fox.
• The prediction’s language about “every” Republican needing his endorsement and about a full‑blown Fox replacement is overstated; some Republicans have survived without him, and Fox remains the dominant right‑leaning TV network.

But the core strategic picture Sacks sketched—Trump using a proprietary media platform plus a Tea‑Party‑style base to act as a GOP kingmaker whose favor or wrath shapes Republican primaries—has clearly come to pass. Hence the prediction is best classified as right, with some exaggeration in scope and absolutism rather than in direction.