NBA legend Magic Johnson, who just watched his Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Miami Heat in the league finals, has thrown his considerable star power behind the campaign to open most primaries in Florida to all voters, regardless of party.
The referendum on this fall's ballot in the nation's biggest purple state is being watched by many good-government groups as closely as any contest for office, because they view open primaries as one of the best ways to depolarize the nation's politics.
Although he ended his playing career 24 years ago, Johnson has remained one of basketball's most visible and charismatic ambassadors. And his endorsement follows on the heels of increased player activism that has led to dozens of sports arenas and stadiums being used as voting locations this fall.
"Amendment 3 will ensure that politicians listen to everyone. Join me in supporting Amendment 3 and let all voters vote," Johnson says in a 30-second endorsement video unveiled Tuesday. "It's simple, it's common sense and it's, well, it's magic."
Under the proposal, starting in 2024 the state would have "top two" open primaries in elections for governor, lieutenant governor, the Legislature and other state-level positions. All voters, regardless of party affiliation, would be able to vote in the primary, and the two candidates with the most votes — again, regardless of party — would advance to the general election. (Johnson lives in California, which uses a similar system for congressional and state primaries.)
The switch would allow almost 3.7 million unaffiliated Floridians — nearly 30 percent of the state's electorate — to participate at a crucial juncture in the electoral process.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties are fighting the amendment, which requires 60 percent support to pass. While proponents believe it would lead to more moderate candidates advancing to general elections, opponents argue it would create chaos and shut out minority viewpoints.
In fact, Republican Chris Sprowls, the next state House speaker, and Democratic Sen. Janet Cruz held a joint press conference Tuesday to support a lawsuit filed Tuesday that asks the Florida Supreme Court to toss the amendment — even though nearly 2 million ballots have already been cast.
"This can do irreparable damage to our political process. This is the political equivalent to a battle royal. Nobody understands who's going to be left out, nobody understands the damage that is going to be done to the process and who's going to be disenfranchised, which is why it shouldn't go into the constitution," Sprowls said at the press conference, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Open Primaries, a national nonprofit that is supporting similar campaigns for open primaries in Alaska and St. Louis — welcomed Johnson's endorsement.
"Open primaries is pretty basic — we believe every voter should be able to vote in every publicly funded election. The partisan opponents of Amendment 3 in Florida make all kinds of false claims that if you let everyone vote, all hell breaks loose," said the group's president, John Opdycke. "Magic Johnson's endorsement is significant not simply because of who he is, but because of what he says. 'It's simple. It's fair. It's magic.' Democracy is indeed magic. When you create the space for everyone to participate, new conversations, new coalitions, new outcomes become possible."
A golden tray sits on the Resolute Desk as President Donald Trump speaks during an announcement on American nuclear innovation in the Oval Office at the White House on July 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Trump is signing multiple executive orders targeting the nuclear energy sector and easing rules for new reactors and nuclear fuel supply chains.
Trump’s hubris rivals the fallen heroes of ancient Greek mythology
In January, the New York Times asked President Donald Trump if there were any limits on his global powers.
“Yeah,” the president responded, “there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
That was eight months ago, but fortunately Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation of “The Odyssey” has made ancient Greek literature newly relevant. Before that window closes, I’d like to talk about hubris.
Today, the term mostly means excessive pride or arrogance. That’s part of what the Greeks meant by it too, but the meaning was a bit richer and more specific. Hubris was an insolent or outrageous act that offended the gods, often because the transgressor was claiming abilities or authorities that solely belonged to supreme beings.
Nolan renamed and slightly modified the concept of xenia for the film, calling it “Zeus’ law.” In the director’s telling, mortals should follow the rules laid out by the gods, specifically the requirement to treat strangers with respect lest they be gods in disguise.
In a sense, hubris is the opposite, or at least the rejection, of xenia. The hubris of the suitors, and at times Odysseus himself, invites punishment by the gods and their mortal instruments.
Which brings me back to Donald Trump. His claim that there are no constraints on his personal power to dictate events on the global stage was one of the greatest expressions of hubris ever uttered by a political leader.
Trump’s claim was obviously false when he made it.
He vowed that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. He’s proved powerless to make that happen. If he had divine powers to work his will, why would he have balked at implementing his tariffs so often that Wall Street adopted the “TACO trade” term for his deals? “TACO” stands for “Trump always chickens out.”
And why would Trump have made so many embarrassing concessions to China — from rescinding tariffs on Chinese goods to allowing them to buy crucial and incredibly valuable computer chips?
But Trump saw his success at capturing Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro as proof of his ability to launch missiles to the same effect as Zeus’ lightning bolts. Trump believed he was the most powerful man who ever lived.
This is no exaggeration. In March, when the Iran invasion seemed successful, Trump gave a document penned by“Presidential Historian David King” to New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan purporting to prove that Trump was “the most powerful person to have EVER walked this planet.” King was, in fact, a businessman and occasional caddy for legendary golfer Gary Player.
King compared Trump favorably to many of history’s most powerful, and often heinous, figures: Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, William the Conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mao Tse Tung, Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin. Many of these men thought they were the most powerful person in the world, too. And many were defeated precisely because they believed it.
At least Napoleon and Hitler had a string of truly impressive victories before they learned the folly of hubris. The limits on Trump’s power have been exposed by far less august forces than the combined might of the allies in World War II or the fearsome Russian winter.
Iran is a comparatively middling power. But the regime’s ability to absorb punishment while imposing its will on the Strait of Hormuz has proved to be a greater constraint on Trump’s power than his morality or mind. We should note that, at least rhetorically, his morality has not proved much of a constraint. He has repeatedly promised to destroy Iranian “civilization” if the regime refuses to capitulate.
But they haven’t — and won’t anytime soon — because the regime’s tolerance for pain far outstrips Trump’s. The combined fear of skyrocketing oil prices, outrage of Gulf state potentates, diminishing weapon supplies and domestic unpopularity is doing the work that international law, congressional oversight and the collective opinion of foreign policy experts can’t or won’t do.
If I considered Trump more heroic than reason and facts could allow, I would say his Sisyphean predicament has the whiff of Greek tragedy to it. Trump is vexed by the fact that the Iranians won’t honor deals or ratify his countless premature claims of victory — giving new meaning to his vow that his presidency would make people tired of winning. It’s almost like they’re out-Trumping Trump.
Things might have gone better if he’d heeded that great Greek tragedian Sophocles: “For Zeus utterly abhors the boasts of a proud tongue.”
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Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.