You say that like MAGA was based on reasonable, logical reactions to real problems.

No, it's based on unreasonable, illogical reactions to real problems. You don't accept "the immigrants are taking our jobs" as justification for atrocities unless you need a (better) job.

but MAGA pre-Trump couldn't have even IDENTIFIED a single one of them successfully.

Correction: MAGA pre and post-Trump can't identify a single one of the causes correctly. They can very correctly identify that quality of life was getting worse and worse for the majority of people (including, most importantly, themselves and their communities). They can identify that they'll never own a home, get a job that pays a livable wage or have enough money to survive an emergency. There's a reason one of Trump's main bases of support is white people in rural areas and/or without a college education. There's a reason conservatives' selling point has always been being good for the economy (which is of course total bollocks, but that's a different story).

MAGA was and is successfully mobilized against imaginary problems for the purpose of creating imaginary outcomes based on magical thinking and delusion,

Correction: It successfully mobilized against scapegoats for the purpose of creating imaginary outcomes based on magical thinking and delusion. The "problems" addressed by MAGA are targeted with the understanding that getting rid of them will Make America Great Again, not for their own sake. We don't even need to speculate about this; cost of living was a major part of Trump's 2024 platform, and this was a big part of why he won. "Draining the swamp"

and if you think they would've been fended off by the real problems being addressed faster, you're kidding yourself. MAGA's rise was NEVER a reaction to real problems. It was a psychological attack that successfully captured and ruined an entire society.

Then why do progressives consistently get conservative votes? You seem like you've never listened critically to MAGAts speak, in which case you should do that before building an alternate reality where reactionary politics have nothing to do with declining material conditions.

So now we have all the same problems we had before, except now we can't even THINK about addressing them because FIRST we have to stop a militant cult that's willing to die - which comprises half the goddamn country - from tilting at windmills and fucking everything else up in the process.

Except the only attempts with any amount of promise to deal with this new problem have been based on making credible promises to improve material conditions. MAGA won't and can't be defeated without addressing the material bedrock of their delusions; attempting to do one without the other is folly.