1 day ago
7
Washington: Well, well, well. It turns out you reap what you sow.
After hijacking and weaponising conspiracy theories for much of his political career, Donald Trump is belatedly realising that people who perpetuate conspiracies are probably misguided – and pretty annoying.
The US president is dealing with a revolt from the more rabid elements of his Make America Great Again movement over the administration’s decision to draw a line under the Jeffrey Epstein saga and declare: nothing more to see here.
Epstein is a matter of MAGA gospel. For years, Trump supporters have clamoured for the release of the so-called “Epstein files”, which would – it was assumed – incriminate swaths of the American liberal elite as paedophiles who had availed themselves of Epstein’s seedy connections and hospitality.
Like many conspiracy theories, it is grounded in an element of truth. Epstein was indeed a prolific sex offender, and counted big names among his acquaintances over the years, including former Democratic president Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and, at a time, Trump himself.
Loading
It fed into a broader conspiracy, QAnon, that claims a wide network of rich and powerful paedophiles is running the world, protected by the “deep state”, with Trump one of the few bulwarks with the power to put an end to it.
Moreover, Trump leant into this during the election campaign, promising to release the “Epstein files” if he won the Oval Office.
In February, Attorney-General Pam Bondi furnished a slew of right-wing podcasters and influencers with a file of documents that was described at the time as “phase one” of the Epstein data dump. When that turned out to be disappointing, Bondi promised there was more to come.
But now the FBI says there’s nothing left to uncover except child pornography. There is no “client list”, it says. Epstein killed himself in jail; there was no evidence of foul play.
The FBI added: “One of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.”
Donald and Melania Trump with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2002.Credit: Getty
For many MAGA types, this was the ultimate betrayal. That included some senior administration figures, such as deputy FBI director Dan Bongino, who reportedly took Friday off work to consider his future but returned on Monday. Many believe he will quietly exit his post soon.
Bondi has incurred most of the wrath. But given the stakes, her decision to say “case closed” had to have been endorsed by Trump. And the president made that clear in public comments mocking people asking him about Epstein. He then published a long Truth Social post defending Bondi and telling his followers to stop wasting time.
Furthermore, the “Epstein files” themselves were made up by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, former FBI boss James Comey and other “Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration”, Trump said.
As The Daily Show host Jon Stewart neatly summarised: “In a few months’ time, we went from ‘the Epstein files will expose the Democrats’ to ‘the Epstein files were written by the Democrats and therefore can’t be trusted, so let’s move on’.”
President Donald Trump has been forced to defend Attorney-General Pam Bondi.Credit: AP
On Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), Trump went even further, saying he didn’t understand why his supporters were still obsessed with Epstein.
“He’s dead for a long time, he was never a big factor in terms of life. I don’t understand what the interest is or what the fascination is. The credible information has been given,” Trump said.
“It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring. I don’t understand why it keeps going. I think, really, only pretty bad people, including the ‘fake news’, want to keep something like that going.”
Those “bad people” might just include Mike Johnson, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives and second in line to the presidency, who said in an interview on Wednesday (AEST) that the remaining documents should be made public.
Even one of Trump’s most vocal media cheerleaders, Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, spent much of his Tuesday podcast dwelling on the Epstein matter.Credit: AP
“I’m for transparency,” he told conservative commentator Benny Johnson. “We should put everything out there and let the people decide.”
Mike Johnson also called on Bondi to explain her previous remarks that the Epstein case files were sitting on her desk, ready for release. “I’m anxious to get this behind us.”
Sitting uneasily in the background is a since-deleted post from billionaire Elon Musk alleging Trump himself is named in the Epstein files. Musk didn’t elaborate – and given Trump and Epstein were acquainted, it’s entirely possible Trump would be innocuously named somewhere. But the suggestion adds fuel to the fire for those who are already conspiratorially inclined.
Trump recently declared (in relation to bombing Iran) that only he gets to decide what “America First” means. He considers himself the supreme leader of the MAGA movement, and is accustomed to his doting fans and obsequious Republican colleagues falling into line whenever he changes his mind.
Loading
That’s not happening here. Even one of Trump’s most vocal media cheerleaders, Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, spent much of his Tuesday podcast dwelling on the Epstein matter, just a day after he promised to move on. And a student summit hosted by Turning Point at the weekend became a hotbed of Epstein-related grievances, with big names from Steve Bannon to Megyn Kelly slamming the administration.
For many, the Epstein obsession runs deep. Subscribers will be loath to just cast it aside and forget about it. For Trump, it’s a harsh lesson: you’ve got to dance with the ones that brung ya, warts and all.
Most Viewed in World
Loading
