By Kenneth Tiven
Jeffrey Epstein is more famous in America in death than he was in life as a sex-offender trafficking young women to wealthy patrons, some of whom even used his financial consulting services.
Conspiracy theories work well when famous names, wealthy people, and politicians lend an aura of mystery by appearing together. The USA and India have large populations and millions of smartphones creating and sharing gossip 24×7 often with conspiracy notions attached.
President Donald Trump was a close friend of Epstein at one point when both were regulars at New York City’s hottest clubs. Originally, Trump presented his Make America Great Again (MAGA) philosophy to his supporters as the view of a man familiar with and disgusted by people like Epstein who symbolized a Privileged Establishment of profligacy and debauchery, so called “swamp people”. The irony is that such a perception is absurd because Trump, since university, has enjoyed the culture of the oligarch-business-self-promotion swamp.
Epstein and the “swamp people” allegations became a campaign staple with Trump and his surrogates promising a transparency approach on officially unexplained events such as the assassinations of President Kennedy and Dr Martin Luther King. Epstein’s name got similar treatment and the rightwing media ecosphere suggested Trump would release the facts on all of these “events”.
Just weeks after the inauguration in January, Pam Bondi, the new attorney general was asked about the so called “Epstein List” and she released notebook binders containing old articles about Epstein. Months later, she said an Epstein list was on her desk for review. However, while Trump was snoozing at his boring military Parade on July 3, the Justice Department disclosed there were no Epstein files or lists and stated “case closed”.
Disbelief greeted this announcement. Why was a just re-elected Trump reneging on a campaign promise? The faithful saw it as a self-inflicted wound. Jim Jaffe, an experienced veteran of Washington politics said: “Anyone competent in crisis management will tell you that the current Epstein controversy now roiling the Trump community could have been nipped in the bud with a simple statement that the president is incapable of making—acknowledging that he had made a mistake, was sorry about it and that it was time to focus on other priorities.”
During the election campaign, podcasters like Kash Patel And Dan Bongino and others talked about family values and Trump’s concerns about people. Chastising Democrats for personal behaviour with implicit links to Epstein’s reputation for arranging social encounters. They wanted the Epstein issue fully exposed, not hidden.
MAGA devotees went ballistic over the political U-Turn. Ron Filipkowski, who has spent the past five years reporting about MAGA, wrote: “The cult simply isn’t buying what Trump’s selling on this, which has resulted in the most serious rift I have seen since I began covering the MAGA movement every day.”
Leading right-wing ideologues—Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Fox News and others were incredulous and said so. This has ignited a national discussion about what exactly Trump’s team is hiding since Epstein died six years ago during Trump’s first term as president.
Trump called the complaining MAGA folks gullible “weaklings” for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into Epstein. “Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit’, hook, line, and sinker. They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years,” he wrote, “because that’s the same stuff, that’s all put out by Democrats. And you know some of the naive Republicans fall right into line.” Trump’s classic attack style is to confront anything he doesn’t like.
Theories circulating among Trump supporters include that Epstein—who killed himself in 2019 while in federal custody—was murdered by powerful figures to cover up their roles in his sex crimes against children.
A former journalist who supports Trump policies and style told this reporter, he believes the Epstein issue reflects MAGA supporters in Washington and New York City, “not all of us around the nation”. Yet, critical comments have popped up on Trump’s own Social network platform saying: “You’re losing your most loyal followers and voices Mr President,” with another asking, “Why are you protecting pedophiles?”
Mike Johnson, the senior Republican in the House of Representatives called for the justice department to make documents public, a rare break with Trump. “It is a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it,” Johnson told a rightwing podcaster.
Aircraft flight records released years ago indicate Trump rode 27 times on Epstein’s private jet called the Loilita Express, even borrowing it for use early in his first campaign. Republicans have a history of denying the reality of Trump’s skills and career, believing his explanation that it is all fake news. Democrats, among others, have long suspected the answers about Trump’s friendship with Epstein are in documents in the government’s possession.
Criticism of Bondi irritated Trump who took to Truth Social chastising his “so-called ‘friends’” in MAGA for caring about Epstein and demanding files. Presidential pique was obvious: “They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.”
This meandering rant reveals his mindset, suggesting the files that don’t exist were “Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration, who conned the World with the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, 51 ‘Intelligence Agents’, ‘THE LAPTOP FROM HELL’…. The Left is imploding! Kash Patel, and the FBI, must be focused on investigating Voter Fraud, Political Corruption, ActBlue, The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020, and arresting Thugs and Criminals, instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein.” This manic rant has been edited for length, but ended with “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
A controversial lawyer named Roy Cohn, taught Trump when he was just out of college to attack, never admit fault, and claim victory no matter the outcome. Cohn’s playbook, believed that inventing an issue, suggesting a conspiracy and cashing in on the chaos and attention was a winning strategy. Despite Trump employing disinformation, flip-flopping, and face-palming decision-making, his base has never deserted him. He was enjoying a victory lap after winning a contentious budget bill in Congress when suddenly all this Epstein talk caused a meltdown.
The MAGA coalition plays the Internet like a harp, spreading their confidence in Trump, unaware or unbothered by his playboy history in New York City or his reputation for not paying contractors and banks. The MAGA movement believed that Trump would expose the rot, take down the secret cabal of elites hurting kids and hiding secrets, reveal the truth in conspiracies like QAnon, Pizzagate and various Clinton conspiracies. Trump welcomed that energy, legitimized it, because it was useful to him. It helped him take over the GOP. Campaigning for a second term, he doubled down on issues that appealed to hardcore MAGA voters, yet basically ignored them in his new budget plan that favours wealthy Republicans and donors.
Voters heard Trump promising transparency to reveal the truth about the Kennedy assassination, the Deep State, and, most loudly, Jeffrey Epstein and pedophile politicians. Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino, hyped up the Epstein files as they transitioned into government positions because they thought that is what Trump wanted. Patel, before even taking the FBI director’s position, said the Bureau had the files. Pam Bondi claimed they were on her desk for review.
A great part of Trump’s strength is speaking aloud politically incorrect beliefs held by his base. He is a self-styled fighter and disruptor. By backing away from the Epstein case, he diminishes this stature and looks like a weak and frail politician who gave in. At a summit for young conservatives, MAGA leaders did the unthinkable: they openly criticized Trump both on stage and on social media. Even Fox News pushed the White House for more information. Trump loyalist Steve Bannon told a crowd of student activists: “It’s deeper than Epstein! It’s about who governs us.”
Far-right influencer and self-appointed MAGA spokesperson Lara Loomer pulled no punches. “There should be a special counsel appointed to do an independent investigation of the handling of the Epstein files so that people can feel like this issue is being investigated“. Charlie Kirk, the organizer of the youth summit, predicts that all this will translate to some Trump voters staying home next election, calling Trump’s inaction a “huge risk.”
Former CBS News anchorman and journalist Dan Rather wrote: “He’s mismanaging this worse than anything I’ve seen before. He’s usually a master at slithering out of these messes because his control over the Republican Party is so absolute, but if this part of his base abandons him, the GOP establishment won’t be afraid of him anymore.”
—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels