The Epstein File Controversy
The Epstein file controversy has sparked a heated debate within the MAGA movement, with some supporters calling for transparency and others defending President Trump’s handling of the situation. According to POLITICO, the split over Epstein represents one of the biggest rifts within Trump’s supporters since the president took office for his second term.
MAGA Rebellion
The MAGA faithful are furious not just about Epstein but also other broken promises, as WIRED reported earlier this week. The bungled rollout of the Epstein materials, Trump advisers tell WIRED, goes back to February, when the White House gave conservative influencers binders full of materials that were mostly already public information about the disgraced financier and charged sex trafficker.
Consequences of the Rebellion
The Epstein files saga has shown that the base’s willingness to abide Trump has its limits — or at least, it does when the base feels strongly enough and when the president’s political capital starts to wane, as CNN notes. This increasingly seems like a moment marking a distinct epoch, with WIRED suggesting that the Epstein toothpaste can’t be put back in the tube.
Expert Insights
Experts agree that the drama around the files has punctured Trump’s aura of invincibility within the MAGA movement in a way few, if any, things have before. As CNN reports, the man who has for a decade dominated his base and told it what to care about has backed down when that base decided its priorities didn’t align with his own.
The BBC notes that according to Trump, the pair fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. The White House has recently suggested that their fallout was connected to Epstein’s behaviour, and that ‘the president kicked him out of his club for being a creep’.
Takeaways and Future Implications
The Epstein file controversy has significant implications for the future of the MAGA movement and President Trump’s administration. As PBS reports, the economy is still going to be front and center next year, but the Epstein files show vulnerability for Trump, and maybe that’s why he’s resisted them so much.