Trump faces MAGA backlash after saying to move on from Epstein files : NPR
President Trump in profile at Metlife Stadium on July 13 at East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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President Trump faces the reaction of his base after defending the examination of his administration of the so-called Epstein files and minimized the distrust of his supporters in the process.
Last week, a memo of two pages from the Ministry of Justice and the FBI said that they had not found any evidence that the disgrace financier and the sex offender JEFFREY EPSTEIN made the blackmail of powerful people or kept a “list of customers” and reiterated that he had died by suicide in his prison cell in 2019.
But the death and imprisonment of Epstein have been the subject of many conspiracy theories, including an eminent belief amplified by many right characters who are now used in Trump administration that the death of the sexual trafficker is proof, in part, that the government is managed by dark personalities to undermine Trump.
Three of these administration officials, the Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel and the deputy director of the FBI, Dan Bongino, have disagreed with each other on the treatment of the Epstein case and subsequent reactions of Trump supporters and conspiracists who do not believe the story of the government.
Several conservative commentators transport binders bearing the seal of the Ministry of Justice by reading “The Epstein Files: phase 1” while they leave the west wing of the White House on February 27.
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Bondi shot fire for an interview earlier this year when she said that the list of Epstein clients was “sitting on my desk at the moment to examine”, the same month that she has given marked right -of -right influencers “Epstein files: phase 1” which mainly contained largely reduced documents that had already been made public.
Patel and Bongino, long -standing criticism from the agency they are directing, also received threats from far -right conservatives after a joint interview on Fox News in May where they said that Epstein’s death was actually suicide.
During the weekend, Trump published a long message on his social website Truth who defended Bondi, told his supporters to “not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein, someone who does not care” and has propagated without foundation that the so-called files were created by the Democrats to go.
“What’s going on with my” boys “and, in some cases,” Gals? “” Wrote Trump. “They all go after the Attorney General Pam Bondi, who does a fantastic job! We are in a team, Maga, and I don’t like what’s going on.”
But the attempt to pass from Epstein saps one of the fundamental beliefs of the Maga movement: that Trump to the White House would reveal evidence of a “deep state” controlling the government and protecting criminals, pedophiles and other poorly recommendable characters.
‘I will certainly take a look’ there ‘
Trump adopted the framing of “the deep state” throughout his last decade in politics, collecting noisy applause of supporters who believe that the federal government, the Democrats and even some Republicans work to undermine his goals.
A frequent refrain in campaign speeches is a promise to “demolish the deep state” and on several occasions that Trump answered questions on Epstein files.
In an interview with Podcast in September 2024 with Trump, the host Lex Fridman said he was “very strange for many people” that a list of “customers” who was going to the island of Epstein were not made public.
“It’s very interesting, isn’t it?” Said Trump. “It will probably be [made public]By the way, probably. “”
Trump added that “I would have no problem with that.”
A few months earlier in June 2024, Rachel Campos-Duffy, an animator of Fox and friends, asked Trump if he would declare the Epstein files.
“Yeah, I would do it. I suppose I would do it,” he said, before adding that he would be less likely “because you don’t want to affect people’s lives if they are bogus stuff in there, because it’s a lot of bogus stuff with this whole world.”
In this interview, Trump also said that it would be “interesting to discover what happened” with the death of Epstein, that the FBI previous criticisms concluded a suicide in August 2019.
Participate in the type of concealment of his supporters
The reaction on the Memo of the Trump administration and the defense of the president of Bondi was rapid and intense by the supporters who gave him wide latitude in the past. It remains to be seen if indignation will have long -term effects on its support basis.
At the top of the action of Turning Point USA students in Florida during the weekend, several speakers have torn the Doj memo, including Tucker Carlson.
“The fact that the American government, the one for which I voted, refused to take my question seriously and said instead:” The case ended. Shut up, conspiracy theorist “was too much for me,” he said. “And I don’t think the rest of us should be satisfied.”
Carlson adopted the conspiracy theory that Epstein was killed in prison and worked for intelligence agencies to blackmail powerful people, and in his remarks did not criticize Trump directly.
“I think these people – and I don’t know, for any reason, there could be reasons – but I don’t think they tell us the truth about Epstein,” the conservative podcaster Brandon Tatum told the Tpusa crowd. “I think this guy has been involved in something harmful that involves many people. And I guess that many people can be some of our allies and some people with whom we don’t want to have a bad relationship.”
It is not only faithful supporters of Trump who explode the administration’s response to the Epstein Memo. During the episode last week of his “flagrant” podcast, partly entitled “Why Trump covers for Epstein”, the actor Andrew Schulz said sarcastically that other people with questions about Epstein were “stupid”.
“I think what enrages people at the moment is that he insults our intelligence,” said Schulz, while he and his co-hosts wore hats made from aluminum foil. “As obviously, the intelligence community is trying to cover it. Obviously, the Trump administration is trying to cover, something has changed because they have run on this idea of exposing it.”
The Democrats also attack Trump about the note and his benefits, highlighting Trump’s previous interactions with Epstein and a jury finding him responsible for the sexually abuse of the writer E. Jean Carroll.
“Has anyone really thought that the president of the sexual predator who was celebrating with Jeffrey Epstein was going to release the Epstein files?” Said the senator from Georgia, Jon Ossoff, during the start of the campaign during the weekend, while certain Democrats of the Chamber predict a long resolution to call for the release of “all the files related to the case of EpStein”.
However, others have found a way to move on – or divert from Trump with a blame. Charlie Kirk said on his program on Monday after the Turning Point event that he did not need to return the “escaped messages” and that he had trusted the administration.
“Honestly, I have finished talking about Epstein for the moment,” he said. “I will trust my friends in the administration, I will trust my friends in the government to do what must be done, solve it, the ball in my hands.”
