The MAGA Meltdown Over Trump's Jeffrey Epstein Scandal
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The most striking feature of the Jeffrey Epstein drama playing out across the Trump administration is MAGA followers' shock at learning that Donald Trump was a longtime associate of Epstein's. Some even begin to wonder whether the president's name might appear in any documentation that may still exist about Epstein's alleged abuse of underage girls.
The MAGA movement is no stranger to sex abuse scandals—for years, it's invented ever-more salacious ones to pin on its political enemies rather than admit Trump's proven misdeeds.
Edgar Maddison Welch shot up the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C., on December 4, 2016, just weeks after Trump had been elected president for the first time. As Q-Anon emerged in early 2017, "Pizzagate" became one of the central tenants of the cult.
By 2020, the theory had gone beyond merely claiming that Democrats and financial elites like Bill Gates were running pedophile rings, and turned into a full-blown delusion that they were torturing children to jack up their hormones and then draining them of their blood to extract psychoactive, life-extending substances. As Right Wing Watch documents, uber-Trump cultist and Q-Anon theorist Liz Crokin explains in one of her videos:
Adrenochrome is a drug that the elites love. It comes from children. The drug is extracted from the pituitary gland of tortured children. It's sold on the black market. It's the drug of the elites. It's their favorite drug. It is beyond evil. It's demonic. It is so sick.
When then-OMB Director Mick Mulvaney used the word "pizza" in a televised cabinet meeting, Crokin and other Trump cultists took the remark as confirmation of the "reality" of children being being tortured and having their adrenochrome "harvested" at a pizza restaurant in a D.C. suburb.
"President Trump and his staffers are constantly trolling the deep state," Crokin said of Mulvaney's reference. "That's President Trump's way of letting you know Pizzagate is real and it's not fake. They're—he's constantly using their words against them and throwing it in their face and God bless him, it's amazing."
Much of this served to distract from a real sex scandal Republicans would rather not discuss: Trump's years-long and reportedly close association with Jeffrey Epstein, and the young women—one who claimed, but later retracted, that she was 13 at the time—who have accused Trump of sexual assault.
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on July 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to speak at...
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on July 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to speak at an artificial intelligence and energy summit. MoreNow, the old proverb about the dangers of "riding the tiger" is haunting Trump.
Whataboutisms like, "But what about the Clintons?" and "What about Biden's laptop?" aren't working this time. People of all political stripes aren't willing to overlook the alleged abuse of youngsters.
Many Trump supporters have spent years emotionally and socially invested in a mythos that depicts the president as a brilliant, competent, and upstanding man with the best interests of the working class at heart. They've merged their own sense of self with the persona of Trump they've seen, heard, and internalized from within the carefully controlled right-wing information bubble.
Admitting betrayal or deception requires admitting they were wrong, which comes with deep psychological costs—thus the anguish and conflict we're seeing among the Trump base.
As MAGA icon Candace Owens offered this week in a wounded voice, "What is happening now is it seems like you think your base is stupid. That's how I feel. I feel like Trump thinks his base is stupid."
The big question now is whether the swamp of right-wing media can process the news in a way that will turn it into simply another passing-and-soon-forgotten Trump scandal, like his abuse of E. Jean Carroll, the Access Hollywood tape, or the 34 felony convictions arising from his payoffs to Stormy Daniels for their extramarital tryst.
Trump's ability to survive the Epstein saga will also depend on whether his administration can release anything that his base may consider credible. Original videotapes or photos that are not clearly doctored, first-person testimony by Ghislaine Maxwell should she ever be allowed to speak with the press or Congress (Republicans just blocked the latter), or more former teenage victims going on the record could spell doom for his relationship with his base.
On the other hand, Trump's efforts to squelch the conversation, strong-arm the press, and threaten reporters who ask Epstein questions may work. More concerning, if cornered Trump may decide to do something truly risky—something that could crash the economy or lead the nation to war—to change the subject.
If there's anything we know about Donald J. Trump, it's that he's a survivor. His tenacity and thirst for revenge are legendary, and if he makes it through this there will be hell to pay, at least in some quarters.
Hopefully it won't be our entire nation—or world peace—that has to suffer the consequences.
Thom Hartmann is a four‐time winner of the Project Censored Award, a New York Times bestselling author of over thirty books, and America's #1 progressive talk radio show host for more than a decade. His latest book is The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
3 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump trade adviser: Trump's tariff rates ‘pretty much set'
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview set to air Sunday that President Trump's newly announced tariff rates are 'pretty much set' and the public should not expect them to come down in the near future. 'I don't, I don't think they will be in the coming days,' Greer said on CBS News's 'Face the Nation,' when asked whether he expects rates to be negotiated down in the coming days. He said many of the tariff rates announced 'are set rates pursuant to deals.' 'Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country,' Greer continued. 'So, these tariff rates are pretty much set.' Greer said he expects his phone to be 'blowing up' with calls from international trade leaders wanting to negotiate, but Greer suggested the latest tariff announcement will likely be where Trump lands on the issue. 'There are trade ministers who want to talk more and see how they can work in a different way with the United States, but I think that we have, we're seeing truly the contours of the President's tariff plan right now with these rates,' he continued. Trump signed an executive order that modified tariff rates for dozens of countries after he had twice delayed plans to implement 'reciprocal' tariffs on other nations. Tariff rates range from as high as 41 percent on goods from Syria to as low as 10 percent, the baseline established for all imports. The executive order states that all imports will face a 10 percent tariff. The order goes into effect Aug. 7. Some nations have negotiated separate trade agreements to lock in tariff rates. For example, Indonesia and Thailand agreed to a 19 percent tariff, South Korea and Japan negotiated deals that included a 15 percent tariff, and the United Kingdom struck a deal for a 10 percent tariff. Certain other nations that have not negotiated deals will face higher rates.
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Big Beautiful Bill' imperils tribe's critical survival project: 'We still have homes that are not electrified'
'Big Beautiful Bill' imperils tribe's critical survival project: 'We still have homes that are not electrified' The vast majority of Americans can expect their electricity to be available when they need it — even though energy rates have risen significantly over the years, and there are emerging concerns about how new technologies could impact grid reliability. However, the One Big Beautiful Bill could uniquely threaten access to electricity for residents on the Hopi Tribe's reservation in Arizona, according to Tribal Business News, leaving tribal members vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, such as heat waves, and economic hardship as they fight to preserve their lands and cultural values. What's happening? President Donald Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill, also known as House Resolution 1, into law July 4 after months of debate and amendments to the legislation by Congress. As expected, the final version of the bill is slashing many clean-energy tax incentives that the Hopi Tribe has relied on to expand access to electricity on the reservation, including electric credits for renewable projects that have reduced building costs by up to 30% to 50%. This could also imperil utility-scale solar projects meant to replace jobs and revenue after the 2019 closing of the Navajo Generating Station coal plant. The plant supplied others in the region with power while doing little to improve access to electricity on Hopi lands — while also releasing toxic, heat-trapping pollution into the surrounding area and atmosphere. Why is this important? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a 2023 investigation into Tribal Electricity Access and Reliability found that lack of access to electricity on the Hopi Reservation and Trust Lands hit nearly 29%, whereas that percentage was just 1.4 for the average U.S. household. In an area where a round trip to the grocery store can take four hours, access to electricity can mean the difference between having food that's fit to eat or going without. Northeastern Arizona, where the Hopi reservation is situated, is also experiencing more frequent and intense heat waves because of a changing climate, making it all the more essential for residents to stay cool and protect themselves from the No. 1 weather-related killer. Hopi Tribal Chairman Timothy Nuvangyaoma told Tribal Business News that the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill has introduced "a lot of uncertainty" to the situation. "We're disappointed in leaders that don't look beyond their nose when it comes to those communities that rely on moving forward with this technology. We're in 2025 right now and we still have homes that are not electrified," Nuvangyaoma said. Do you think our power grid needs to be upgraded? Definitely Only in some states Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. What is being done about this? While provisions in the Big Beautiful Bill do disincentivize many green projects that can improve access to electricity and stabilize rates — and cut the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program — attorney Pilar Thomas told Tribal Business News that there's still a window of opportunity to get projects off the ground before tax incentives end. "The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is a big step backward, but I'm not quite as pessimistic as some, because most tribes are doing smaller projects," the partner at the Quarles and Brady law firm said. "... You've got to move, but I think tribes are doing mostly smaller projects for themselves, and I think those are still viable." The legislation also permanently reauthorized the New Markets Tax Credit, which has supported some tribal projects and makes it attractive for companies to build in underserved areas. For his part, Nuvangyaoma said the Hopi Tribe was "digesting" how the act could impact larger projects in development, including a 40-megawatt utility-scale solar array. Despite potential setbacks, he indicated his tribe still saw solar as a path toward achieving energy sovereignty. "I believe that there's people out there who see the impacts that tribal energy sovereignty can have, and so I am hopeful," he said. "We're always looking at what can be done in the darkest situations. We're used to that. With a little bit of light, we'll still move forward with development — we're acting as though none of our projects will be impacted until we can't do so anymore." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How Trump Is Plotting To Disrupt The Next Election
With a combination of executive orders, legal maneuvers and staffing decisions, President Donald Trump has already put in motion his next effort to subvert upcoming federal elections in 2026 and 2028. Since taking office, Trump has installed loyalists who follow his orders into key positions at the Department of Justice, issued executive orders centralizing decision-making within the White House, attempted to unilaterally change state and local election laws, demanded unprecedented access to voter data, dismantled election security protections, threatened elections officials and workers, law firms and others who have historically stood up to protect elections and defended, hired or pardoned those involved in previous efforts to subvert elections. All of these actions combine into a 'concerted strategy' to undermine federal elections, according to a new report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a left-leaning nonprofit that advocates for voting rights. The report highlights how these actions are being used together to set the stage for future lies about election integrity and attempts by the White House to try to change the outcome of elections altogether. It also details how they are being fought by states, election officials and voting advocates. 'We are seeing this as an unprecedented intrusion by the White House into the way that our elections work in a way that really makes us concerned for our elections moving forward,' said Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center. Trump has made the subversion of elections central to his political career, which he launched by questioning whether President Barack Obama was eligible to be president. He has claimed every election since 2012 that did not go Republicans' way was rigged with illegal votes and fraud, even claiming that his 2016 win would have been bigger if not for alleged fraud. This false campaign culminated after his 2020 loss when he illegally attempted to remain in power and sparked an insurrection aimed at stopping the certification of President Joe Biden's victory on Jan. 6, 2021. That effort was 'haphazard and desperate,' according to Morales-Doyle, but with four years of planning and an even more supine Republican Congress, Trump returned to office with time to put a similar plan into place. 'What we are witnessing now is that Trump, from day one of this administration, has started putting the wheels in motion to undermine elections and to make sure the people who would be carrying out that plan won't say 'no' this time around,' Morales-Doyle said. The most important change from his first administration is that Trump has shied away from hiring experienced eminences into key posts in the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Defense and instead appointed toadies who follow his orders. After the 2020 election, Trump's attempt to steal the election was hamstrung by his appointees, including Attorney General William Barr, who refused to seize voting machines at Trump's request, and other DOJ officials who fought Trump's efforts to appoint Jeff Clark as acting attorney general in order to issue a letter saying the election was marred by fraud. This second Trump administration is instead staffed with people who helped Trump lie about the 2020 election, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and Ed Martin, a right-wing attorney who now leads a Justice Department task force on the 'weaponization' of the federal government. The shift means voting rights advocates are now fighting the federal government itself rather than fringe outside actors. 'Many of the strategies and tactics that we've seen developed by the election denier movement are actually coming from within the federal administration,' Morales-Doyle said, 'and that is like nothing we've ever seen before.' Unlike Barr, these appointees may have no qualms with fulfilling Trump's election fraud fantasies by seeking to seize voting machines, publicly claim election fraud or pressure state or local election officials to take actions to undermine the election results. They have already begun this process by targeting and threatening election officials through the Weaponization Working Group headed by Martin and the election integrity task forces set up in the offices of the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, previously held by Trump's former lawyer Alina Habba, and the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., led by former Fox News anchor Jeanine Pirro. 'This Department of Justice has acted differently than every other Department of Justice in every previous administration, including the first Trump administration,' said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. 'They're acting more like a political campaign arm of the White House.' Trump's appointees are aided by many of the president's other actions, which aim to cast a cloud of doubt over the integrity of elections. On March 25, Trump issued a sweeping executive order aiming to allow the president to directly set state election law, despite the president having almost no constitutional role or legal power in the administration of elections. The order directed the Election Administration Committee to mandate that states require voters to show proof of citizenship in order to vote, rescind certifications for almost all voting machines and ordered the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Government Efficiency to obtain full voter files from every state, including sensitive data like Social Security numbers. The order also directs the attorney general to target states that count mail-in ballots that arrive after election day for legal action. One judge has already blocked the order's proof of citizenship requirement for voting and another judge blocked most of the order from taking effect. Litigation challenging the decertification of voting machines is still ongoing. DHS has sent letters to election officials in six states seeking their full, unredacted voter files, while DOJ has sued North Carolina and Orange County, California to obtain such access. It is illegal for many states to share sensitive information in these voter files, like Social Security numbers, with the federal government. While the administration has no legal basis to enforce this order, the second Trump administration has not shied away from breaking the law to do what it wants. As the administration has itself targeted election systems, it has also dismantled the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and its work to protect elections from interference, including hacks targeting election systems. In addition to dismantling CISA, the administration has attacked private actors who work to protect and defend elections while supporting those who seek to undermine them. Trump's executive orders targeting law firms and the deals some firms have entered into with his administration have cowed Big Law from challenging his policies. The country's top 50 law firms have dramatically scaled back their pro bono legal work challenging the administration even though four of Trump's orders have been emphatically struck down by courts, according to Reuters. The administration has also threatened to strip nonprofits that challenge Trump or are aligned with the Democratic Party of their tax-exempt status, and launched investigations into the election apparatus of the Democratic Party. Where Trump punishes his enemies, he rewards his allies. This includes those who tried to help him overturn his 2020 loss. He issued pardons or commuted sentences for all defendants prosecuted for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021, including those who assaulted police officers or engaged in sedition. Meanwhile, his administration has unsuccessfully pressured Colorado to release Tina Peters, a former election clerk convicted of illegally providing access to voting systems to a Trump ally after the 2020 election. These disparate actions can all come together ahead of or after the next election to disrupt, undermine or actually subvert the outcome in a variety of ways. 'What actually ends up being the lever that needs to be pulled to interfere with the outcome of an election or the outcome of multiple elections depends on where elections are close,' Morales-Doyle said. 'It depends on who is in the position that you need to put the pressure on. You can see a number of different scenarios that could be pressure points in 2026.' Refusal to comply with Trump's executive order could fuel propaganda claiming the results from those states are fraudulent or as a pretext to declare an election-related emergency and seize voting machines. Requests for voter files could lead the administration to demand specific individuals be removed from the voter rolls, both altering the electorate or, if states do not comply, provide propaganda fodder and pretexts for interference. By dismantling CISA, the administration could claim any attacks on election systems, now made easier absent protection, as evidence that the election's integrity has been undermined and as a pretext to seize voting machines or otherwise interfere with the results. The threats and targeting of law firms, election officials, nonprofits and the Democratic Party not only aim to disable opposition, but also to serve as a warning to those who might buck any requests when they come. In 2020, Trump attempted to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, to change the election results so that he would win the state. Raffensperger refused to budge. He also pressured local election officials in Wayne County, Michigan, to refuse to certify the county's results. This initially worked, but the two officials reversed themselves and certified the results after public pressure. But others may not, especially now that they know that they could face investigations, prosecutions or other threats and punishments. 'They've seen the reality of what it means to have the sheer force of the executive branch targeted at a perceived adversary,' Morales-Doyle said. One end result of these efforts to cast doubt or subvert elections just played out in North Carolina following the 2024 election. In a crucial state Supreme Court race, Democrat Allison Riggs defeated her Republican opponent Jefferson Griffith by 734 votes. After the election, Griffith filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse his loss with claims that certain registered voters with incomplete information on their registrations should have been removed from the rolls before they cast their ballots. Griffith's allegations mirror some of those raised by the Trump administration in its pursuit of state voter files. In highly partisan decisions, the Republican-controlled state courts sided with Griffith and ordered tens of thousands of votes to be discarded and Griffith awarded Riggs' seat. But Riggs appealed in federal court and won with a judge ruling that valid votes cast by voters who followed the rules cannot be thrown out after the election is run. While the correct result was ultimately reached, the legal process prevented Riggs from taking her seat for over four months. The Trump administration and Republicans could do something similar by using whatever alleged violation of Trump's executive order or claim about voter roll errors to challenge the outcome after the election. If Democrats had won a majority in the House or Senate, it's theoretically possible for Congress to refuse to seat anyone in one of these contested seats. That could allow Republicans to remain in control even if they lost, at least temporarily. As shown by the result in the North Carolina Supreme Court race, federal judges are not willing to overturn election results after the fact on specious claims. The courts dismissed, often with great prejudice, Trump's lawsuits challenging his election defeat in 2020. 'I'm worried about that scenario, but not because I think they'll overcome the line drawn in the sand by courts and get votes thrown out after the fact,' Morales-Doyle said. The Brennan Center's purpose in raising these threats in their report is not to highlight an unavoidable doom scenario, but rather as a warning for institutional actors — from election officials to lawyers to information security experts — and the public to be aware ahead of time about the risks posed by a White House hellbent on undermining elections so that they can work to counter it. 'We have to reckon with the difference when that attack comes from the White House,' Morales-Doyle said. 'That if we're going to survive that kind of attack, it's going to require a lot of actors to show their resistance and strength at an even greater level than they've had to in the past.'
