Epstein scandal: 'Trump finds himself on the wrong side of a conspiracy theory'

France 24

3 days ago

We start with the Epstein scandal and a recent report that's tearing apart Trump's most loyal supporters. Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedophile, died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial. His death has long been a source of conspiracy theories among MAGA supporters – namely that he did not commit suicide, but was murdered. They also believe that "deep-state actors" in the government hid lists of his clients.
It was a theory that Trump himself suggested and earlier this year, US Attorney General Pam Bondi promised that everything would come out into the open. Then this month, her Department of Justice released a report concluding that Epstein did indeed commit suicide and that the alleged client list does not exist. Certain MAGA supporters feel betrayed and it has put them at odds with Trump in their first major signs of division, Politico says. It's also brought Don Bongino, a loyal Trump supporter, into the spotlight. He is deputy director of the FBI, a former Secret Serviceman and an extremely popular right-wing podcaster who has backed these conspiracy theories over Epstein. He could, the Guardian says, be the first casualty of this Epstein scandal – Trump sided with Pam Bondi over the weekend and Bongino has threatened to quit the FBI.
In the opinion pages, the conservative Wall Street Journal 's editors note the irony that Trump has traded in conspiracy stories for years, yet is now upset that the Epstein theories he fanned are proving hard to tamp down. The Washington Post, in its analysis, says that this about-turn from the DoJ on the Epstein files means Trump's hold on his base is looking a little wobbly. Given how dependent his political power is on his base, "even the loosening of one finger may be a weakness he can't afford", it says.
In the French press, the front pages are focusing on the death of Thierry Ardisson, a media personality who was well known here but not so much outside of France. However, entertainment website Variety is covering Ardisson's death, calling him a staple of the French TV landscape for nearly four decades – an iconoclastic journalist, host and producer of "shock jock" type talk shows. He died from liver cancer at the age of 76. Ardisson was nicknamed the man in black because of his invariable black outfit: "Ecran Noir", Le Parisien says. He broke ground in France with the first major Saturday night talk show that was a roaring success in the 1990s. His archived videos still receive millions of views on YouTube. Ardisson was, for Le Figaro, the man who changed the French TV landscape. Libération goes with "Clash de fin" against an appropriately black and white photo on its front page. But Ardisson had his detractors too. L'Humanité, the Communist paper, reminds us of his various controversies, starting with his first show in 1985 which was taken off air. The reason? "He laid bare his obsession with the far right, and for verbal and physical violence as well as being provocative".
Meanwhile, French NBA star Victor Wembanyama has spoken to sports paper L'Equipe. The 21-year-old spoke to the paper in Las Vegas, where he took part in a training sessions with the Spurs. He's set to make his return to NBA this year after being sidelined with serious deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder this year. He talks about that injury, but also the time he has taken to travel – spending time in a Buddhist monastery, reconnecting with his body and mind and his plans for his future at the Spurs.
Finally, "Love Island USA" has just wrapped up and it's the reality TV dating show that everyone cannot stop talking about! The show was filmed in Fiji and saw contestants Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales setting off into the sunset with the $100,000 in prize money, NPR says. One big change this season is how much sway the public had on social media. The more they liked a couple, the more the production would try to push them together. If the public didn't like them, they could sift through the contestant's social media and launch a smear campaign to get them booted off the show. All that interaction has seen this season break viewership records!