Balancing act for pro-Trump influencers as Epstein furor spirals
Calls for the release of those files could intensify after a US media report on Wednesday said Trump's name was among hundreds found during an official review of documents on Epstein, a claim the White House has denied.
Faced with a choice between alienating a base fervently demanding answers or defying Trump -- who has implored them to move on -- MAGA-aligned influencers and podcasters find themselves in a political bind.
MAGA media are "definitely walking a fine line with the Epstein debacle," Mike Rothschild, an expert on conspiracy theories, told AFP.
"Trump demanding that nobody talk about Epstein should be a betrayal for them. But they're so invested in supporting Trump, and have built their financial support around it, that they really can't do anything but make excuses and tie themselves in knots."
Some MAGA influencers, however, turned sharply critical in recent weeks.
Among them is Rogan O'Handley, who was invited to the White House in February alongside a handful of influencers and presented with binders labeled "The Epstein Files: Phase 1," only to find they offered little new information.
"This is a shameful coverup to protect the most heinous elites," O'Handley told his 2.2 million followers on X earlier this month.
"We were told multiple times the files would be released and now it looks like backroom deals have been made to keep them hidden."
'Fanatically loyal'
Charlie Kirk, a Trump loyalist and podcaster, faced an avalanche of criticism from the MAGA base after he initially said he was "done talking" about Epstein, and added he was going to trust "my friends in the administration."
"Trump's base has been fanatically loyal, and influencers are hesitant about opposing Trump directly if that threatens the size of their audiences," Matt Gertz, senior fellow at the watchdog Media Matters for America, told AFP.
Fueling the MAGA base's anger were conclusions from the Justice Department and FBI that Epstein -- a disgraced financier who died in jail in 2019 -- did not maintain a "client list" as conspiracy theorists have contended. Attorney General Pam Bondi emerged as their key target for criticism after announcing no more information would be forthcoming.
But Trump has defended Bondi, while claiming without evidence on Truth Social that the Epstein files were written by his political rivals "Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the losers and criminals of the Biden administration."
That response prompted disbelief from Benny Johnson, a longtime Trump supporter and right-wing podcaster.
" By admitting that the Epstein Files are real, and that you've read them, and you don't like their contents, and they were written by your enemies, it doesn't make the most compelling case as far as I'm concerned. Holy moly," Johnson said.
'Moving target'
Seeking to redirect attention within the MAGA base -- an echo chamber fueled by constant grievance and outrage -- Trump has launched attacks on familiar enemies: former president Barack Obama and the media.
The White House has promoted the unfounded claim that Obama led a "years-long coup" against Trump around his victorious 2016 election. The former president has rejected the claim.
The White House has also barred The Wall Street Journal from traveling with Trump during his upcoming visit to Scotland, after the newspaper reported that he wrote a bawdy birthday message to Epstein.
Trump on Friday sued the WSJ and its media magnate owner Rupert Murdoch for at least $10 billion over the allegation in the article, which Trump denies.
Following those moves, Stephen Bannon, host of the influential "War Room" podcast, sought to rally influencers behind Trump, telling US media that the MAGA base was "completely unified because now we're on offense."
"The MAGA media's take on the Epstein case is both fractured and very much a moving target," said Gertz.
"Trump's recent attacks on The Wall Street Journal and new conspiracy theories about Obama seem to be refocusing their attention away from Epstein -- though it's unclear for how long, particularly given the new revelation that Trump himself is named in the files."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
16 minutes ago
- LeMonde
EU-US trade deal: A bittersweet compromise for the EU
The palpable relief among European officials following the announcement of the trade agreement reached on Sunday, July 27, by Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke volumes about the ordeal the US president had imposed on the European Union (EU). Fearing a 30% tariff on goods exported to the United States starting August 1, Europe was satisfied to escape with a 15% rate. Finalized in Turnberry, Scotland, at one of the luxury golf resorts owned by the billionaire, the agreement at this stage remains silent on the specific list of exemptions that the Commission negotiated for the most sensitive sectors. Trump highlighted the EU's commitment to purchase $750 billion worth of energy and make an additional $600 billion in investments in the US. The outcome of the talks, with its ambiguities, leaves a bitter aftertaste. Given the size of its market (450 million consumers) and its status as the US's second-largest supplier of goods, Europe seemed at first to have stronger leverage than Japan in seeking a rate lower than 15%. The changing benchmarks set by negotiators illustrated their setbacks. At the end of June, the EU aimed for less than 10%. By mid-July, the bloc thought it was on the verge of securing 10%, the rate negotiated by the United Kingdom, the US's third-largest trading partner. The uneven compromise advocated by the Commission underscored how difficult it was for the 27 member states to assert themselves against a former ally who not only seeks to impose its own rules on the rest of the world, but is pursuing a political agenda to weaken the EU. Urged by France to take a tougher stance in the final stretch, with the adoption of a package of retaliatory measures worth €93 billion that would have taken effect on August 7 if trade talks failed, the president of the European Commission was, not without reason, focused on maintaining European unity in the face of the temptation for each country to go its own way. Deeply involved in transatlantic trade, Germany – and even more so Italy – were not ready for confrontation. The need to secure US support in Ukraine and America's contribution to European defense also weighed heavily in the decision. Presented as the lesser evil, the 15% tariff followed previous increases imposed by Trump on steel and aluminum (50%), as well as on automobiles and auto parts (25%). These measures are bound to affect the competitiveness of the companies involved and drive prices higher. In exchange, von der Leyen and the business world are clinging to the hope of stabilizing the economic environment. In reality, they have no such guarantee. Unpredictable and abrupt, Trump has broken with all the rules of international trade. Three days after the summit between China and the EU – which ended in a dialogue of the deaf and highlighted Brussels' inability to obtain even a minimal rebalancing of trade – the handshake between Trump and von der Leyen epitomized the current balance of power: In the emerging new world order taking shape, contrary to the values it defends, Europe is not breaking ranks, but its current purely defensive approach offers no protection against future power plays.
Local France
2 hours ago
- Local France
US tariff tussles stuff of nightmares for Bordeaux winemakers
In southwestern France, around the Bordeaux region's famed vineyards, months of talk on what US President Donald Trump will decide on tariffs have been the stuff of nightmares for producers as they look on helplessly. The United States is by far the top export market for Bordeaux's wine, accounting for €400 million worth of annual sales - or about 20 percent of the total. China lags behind with €300 million ahead of the United Kingdom with €200 million. Sunday's announcement of a trade deal between the United States and the European Union did not clear up what tariffs European wine and spirits producers will face in the United States. Advertisement While Trump said European exports face 15 percent tariffs across the board, both sides said there would be carve-outs for certain sectors. EU head Ursula Von der Leyen said the bloc still hoped to secure further so-called "zero-for-zero" agreements, notably for alcohol, which she hoped to be "sorted out" in the coming days. Philippe Tapie, chairman of regional traders' union Bordeaux Negoce, which represents more than 90 percent of the wine trade in the Bordeaux area, is worried by the uncertainty. "One day, it is white, the next it is black - the US administration can change its mind from one day to the next and we have no visibility," he told AFP. In mid-March, Trump had threatened Brussels with 200 percent tariffs on alcohol in response to a proposed EU tax on US bourbon. Then in April he brandished a new threat of 20 percent across the board on EU products, a threat ultimately suspended. Since then, the level first held at ten percent but, in late May, the US leader threatened to revert to 50 percent before pivoting to 30 percent starting August 1st, the deadline for the negotiations with the EU that led to a preliminary accord after Trump and Von der Leyen met in Scotland on Sunday. "At 10 percent or 15 percent, we'll find solutions. At 30 percent, no. End of story," Tapie warned just ahead of the announcement as he criticised a "totally unpredictable American administration". To export wine, "there's a minimum of 30 days by boat. If you go to California, it's 60 days. We can't think in terms of weeks," says Tapie, who says he has "never been confronted with such a situation" in 30 years of business. Advertisement Twins Bordeaux, one of Bordeaux's leading wine merchants, also laments the tariffs' impact. "The American market represents about a third of our turnover, or around €30 million," explains Sebastien Moses, co-director and co-owner of Twins, which usually ships upwards of a million bottles a year to the United States. Since January, "our turnover must have fallen by 50 percent compared to last year," he says. "So far, we've managed to save the situation, because as soon as Donald Trump was elected we anticipated this and sent as much stock as possible to the US," explains Moses, though longer term he says this is not a "stable" strategy. As an attempted work around Twins Bordeaux even shipped cases of around 10,000 bottles by air in March. "But only very expensive wines, at no less than €150-€200 per bottle, because by air it's at least two and a half times the price of shipping by sea," he said. For Bordeaux wine merchant Bouey, the US market represents less than 10 percent of its exports. "We have long since undertaken a geographical expansion. Faced with the global chaos, commercial strategies can no longer be based on a single- or dual-country strategy," Jacques Bouey, its CEO, told AFP in April. The tariffs come with the industry already struggling with declining consumption that has led to overproduction and a collapse in bulk prices. By early 2023, a third of Bordeaux's approximately 5,000 wine growers admitted to being in difficulty. "We're starting to become world champions in terms of accumulating problems," complained Tapie.
LeMonde
3 hours ago
- LeMonde
Tariffs: EU hands Trump a political win to avoid trade chaos
Suddenly, Donald Trump leaned toward Ursula von der Leyen and extended his hand, praising, with his signature superlatives, "the biggest deal ever made." Up to that point, the European Commission president had remained still in her large green velvet chair, but she accepted the handshake. That gesture closed, on Sunday, July 27, dozens of hours of sometimes bewildering negotiations between the European and American delegations, culminating in the meeting held in the ballroom of the sprawling Turnberry golf resort, owned by Trump, on Scotland's west coast. The suspense lasted until the very last minute. At the start of the meeting, the Republican, claiming to be "not in a good mood," still estimated the odds of reaching a deal at 50%. The agreement was clinched just five days before the August 1 deadline he had previously set, after which European exports would have faced punitive tariffs of 30%. Faced with two evils, the 27 EU member states chose what they saw as the lesser: an unbalanced compromise favoring the US rather than risking a full-scale trade war with unpredictable consequences. The choice was of "stability over total unpredictability," European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic explained on a flight from Brussels to Glasgow. While German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the agreement without much enthusiasm, it was Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever who best summed up the mood among European leaders: "This is a moment of relief, but not of celebration." French Minister for European Affairs Benjamin Haddad, meanwhile, recognized the deal would bring "temporary stability" but called it "unbalanced."
