Trump, Epstein & the hubris of MAGA
On the afternoon of January 25, 2020, before the coronavirus became a global pandemic, I had lunch with two Trump supporter friends, both of whom are particularly susceptible to believing right-wing conspiracy theories. Between bites of chicken wings, the conversation flowed from the efficacy of vaccines to Hunter Biden's laptop and their confidence that Donald Trump was going to regain the presidency in November (he didn't). When I disparaged Trump's character and noted that, as a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein, he is almost surely implicated in Epstein's child sex trafficking scandal, one of them, in a naive and puerile retort, responded, "If it's true, then I won't like him anymore."
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On Wednesday July 23, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department told President Trump in May that his name appears multiple times in the Epstein files.
To those of us who have an ability to objectively assess someone’s character on the basis of their behaviour over time, the revelation that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files is not shocking. If anything, it’s par for the course. The bromance between Trump and Epstein is well documented. And while I have no interest in relitigating what is already common knowledge and in the public record, it’s instructive to review chronologically only those facts which are indisputable:
in 1992, Trump, Epstein, and Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, partied at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Estate, where video footage shows Trump and Epstein watching and commenting on young women dancing
in 2000, 14-year-old Virginia Giuffre, then employed at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort, is recruited by Epstein and Maxwell to work as Epstein’s personal masseuse
in 2002, Trump told New York magazine that Epstein, who he claimed to know since 1987, “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side”
flight logs from Epstein’s private plane, dubbed the “Lolita Express,” show Trump and his family flew on the plane multiple times between 1993 and 1997
Epstein’s “black book” consists of high-profile clients and business associates including Donald Trump, Bill and Chelsea Clinton, Henry Kissinger, Rupert Murdoch, Prince Andrew, Tony Blair, Bill Cosby, and Woody Allen
in 2005, Florida police begin investigating Epstein for child sex trafficking
in 2008, Epstein’s attorney, Alex Acosta, arranges a plea bargain where Epstein is granted immunity from federal prosecution in exchange for pleading guilty to state charges of child prostitution
2010 video footage of Epstein at his deposition shows him refusing to answer the question, “Have you ever socialized with Donald Trump in the presence of females under the age of 18?”
in 2017, Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten states, “[Trump] had no relationship with Mr. Epstein and had no knowledge whatsoever of his conduct”
in July 2019, Epstein is arrested and charged in the Southern District of New York with sex trafficking dozens of girls; Alex Acosta, Trump’s Secretary of Labor since 2017, resigns over his 2008 plea deal with Epstein
on August 10, 2019, Epstein is found dead in his cell; the official cause of death is “suicide by hanging”
on July 2, 2020, Ghislaine Maxwell is arrested on charges of child trafficking and sexual abuse of young women and girls
on December 29, 2021, Ghislaine Maxwell is convicted of child sex trafficking and faces up to 65 years in prison
on July 7, 2025, the Department ofJustice, in an effort to quell conspiracy theories, releases footage of Epstein in his cell shortly before his death; analysis of the metadata by Wired shows nearly three minutes of footage missing from the raw surveillance video
on July 16, 2025, Trump calls the Epstein scandal a “hoax”; the FBI and Department of Justice announce the closing of the Epstein case
on July 25, 2025, the Department of Justice grants Ghislain Maxwell limited immunity during questioning, one day after Trump tells reports he is “allowed” to pardon her
Even with the dozens of explicit allegations made by Trump and Epstein’s underage accusers excluded from the above chronology, the facts seem to support an attempt by the Trump administration to cover up sex crimes against minors.
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During our lunch, my friend was adamant that Epstein did not kill himself. According to him, suicide is not the act of an arrogant billionaire. I tend to agree with him, although I’m careful not to assume the psychological state of a man who knows he will likely never see the outside of a prison cell ever again. So for the sake of argument, let’s agree that Epstein was, in fact, murdered, and the murder was covered up to protect the guilty parties. Who are the guilty parties? According to the MAGA cult, it’s the Deep State. It’s the Democrats. It’s Obama. The problem with that conclusion is that Trump was in office when Epstein died. If Trump is guilty by association, he would have every incentive to eliminate Epstein and prevent him from talking, and he would have the power and means to do it. One does not need to be a conspiracy theorist to embrace that narrative.
On the other hand, if Trump wanted to be transparent with the American public about the Epstein case, he could release the unredacted files. Instead, he implored reporters to move on, complaining, “Are people still talking about this guy, this creep?”
“Are people still talking about [Epstein], this creep?”
- President Donald J. Trump
Referring to Epstein as a creep is on brand. A creep is someone who engages in deviant behaviour, especially of the sexual kind. Thus, Trump’s use of the word “creep” to describe Epstein can be equated with “pedophile.” Makes sense, since Trump knew for decades that Epstein was infatuated with young girls. So there’s no way around the fact that Trump was fully aware that Epstein and Maxwell sexually exploited underage girls and young women. That Trump would even consider pardoning Maxwell, a convicted child sex trafficker and alleged participant in the sexual abuse of girls, shows him to be a degenerate piece of garbage who enabled predators to groom minors for sex.
At the very least, Trump knew Epstein was having sex with minors and said nothing about it. But did Trump, a convicted rapist, also sexually abuse underage girls? Or is he an innocent victim, duped by, and completely unaware of, the cunning machinations of Epstein and Maxwell, who recruited girls under his own nose at his home in Mar-A-Lago?
While many who voted for Trump are becoming impatient and critical of him over his handling of the Epstein case, Trump’s loyal MAGA base will speak no evil, see no evil, and hear no evil when it comes to their cult leader’s character. They will say nothing to criticize Trump, despite his admitting to walking into the Miss Teen USA beauty pageant’s dressing room to perform an “inspection” while teenage girls were in various stages of undress. They cover their ears or turn violent when counter-protesters present them with facts they are uncomfortable with, like when the hilarious Robby Roadsteamer sings into a megaphone, ”Trump was on the Jeffrey Epstein plane!” to the tune of “YMCA.” They cover their eyes when video footage shows Trump judging teen models along with other women and men, including John Casablancas, the founder of Elite models who cheated on his wife with a 16-year-old girl and later married a 17-year-old girl. They’re trying to make Trump guilty by association! cry the MAGA faithful. Imagine being so enchanted by a crusty old pervert that you are willing to turn a blind eye to pedophilia (at least one of Epstein’s alleged victims was 11-years-old).
The hubris and hypocrisy of MAGA is unprecedented. Right-wing Republicans and especially MAGA flaunt their ignorance in garish red-white-and-blue cosplays of misplaced patriotism and pride, demonstrating that whatever values they claim to have are contingent on, and determined by, who’s in office. They pretended to care about child sex trafficking, but only if it’s orchestrated by liberal elites running satanic pedophile rings. They have no desire to hear from any of the victims, and even less desire to see the perpetrators brought to justice, lest they have to reckon with something they are woefully unprepared for. In February of this year, former conservative radio host and current Deputy Director of the FBI Dan Bongino asked, “Who’s on those tapes, who’s in those black books? Why have they been hiding it?,” prompting Late Night host Seth Meyers to quip, "When you say 'why have they been hiding it’ the 'they’ is you now, bro! Guys are gonna have to start doing conspiracy theory podcasts about themselves.” The MAGA brain does not possess the requisite neuroplasticity to perform the mental gymnastics necessary to explain and justify the contradictions coming from the Trump administration. Better to just cover your mouth, eyes and ears until the problem goes away. Or bring up Hunter Biden’s laptop.
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I no longer speak to the friend I had lunch with back in 2020, but I’m not holding my breath that the avalanche of both circumstantial and incriminating evidence has convinced him “not to like Trump anymore.” When you arrogantly go all in on defending a useless member of society and an atrocious mistake of a human being, you end up owning the mistake, not owning up to it. It is not unreasonable to want all perpetrators, regardless of their wealth, status, or political affiliation, to be brought to justice, prosecuted, and punished if they are found guilty of grooming and raping minors. But the cognitive dissonance of the MAGA base is impenetrable, which is why there is no point in trying to reason with them.