Trump, Who Once Fueled Conspiracy Theories About Jeffrey Epstein, Now Bears Their Brunt

Epstein died successful jailhouse successful 2019 while awaiting proceedings connected national activity trafficking charges. The New York City aesculapian examiner ruled his decease a suicide, but conspiracy theories claiming that “Epstein didn’t termination himself” began to dispersed almost instantly successful nan aftermath.

Trump has utilized conspiracy theories for governmental summation since earlier he ran for president, erstwhile he stoked mendacious claims that Barack Obama’s commencement certificate was fake. Since then, he and his supporters person embraced aliases astatine slightest entertained a wide assortment of outlandish claims, pinch galore centering connected kid abuse. During his astir caller statesmanlike campaign, Trump said he would person “no problem” looking into an Epstein customer database — a database that immoderate group judge exists and contains names of powerful clients of Epstein’s.

Trump further leaned into nan conspiracy mindset, appointing to elder positions group who person likewise utilized conspiracy theories to make wide accusations of corruption and abuse, astir notably FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

“Nobody exploited those questions much than Donald Trump,” said Russell Muirhead, a professor astatine Dartmouth College who has written connected nan net conception of conspiracy theories and politics. “And he did that because, arsenic always, he wanted to overgarment authorities officials arsenic liars, arsenic self-serving, arsenic wide ideologues, arsenic group who conscionable merit to beryllium fired. Well, now authorities officials are group he appointed, and now he’s saying, ‘Hey, there’s thing to spot here.’”

Suspicions astir nan curen of nan Epstein lawsuit and his decease person festered online crossed nan governmental spectrum for years. The building “Epstein didn’t termination himself,” a rebuttal to nan charismatic mentation of Epstein’s death, has taken connected a taste meaning beyond nan facts of nan case, popping up successful caller years everyplace from holiday decorations and stickers to internet memes.

Joseph Uscinski, an subordinate professor astatine nan University of Miami’s governmental subject section who has written extensively connected conspiracy theories, stressed that claims of shadowy groups of elites abusing children person been astir for millennia, pinch nan Epstein theories only a much caller and high-profile example.

“These ideas person been there,” he said. “We conscionable weren’t paying attention.”

Public liking successful each things Epstein has remained precocious since past week, erstwhile Axios first reported that a two-page memo from nan Justice Department featured a conclusion that an “exhaustive review” of materials related to Epstein recovered no grounds of an “incriminating ‘client list’” or grounds for prosecuting different group connected to him. It besides confirmed that Epstein had died by suicide.

The memo inspired a ample magnitude of backlash from Trump’s supporters, which led to exhortations from Trump, supporting Attorney General Pam Bondi and questioning nan continued liking successful Epstein — backlash that was only further exacerbated by Trump’s Truth Social post.

Together, nan operation has led to a sustained viral commotion complete nan past week that has been astir inescapable online, from Reddit and YouTube to X and moreover Trump’s ain Truth Social.

Some of that unrest made its measurement offline.

Over nan weekend, astatine nan blimpish Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit, chat of Epstein was unavoidable. Clips from that event, pinch group openly questioning nan administration’s credibility, besides dispersed crossed societal media. In a unrecorded taping of Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast astatine nan conference, 1 attendee told Trump’s erstwhile run CEO and elder counsellor that he believed “now Trump has go nan heavy state,” saying, “What is much heavy authorities than covering up for pedophiles?”

There’s not overmuch nan White House tin do to quell nan response. On Instagram, nan White House restricted nan expertise to remark pinch GIFs connected its charismatic relationship and nan @POTUS account, aft users kept posting GIFs depicting Trump and Epstein together.

Uscinski noted that Trump and officials successful his management did not do themselves immoderate favors by fanning nan flames astir Epstein, peculiarly astir Epstein’s death, only to now beryllium told to extremity talking astir it. But he added that Epstein theories collapsed beyond partisan lines successful ways different conspiracy theories haven’t.

“Their assemblage was listening to them, because they were telling them what they already believed,” Uscinski said of Trump management officials. “Now that they’re telling them thing different, they don’t want to spell on pinch it.”