We are witnessing one of the more shocking political events of recent times: Donald Trump’s MAGA base, over which he has had a decade-long cultlike hold, is in open revolt against him. And his initial efforts to quell the uprising have, so far, only further inflamed it.
The reason for this convulsive uprising is the claim by the Trump Justice Department, made in a two-page memo, that the financier and convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a cell while awaiting trial, that there was no incriminating client list kept by Epstein or anyone else, and that there was “no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.”
MAGA figures in the Trump administration, who once promised to reveal the dark truth about Epstein’s death and the powerful Democrats involved in his world of sex trafficking and pedophilia, are now said to be complicit in a “deep state” cover-up. Some commentators have gone so far as to suggest that even Trump himself might be involved.
Trump is clearly enraged. On Wednesday, he savaged those in his base who are falling for what he now calls “the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,” saying “my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker.” Trump is demanding that his base move on. For the first time, many of them are saying no. At a large MAGA gathering over the weekend, the thousands in attendance made it clear that the Epstein case was foremost on their mind. That may change, as Trump drops the hammer, but what this moment has revealed is significant.
Why this particular case is the one that MAGA world has fixated on is a fascinating question. Some of the best people to answer it might be MAGA Republicans.
Natalie Winters, a correspondent for Steven Bannon’s podcast War Room, told The New York Times that the Epstein case goes to the “very foundation of MAGA” because “it gets to the heart of who is in control of the country.”
The MAGA movement, she explained, feels betrayed. “I just think it’s frankly very grifty to have spent your entire career promoting, even if it weren’t the Epstein thing directly, but the idea that there is this deep state, the idea that there’s this unelected class of, you know, bankers, corporation, countries, intel agencies, blah, blah, blah,” she told the Times. “And then finally, you have the power to expose it, and either you’re not, because there’s nothing there, in which case it makes you a liar—and I don’t believe that—or you’re ineffective, or you’re compromised.”
At the Turning Point USA conference, Bannon said, “Epstein is a key that picks the lock on so many things—not just individuals, but also institutions, intelligence institutions, foreign governments, and who was working with him on our intelligence apparatus and in our government.”
Once the Epstein case became the personification of the deep state’s nefariousness, it took on incredible, even hallowed meaning for MAGA supporters. It activated them in ways that only conspiracy theories—and angry, embittered fights over conspiracy theories—can do. For Trump to get on the wrong side of a MAGA conspiracy is highly unusual, and it explains why, for the first time, his base is upset with him. Trump is on the wrong side of what is, for them, sacred.
The denizens of MAGA world tend to think differently from many other Americans. They are drawn to conspiracy theories, which provide a feeling of belonging and community, a core identity, and an us-versus-them narrative. Conspiratorial thinking provides them a sense of order in a world of vicissitudes, a feeling of control in a world that is often complicated and hard to decode, a feeling of power when a sense of powerlessness threatens paralysis. It can give people who have felt dishonored the belief that they have special knowledge, that they’re in the know and have access to hidden truths not available to the rest of us, that they can see patterns that don’t actually exist. For people with high levels of paranoia, conspiracy theories can be a comfort, and the dopamine rush they provide can be addictive.
When Trump embraced the establishment position on the Epstein case, for the first time ever, he personified the deep state that his base loathes.
The rest of us should take note, because this is a preview of coming attractions. Donald Trump has lit the flames of dozens of conspiracy theories during his time in politics. Those conspiracy theories bonded the MAGA movement to him. Trump’s supporters saw him as the Great Disrupter; they believed he would unleash wrecking balls against institutions and norms. His transgressions, his lawlessness, even his cruelty were vivifying to his supporters.
Having created that movement, Trump is discovering there’s no “off” switch. There are precedents for such things. A l’exemple de Saturne, la révolution dévore ses enfants.
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