Why is the MAGA movement having a meltdown over President Trump and the Epstein files?
Described by one judge as the "most infamous pedophile in American history", Jeffrey Epstein took his life in 2019 while in a New York jail awaiting trial.
Like with almost everyone who was rich and famous in New York in the 1990s and 2000s, he was known by Donald Trump.
While standing for election in 2024, Mr Trump vowed to release the files from the police investigations into Epstein’s decades of crimes.
Now safely ensconced once again in the Oval Office, the US President seems to have U-turned on that pledge.
It is a decision that perhaps lies in the fact that the Wall Street Journal has reported that he himself is named in the files.
“It’s just the latest in a drip feed of things,” writer Paddy Duffy explained to Newstalk Daily.
“So, as long as people keep finding this interesting, as long as it’s clear that Trump has made such an about face on this, I think people are still going to be continuously interested by this.”
The White House raged that Mr Trump is named in the Epstein files “fake news”, while the President himself has filed a $10 billion (€8.5 billion) lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal’s owners.
However, the paper’s reporting means the story is now dominating the news agenda in Washington and beyond.
U.S President Donald Trump. Picture by: Daniel Torok/White House Photo/Alamy Live News. “This was such a big bombshell that it stopped an awful lot of network anchors in their tracks,” Mr Duffy added.
“This is a big deal because it shows that the Wall Street Journal have a bit of ammo on this, for starters.”
Mr Duffy continued that promising to release the files was an “unenforced error” for Mr Trump.
“Nobody was really pressuring him to do this, nobody was forcing his hand on this,” he said.
“It’s almost a bit like ‘Get Brexit Done’.
“It was so nebulous that it didn’t really mean anything but it was a terrific slogan, it kept people onside.
“From the most plainspeaking President to go from, ‘Yeah, I’m releasing everything’ to, ‘You know what? This is quite complex.’
“It’s so strange, it’s so strange, it’s so jarring.”
President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. Picture by: AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson. Famously, Mr Trump is adored by the MAGA movement.
However, for many of the terminally online right ‘Release the Epstein files’ was a core demand of the MAGA movement.
It means that even some loyalists are feeling deeply uncomfortable about the decision not to release the files.
“It’s almost like the next stage of the ‘Drain the Swamp’ [call],” Mr Duffy said.
“It’s taken to its natural and incredibly serious conclusion.
“This is why it’s potentially so damaging to his base and to an awful lot of people within the White House.
“‘Draining the swamp’ might reveal some very unpleasant things.”
Main image: United States Representative Jared Moskowitz (Democrat of Florida) holds a photo board featuring a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. Picture by: Rod Lamkey/CNP/Sipa USA.
