President Donald Trump has been known to embrace a conspiracy theory or two during his political career. So it is no small irony that his administration's attempt to debunk theories surrounding the 2019 jailhouse death of Jeffrey Epstein is producing a backlash from the president's biggest fans.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones "melted down" after the Justice Department said there was no evidence Epstein was murdered or had a "client list" of famous and powerful people who participated in his crimes against underage women, said HuffPost. The DOJ announcement is "over the top sickening," Jones wrote on X. He was not alone. Right-wing figures like Laura Loomer, Jack Posobiec and Tim Pool also criticized the findings. White House officials privately acknowledged the announcement was playing badly with Trump's "fiercely conspiracist" supporters, said Rolling Stone. Trump's MAGA fans are "gonna be so mad at us," said one anonymous official.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel had previously "egged on" theories about the so-called "Epstein Files," said Vox. Now the two "can't — or won't — deliver" on previous promises. For right-wingers "deeply bought into" Epstein theories, then, there are two possible conclusions: Either Trump, Bondi and Patel are "getting snowed" by the deep state, or "they're knowing participants in the cover-up."
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The backlash highlights how the Trump administration is "in hock to some of the most deranged conspiracy theorists imaginable," said Matt Gertz at Media Matters for America. The right-wing media ecosystem is "built to manufacture and distribute conspiracy theories" for an audience eager to believe them. Bondi and Patel "boosted their standing" with Trump supporters by "echoing" claims that an "Epstein reckoning was imminent." Their inability to deliver on those claims once in power was inevitable. The administration "trapped itself."
"This is what happens when the dog catches the car," said Chris Cillizza at The Daily Beast. Trump and his allies "spent years attacking" the so-called "Deep State." Now they have become it. The problem with conspiracy thinking is "you can't just tell people to turn it off" when it becomes inconvenient. Bondi and others stoked the notion that they could and would expose a "Democratic cover-up" involving Epstein for short-term plaudits and to gain power. Having "spread those seeds and watered them for years," the Trump administration cannot stop the conspiracist flowers from blooming.
What next?
The Epstein announcement is one of several issues creating "unrest in the MAGA ranks," said The Washington Post. Trump is also advocating for a new policy that would "spare swaths of migrant workers from deportations" while resuming weapons shipments to Ukraine. The MAGA movement has "never been in more turmoil," said a "person close to Trump." One person who wants to take advantage: Elon Musk. He wants to make the Epstein Files a priority for his new "America Party," said The Hill.
Trump himself could avoid the backlash. Fox News joined the "MAGA meltdown" over Epstein, said The Independent. Network commentators like Jesse Watters steered clear of directly criticizing the president, however. Watters instead blamed "the feds" and Bondi. "This stinks," Watters said on his Monday night show. "This just reeks!"
