FLASH
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The president's ardent supporters have spent the past decade attacking enemies ranging from Barack Obama and the deep state to undocumented immigrants and transgender children. Now they have a new target: Donald Trump himself.
A wave of anger and frustration has swept through Donald Trump's most loyal base, known as the MAGA movement, after the president's failure to fulfill his long-standing promise: the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The scandal is shaking one of the strongest political alliances of the last decade and putting Trump himself at the center of accusations he has leveled at others for years - including the "deep state."
Hard-right supporters, from Tucker Carlson to Laura Loomer to Steve Bannon, have sharply criticized the way the Trump administration and the Justice Department have handled the Epstein case, especially after the FBI announced that the “secret client list” that Epstein was thought to have used for blackmail did not exist. Instead of clarifying, the statement has deepened suspicions and fueled conspiracies within MAGA itself.
Part of the movement now sees Trump as “colluding” with the corrupt structures he once promised to destroy. Many supporters accuse him of hiding the truth and protecting elites, an irony for a leader who became a symbol of the battle against the establishment.
The culmination of the revolt came when the Wall Street Journal published news that Trump had sent Epstein a lewd letter in 2003, which included a drawing of a naked woman with his signature. Trump denied authorship and responded by suing Rupert Murdoch and the WSJ journalists for defamation.
In an attempt to defuse the crisis, Trump used his Social Truth platform, blaming the opposition for a “radical leftist attack” and calling the issue a “fabricated one.” He even criticized his followers as “weak” for believing “lies.” The response was dramatic: some burned MAGA hats in protest.
Pressure continued to mount within Republican ranks. Former Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Mike Johnson called for the full release of the documents. Elon Musk, a strong Trump supporter, also blasted accusations of a cover-up.
For political analysts, this moment represents a rare turning point: the movement that was fed by conspiracies is now rebelling against their source. Trump, who gained political ground by propagating theories like the Obama birther theory or the “election theft” lie, is facing the consequences of a reality he can no longer control.
Writer Charlie Sykes describes the situation as “the ghost of Epstein haunting Trump more than any other crisis.” He adds: “Trump is a product and propagator of conspiracy theories and is now being swallowed up by the very narrative he created.”
On the other hand, Democrats are trying to exploit the crisis, but analysts like Steve Schmidt criticize the lack of a coordinated response: "This is the moment to hit Trump when he is weakened and alone, but Democrats act as if they don't understand the importance."
A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that 69% of Americans believe the government is hiding information about Epstein. Only 6% believe otherwise. This figure demonstrates not only a crisis of trust, but also a real danger for Trump in the run-up to the upcoming election.
For some, the disillusionment of the MAGA base could translate into voter abstinence. “A lot of those who voted for Trump are not ordinary Republicans, they are believers in a mission. And when their leader betrays that mission, they just back off,” says former congressman Joe Walsh.
And in the end, as he himself summed it up: “Trump’s real legacy is the destruction of truth. But it is ironic that one of his very lies may be the one that will crucify him politically.”/ Taken with abbreviations from “The Guardian”
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