Trump turns against right-wing media and his own supporters over Epstein
To add to that is the hardball political reality behind his failing effort to hush the scandal surrounding the decased sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein: The right-wing talking heads with the biggest audiences are starting to turn on him.
Perhaps they are having pangs of conscience. Perhaps they are starting to think about their paychecks, their influence and their future livelihoods once Trump exits the stage.
Whatever their motives, those top voices in the Trump media echo chamber deserve credit for keeping their spotlight on the Epstein case. And it is a good-faith effort, because the central truth is that countless young women were abused.
It is deeply troubling that the justice system failed those young women. The plea deal given to Epstein in 2008, which allowed him to plead guilty to prostitution and not more serious charges of sex-trafficking, can only be politely described as 'suspicious.' Even Epstein's death by suicide prompted reasonable doubt and questions about possible foul play.
Huge payments to Epstein by several of the nation's richest men remain unexplained to this day. And both Trump and former President Bill Clinton had close personal ties to Epstein.
Since World War II, the U.S. media has had to fight the government to learn the truth about the Kennedy assassination, President Nixon's role in the Watergate scandal and bogus claims that weapons of mass destruction were secretly held in Iraq.
Americans searching for hidden truths kept digging while most big newspapers and broadcast networks played the whole thing down as a kooky preoccupation for weirdos. Without strong investigative reporting, a hothouse culture of conspiracy theories grew on supermarket scandal sheets and extremist radio shows. With the rise of the internet, the conspiracy culture also took root on websites and podcasts.
Beyond new technology, the rise of conservative media is tied to its 'free-for-all' embrace of conspiracy theories that generated click-bait and created cults of true believers. Today, the biggest papers and networks are in the background. They follow stories from conservative media as the authentic voice of the right-wing base that allows Trump to dominate the Republican Party.
Even if those stories are false, they are now news. They gained in strength when Trump's supporters believed the lie that the 2020 election had been stolen and some attacked police officers as they stormed the U.S. Capitol.
The Epstein case is an earthquake for Trump and his base because the man now keeping secrets is the one who was previously advertised by conservative media as their dragon-slayer. He was elevated as a counterforce to the big newspapers and the elite, highly educated people who dismissed the common man's search for truth.
Now Trump is busy attacking his own followers as foolish for buying 'into this 'bulls—', hook, line and sinker' and called them 'weaklings.' He is also trying to distract his fans by releasing new files on Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination and sending out minions to make baseless, long-dismissed charges of treason against former President Barack Obama.
Trump has also filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its owner Rupert Murdoch for reporting that Trump once sent a 'bawdy birthday card' to Epstein. (Full disclosure: Murdoch's News Corp also owns the New York Post and Fox News Media, where I have served as a political analyst for nearly three decades.)
Trump's strategy of distraction is nothing new. Fifty-five years ago, Republican Vice President Spiro Agnew tried to deflect attention from his own corruption scandal by attacking the media, calling them 'the nattering nabobs of negativism.'
It didn't work. Agnew ultimately resigned the vice presidency in disgrace rather than face prosecution for his crimes.
Thirty-three years ago, Republican President George H.W. Bush attempted to revive his reelection campaign in the face of indictments tied to the Iran-Contra scandal. He handed out bumper stickers at rallies with the slogan, ' Annoy the Media, Re-Elect Bush.'
The conservative-slanted media was still in its infancy when Agnew and Bush made their feeble attempts at distraction. Now, Trump is aiming his fire and fury at a full-grown conservative media ecosystem. These are the very loud voices that elevated him, elected him and re-elected him.
One of the MAGA media universe's core narratives is that Epstein ran an underage sex trafficking ring for the richest and most powerful people in the country — and that the government was covering it up. Two of the loudest voices promoting this theory were Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, now serving as director and deputy director of the FBI, respectively.
'I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain,' former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) famously said during hearings on the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. She is looking like a prophet.
In a striking exchange last week, MAGA-friendly podcast host Tim Dillon revealed that Vice President JD Vance invited him to a private dinner to spin him on the Epstein story. When the vice president is deployed to sway a podcaster, it only reinforces the perception that the Trump administration is involved in a cover-up.
Right-wing voices are right to keep the Epstein story alive. Even if it is only to keep the clicks coming, it must also be said that they are heeding Cheney's warning about 'dishonor.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nexus card applications no longer accepting 'X' gender marker
Canadians who apply for a new or renewed Nexus card can no longer select an "X" gender marker on their applications, and instead must choose either "M" or "F." The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirmed the change in a statement on Tuesday, saying it followed U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order in January that the U.S. will only recognize male or female on documents such as visas and passports. The corresponding changes by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also changed the application process for Nexus cards, the CBSA said in an email to CBC News. The change went into effect in February, it said. The Nexus program, run jointly by the CBSA and CBP, allows card holders to fast-track through customs and security lines at airports and land crossings. While many use the cards for cross-border travel, some use them primarily for shorter wait times while travelling within Canada. The CBSA says there were more than 1.8 million program members in April 2024, "with the majority of members being Canadian." WATCH | Transgender people in the U.S. say they're worried: The agency says Canadians who currently have a valid Nexus card with an "X" will still have the document recognized, but they will no longer be able to choose "X" when it comes time to renew or replace their cards. Trump's executive order declared federal agencies will only recognize "two sexes, male and female," which "are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality." The presidential order said passports and other forms of government-issued identification must reflect the sex assigned at birth. The website for the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs, the agency that issues passports, said it will "only issue passports with an 'M' or 'F' sex marker that match the customer's biological sex at birth" and will no longer use the "X" marker for nonbinary people, citing Trump's order. Canada began recognizing the "X" marker on passports for those who don't identify as male or female in 2019. About 3,600 Canadians had the marker on their passports as of 2021, according to the federal government. The CBSA says Canadians with an "X" marker on their passport can continue to use it to apply for a Nexus card, even though that marker cannot be used on the card itself. Statistics Canada data shows there are more than 100,000 transgender or non-binary people across the country. The Canadian government website warns people with gender-neutral passports they "may face entry restrictions into some countries that do not recognize your gender." LISTEN | Advocacy group on what Canadians should know for travel:
New York Post
7 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump envoy Witkoff urged to take tough approach with Putin in make-or-break meeting to end Ukraine war before sanctions
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin one more chance to show he's serious about ending his 41-month-old invasion of Ukraine. As more than six months have passed with no diplomatic progress, well-placed sources tell The Post special envoy Steve Witkoff has been encouraged to take a sterner approach with Moscow's leader ahead of Wednesday's make-or-break meeting — in line with President Trump's recent expressions of disgust at Putin's continued attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Whether Witkoff will take that advice remains unclear. Advertisement 3 President Trump is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin one last chance to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine that started over 3 years ago. via REUTERS A spokesperson for the special envoy declined to comment on the record for this story. Meanwhile, the White House national security team responsible for the Ukraine war held multiple meetings on Tuesday, trying to work out how Washington might best persuade Russia to silence its guns, according to people familiar with the matter. Advertisement Trump himself said Tuesday he would wait to see how the sitdown went before making a final decision on whether to enact secondary sanctions and slapping more tariffs on countries that provide Russia with its main source of income: oil purchases. 'We have a meeting with Russia tomorrow, we're going to see what happens. We'll make a determination at that time,' said the president, before denying that he had promised to set the additional rates at 100% — as he appeared to suggest last month. 'I never said a percentage, but we'll be doing quite a bit of that. We'll see what happens over the next fairly short period of time.' 3 U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will allegedly take a sterner approach in the crucial make-or-break meeting on Wednesday in an effort for the war in Ukraine to end for good. Getty Images Advertisement A source familiar with discussions insisted that sanctions are not inevitable when Trump's deadline is reached Friday, saying the administration is 'pushing hard for a deal. That's always the president's preferred outcome.' As part of his prep, Witkoff has been briefed on the historical motivations behind Putin's war on Ukraine — namely his desire to reconstitute as much of the former Soviet Union as possible, according to a US official. Last month, as Trump's rhetoric toward Moscow began to toughen, Special Presidential Envoy to Ukraine retired Gen. Keith Kellogg said that the president 'now realizes that Putin is not a business partner.' 3 President Trump said he'll see if tomorrow's sit-down will be effective before making a final decision on whether he'll slap more tariffs on Russia. REUTERS Advertisement The commander in chief — so often praised for his businesslike, transactional approach to politics — is up against a ruler who represents the opposite of that approach. That's why the earlier, more cordial approach — complete with Witkoff jovially greeting Putin at the Kremlin — did not work, according to one source. Subsequent offers of reduced sanctions and off-ramps for Russia to end its war were also not enough to persuade Moscow to change its calculus. Russia, for its part, is hoping for more of the same. Witkoff's Wednesday trip comes at the behest of the Kremlin, which invited the envoy after Trump threatened to levy the secondary sanctions. Meanwhile, as Trump's words toward Putin have grown increasingly harsh, Kremlin thought leaders have been denigrating the US president on X. Russian philosopher and Putin confidant Alexander Dugin declared Monday that Trump was crazy, an about-face from a year ago, when Dugin — nicknamed 'Putin's brain' for his purported heavy influence on the Russian leader — endorsed Trump for president in 2024. 'I come to very sad conclusion: Donald Trump is totally mad. It is the shame. We loved him,' Dugin posted to X. Last week, ex-Russian president and current deputy chair of the Kremlin's security council Dmitry Medvedev also blasted Trump for threatening sanctions.
The Hill
7 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump Creates Task Force For 2028 Olympics In LA, Predicts USA Victories And Gold Medals
President Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order establishing a task force to oversee the 2028 Summer Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.
