Donald Trump's grip on the Epstein spin cycle is finally starting to slip. The former US president has spent years benefiting from QAnon's fixation on Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier and registered sex offender, but the complex web of misinformation surrounding him has spun out of control.
The QAnon conspiracy theory, which emerged in late 2017, posited that a cabal of Democrat and Hollywood elites were behind a supposed global sex trafficking ring. Epstein was initially mentioned just two weeks into QAnon's existence and became a key character in the community's narrative. The movement's leader, "Q," repeatedly returned to the topic of Epstein, claiming the financier had a "dungeon (beneath the temple)" on his island with "sex & torture rooms."
Trump quickly cast himself as the hero of this narrative, working against the "deep state" to expose the demons and bring about "the storm." However, he was also careful to use QAnon's fever dreams to his benefit, famously praising its followers ahead of the 2020 election. Trump even supported Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's congressional campaign after she began promoting QAnon.
But as Epstein was arrested and charged in July 2019 with sex trafficking of minors, QAnon celebrated, believing the "storm" had finally arrived. When Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell a month later, many felt Q was vindicated. Others claimed Epstein was still alive, rescued by the cabal to prevent their identities being unmasked.
Despite early signs that QAnon followers' fever dreams would be fulfilled, Trump's attempts to control the narrative around Epstein soon became clear. In February, attorney general Pam Bondi said the Epstein client list was "sitting" on her desk, and binders of Epstein files were handed out to right-wing influencers. However, in July, the FBI and Department of Justice concluded there was no client list, sparking an enormous backlash among Trump's supporters.
The situation escalated further last week when the Committee on House Oversight and Government Reform released a trove of 20,000 documents. The QAnon community became convinced that Trump was about to expose the cabal, but many now believe the documents actually show Trump acting as an informant for the FBI against Epstein.
As the release of these documents is imminent, it seems clear that Trump's grip on the Epstein spin cycle is finally starting to slip. Some on the right, including antisemitic influencer Nick Fuentes and right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, have slammed Trump for breaking his promises on Epstein. Even Greene, once his staunchest ally in Congress, appears angrier than anyone.
It seems that Trump has realized he's no longer in control of the narrative around Epstein, and so has reversed course, saying Republican lawmakers should vote in favor of releasing the files. However, as we can see, it won't be long before the truth comes out, and when it does, it could be too late for Trump to salvage his reputation on this matter.
The QAnon conspiracy theory, which emerged in late 2017, posited that a cabal of Democrat and Hollywood elites were behind a supposed global sex trafficking ring. Epstein was initially mentioned just two weeks into QAnon's existence and became a key character in the community's narrative. The movement's leader, "Q," repeatedly returned to the topic of Epstein, claiming the financier had a "dungeon (beneath the temple)" on his island with "sex & torture rooms."
Trump quickly cast himself as the hero of this narrative, working against the "deep state" to expose the demons and bring about "the storm." However, he was also careful to use QAnon's fever dreams to his benefit, famously praising its followers ahead of the 2020 election. Trump even supported Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's congressional campaign after she began promoting QAnon.
But as Epstein was arrested and charged in July 2019 with sex trafficking of minors, QAnon celebrated, believing the "storm" had finally arrived. When Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell a month later, many felt Q was vindicated. Others claimed Epstein was still alive, rescued by the cabal to prevent their identities being unmasked.
Despite early signs that QAnon followers' fever dreams would be fulfilled, Trump's attempts to control the narrative around Epstein soon became clear. In February, attorney general Pam Bondi said the Epstein client list was "sitting" on her desk, and binders of Epstein files were handed out to right-wing influencers. However, in July, the FBI and Department of Justice concluded there was no client list, sparking an enormous backlash among Trump's supporters.
The situation escalated further last week when the Committee on House Oversight and Government Reform released a trove of 20,000 documents. The QAnon community became convinced that Trump was about to expose the cabal, but many now believe the documents actually show Trump acting as an informant for the FBI against Epstein.
As the release of these documents is imminent, it seems clear that Trump's grip on the Epstein spin cycle is finally starting to slip. Some on the right, including antisemitic influencer Nick Fuentes and right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, have slammed Trump for breaking his promises on Epstein. Even Greene, once his staunchest ally in Congress, appears angrier than anyone.
It seems that Trump has realized he's no longer in control of the narrative around Epstein, and so has reversed course, saying Republican lawmakers should vote in favor of releasing the files. However, as we can see, it won't be long before the truth comes out, and when it does, it could be too late for Trump to salvage his reputation on this matter.
at all! trump's got himself into some serious hot water over epstein. like, come on man, how could you use qanon to your advantage but also get caught up in their wild conspiracy theories? 
it's kinda funny actually, because now he's trying to distance himself from it, but i think the damage is already done.
and that the 20k documents are finally being released. this should be some juicy stuff for sure! and let's be real, if trump was really working with the fbi to take down epstein, then he would've done it a long time ago. it's all about timing and politics, you know?
. i mean, they're already pretty extreme in their views, so it'll be interesting to see if they can handle a little embarrassment.
now he's just trying to save face and flip the script 
btw i'm low-key impressed that marjorie taylor greene is slamming him over this 
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. It's almost like he got in over his head with all those conspiracy theories and couldn't control them anymore 
. The fact that the FBI documents are showing Trump working as an informant against Epstein... it's just wild thinking 
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. And now that Greene and Fuentes are slamming Trump for his flip-flop on the Epstein files... it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out 
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. She was totally on board with Trump's plans, and then suddenly she's all mad? It just seems like a lot of people are jumping off the QAnon bandwagon without thinking about where they're going 
. And what about Trump's allies? Fuentes and Owens are getting slammed for their own hate speech 
, but at least they're being honest about it.
. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out 
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. Greene, Fuentes, and Owens are all mad at him, which is great to see 
. Trump's lost control of the narrative, and it's not going to end well for him 
anyway, i'm kinda surprised trump managed to cling to this one for so long, like he thought everyone would just swallow the whole "deep state" thing whole 
and honestly, marjorie taylor greene? girl bye 
. It's like the whole thing has come crashing down around his ears, and I'm not sure even he can revive it now 
He used Epstein as a pawn all along, but now that the truth is out, he's trying to distance himself from it 
I mean, come on, man... if you were going to use this narrative for your own gain, wouldn't you want to be more careful about how it all goes down? 
Trump's grip on Epstein is slipping fast... like a deck of cards falling apart 
His attempt to spin the narrative around Epstein was always suspect 
But now that the documents are coming out, it's clear he played both sides against each other 
And that's not all, folks... his allies are starting to turn on him 
Greene and Fuentes are giving him a hard time, which is gonna be entertaining to watch 
The fact that some of these right-wing influencers are calling him out for breaking his promises on Epstein is a sign that even some of them aren't buying it anymore... 
? It's like he was trying to keep the spotlight on himself by associating with these crazy fans. And now it seems like his grip is finally slipping 
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, using the Epstein narrative to whip up his base and keep them in line. But now it looks like he's lost control of the ball, and those same folks are turning on him 
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... I'm both morbidly curious and totally concerned about where this is gonna go 
isn't that wild?
and then trump just rode on that wave to his advantage 
maybe someone can explain to me how this whole thing works? 