MAGA conspiracy theorists had to engage in Simone Biles-level mental gymnastics over the years as they have seen countless claims by Donald Trump be debunked or turned into nothingburgers.
It turns out Barack Obama was an American citizen the whole time. Osama Bin Laden was actually killed by Navy SEALs. John F. Kennedy Jr. is not coming back. The “Pizzagate” restaurant was really just a place that sold pizza. And of course, the election of 2020 was not stolen.
These conspiracy-lovers never faltered in their support for the president, even as they continually had to explain why the claims he made kept turning out to be false. Because their gymnastics mostly lead to the ultimate conspiracy: the deep state.
It’s easy to see why people would embrace the idea of a deep state and why they viewed Trump as the person to fight against it. In 1958, 73 percent of Americans trusted the government. That number is now at 22 percent. Vietnam, Watergate and Iraq, among other disasters, led to drops in government trust. It is not just MAGA voters who feel this way. Black Americans, ultra-liberals, women, libertarians, Indigenous Americans and a whole slew of other demographics all have legitimate reasons not to trust Washington.
We all know this is one of the reasons for Trump’s electoral success and continued support. Even during his first term, as his promises to lock up Hillary Clinton went broken, there was an excuse. The deep state was working against him. He needed total control of the government to finally dismantle the vast shadow government that thwarted his plans in the first term.
People believed him and supported the Department of Government Efficiency, dubious federal appointments, the dismantling of government agencies and purges on non-loyalists as proof that the deep state would finally be destroyed.
Then came the current Jeffrey Epstein public relations nightmare. Now, Trump finds himself in a very unusual position. The very case he used to illustrate the scope of the deep state is now revealing to his most ardent supporters that the emperor is naked — and perhaps they’ll even conclude that he might even be on this alleged Epstein list himself.
Non-MAGA conspiracy theorists aren’t shocked at all. All you have to do is Google “Trump and Epstein” and you will see dozens of photos of them hanging out in various places over a long period of time. (For what it’s worth, the same applies when you Google “Trump and Diddy“). It is well known that the two have had a connection. But MAGA supporters wanted to see these files because they are convinced that it reveals not just the elites who were involved in the trafficking of women, but also that the federal system went to great lengths to protect said elites.
Now, MAGA loyalists are seeing their deep-state savior do everything possible to hide, minimize and convince them that the conspiracy he has been selling them never existed in the first place.
For Democrats, this is the Achilles heel they have long searched for. Trump can no longer claim there is a conspiracy that blocks transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein. So now, the conspiracy has reached its end. It will be virtually impossible for Trump not to release files that he and his attorney general, Pam Bondi, both said existed, before saying they didn’t. And any release of files after this last week’s circus will only cast additional doubts on their authenticity.
Trump already took to social media to say the files were written by Barack Obama and Joe Biden, a post that appeared after his own Department of Justice last week said there were no files. Trump infamously claimed he loved the “poorly educated,” but these people aren’t that.
They have had a deep distrust of the government for some time. Now will this Epstein fiasco make people trust the government more than Trump? No. But it can undermine the trust Trump has with his base. Every Democrat who is even thinking of running in 2028 should already be calling for Trump to release the files and reminding his voters that he alone is keeping them from being released.
And they should do this with any conspiracy that Trump floats from here on out, because he can no longer pretend there is a deep state in the way. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is already leading the way, pushing for a House vote to demand the release of the files. House Republicans might have to choose between their loyalty to Trump and having their vote eternally memorialized as protection of the deep state.
For the upcoming race, all Democratic candidates should badger their Republican counterparts on why they are supporting Trump’s lack of transparency.
Of course, Trump and his acolytes will have talking points, but if this weekend’s Truth Social post is an indication, it will be hard to spin this one. Democrats have been waiting for years to fracture the trust between Trump and his most ardent supporters. They finally have an arrow to aim at his Achilles heel. The only question is whether they will hit it or miss.
Jos Joseph is a published writer and is a graduate of the Harvard Extension School and Ohio State University. He is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. He currently lives in Anaheim, Calif.
