Stories continue to trickle out about Trump’s connections to Epstein and the influence of the Department of Justice and the FBI in protecting the president. In its attempt to quash a conspiracy, Trump has given the conspiracy more oxygen than any single action over the past year or so.
The Trump base was not supposed to be interested in Epstein revelations at this point. They have been primed for years to ignore the obvious connections between Trump and Epstein, shown through dozens of news stories, photographs, and interviews over the years. The use of Epstein theories as a vague cudgel against Democrats was successful in helping Trump win the presidency for a second time in 2024. All Trump needed to do was make a perfunctory announcement like he had done in the past with JFK or UFOs and his base would go home happy.
Trump’s Mistakes
Instead, Trump made several obvious mistakes in handling this massive conspiracy. The first was in Trump’s buildup of the Epstein files over the past six months. The president tried to milk months of conspiratorial frenzy and excitement over the Epstein files even after using them to win reelection. He could have let them go like so many other election-year gambits of politicians who knew better and shirked away once the votes came in. But Trump continued to hype up the files for no other reason than his movement’s craven enjoyment of exciting their base. Like Al Capone’s vault, building up the files made the inevitable letdown that much more deflating.
Then, when Trump did release some promised information, he made several unforced errors that showed a total lack of interest in how conspiracy theories spread. Conspiracies are fueled by any indication that a government or official entity is lying to the public or covering up information. The missing three minutes of Epstein cell footage is exactly the sort of mistake that entire books are written on in the conspiracy theory world. This release, followed by a frenzied response to a leaked Epstein letter, only fanned the flames of conspiracy far more than a simple report or disclosure several months later would have.
Conclusion
Trump’s handling of the Epstein saga may point to greater culpability than is currently realized. But laziness and inattention are likelier explanations. The Trump team is similar to the RFK Jr. team that put made-up statistics into an official report, or the Secretary of Defense who added a reporter to a sensitive military discussion. One of the downsides of filling the government with non-professionals is that they do not treat the business of government like a professional would. They rush, cut corners, take shortcuts, and do things without considering the implications. Such mistakes are often missed with copied-and-pasted governmental reports or post office namings in Congress. But they can cause real-world harm or doom a politician’s social standing in many other settings.
The Trump administration is realizing it will not be able to stumble and bluster its way through the Epstein fiasco. Stories will continue to come out focused on the scandal and its implications. Republicans will likely keep flailing as they try to find the perfect angle that excuses their leader’s behavior without minimizing the enormity of Epstein’s crimes. While Democrats have been furious at the general sloppiness and mismanagement of current leadership, they are likely thrilled at its inability to do things competently in this particular field.
