How Epstein, Iran, and Paramount define Trump

And how his actions in the last five weeks may erode -- or even end -- his power.

What did the president know and when did he know it?

This was a famous question during the Watergate scandal, and it is just as apropos today as it was in 1973. If Donald Trump is indeed trying to cover up his involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring — and using the Department of Justice to do his personal bidding in the cover-up — it is absolutely a scandal of Watergatian proportions.

But this is Trump we’re talking about. So I am under no illusions that the normal rules of a scandal apply here, that somehow the third attempt to impeach the king president will prove the charm.

And yet . . . and yet . . .

Here is the thing about the last five weeks of the Trump presidency. It is not just the revelations of Trump using DOJ to quash the Epstein files — after promising that he would release those files if he returned to the White House. It is the fact that this was revealed only weeks after he launched air strikes on Iran — after promising that he would end American involvement in foreign conflicts.

Why are those things connected?

Because they both completely violate two of the animating obsessions of Trump’s MAGA and QAnon base. The diehards in this base are committed less to any one particular politician and more to a conspiracy theory worldview that sees politics as dominated by a sinister cabal of globalist elites: this is the foundation of “Pizzagate” (in which Hillary Clinton was supposedly part of a sex ring run out of a pizzeria in DC), of their fixation on the JFK assassination (and their theory that JFK Jr. did not actually die in a plane crash but was forced into hiding), of Marjorie Taylor Greene (a QAnon supporter) and her thoughts on “Jewish space lasers.” The latter point is especially telling, as the word “globalist” is often just a dog-whistle for “Jewish.”

QAnon calculations of Trump’s position within the globalist pedophile conspiracy.

Trump’s bombing of Iran was Strike One for the base. MAGA’s isolationism and “America First” mantra turned out to be something they actually believed, whereas for Trump it was just a political expediency, something he just said to get elected.

When Trump had a choice between pleasing the base (by refraining from getting involved in the war between Israel and Iran) and pleasing donors and other big-money and/or powerful interests (including anyone who supports the Israeli, Saudi, Emirati, or Qatari governments), he chose the money and the power.

This was something that comes as no surprise at all to those of us who have opposed Trump for a decade. But this appears to have been a first wakeup call in MAGAland — the dawning realization that Trump is 100% narrowly and cravenly transactional. Pay him off enough, and he’ll do whatever you want. And so he chose the big-money and powerful folks over the base — and it should very much be noted, he chose Israel over the base.

This crack in the coalition was fresh when Trump committed Strike Two on Epstein. And the combination of the two threatens to be a truly seismic event in the GOP base.

Suddenly the cult followers have to ask themselves: Is Trump actually the savior we thought he was, battling the globalist elites — or is he actually ONE OF THE GLOBALIST ELITES? And maybe even the KING, the EMPEROR, the CENTER of the globalist elites??!?

Again, there is really zero surprise here for any of us in the Resistance. Of course Trump is a predator. Of course Trump is a billionaire elite flying off in private jets to private islands. Of course Trump was BFFs with Epstein — the evidence has been out there for years and years.

But the MAGA/QAnon folks could mentally wave all of that away. It’s all fake, a hoax, they told themselves. That was just the globalists and libtards trying to attack Trump, they thought. Trump didn’t really have anything to do with Epstein, they believed.

To be confronted with new evidence — not only of how close Trump and Epstein were but also of how much Trump has used the FBI and DOJ to hide all the evidence — right now, on the heels of the Iran betrayal? When both inner-circle loyalists of Trump and right-wing media moguls¹ have all given massive credence to the latest allegations?

Suddenly these allegations are breaking through the bubble in which Trump’s hardcore supporters surround themselves. And much more crucially, these betrayals have now forced the MAGA and QAnon base to choose.

Do you believe and trust Trump? Or do you believe and trust the conspiracy-theory worldview that you immerse yourself in both online and in the company you keep, the events and rallies you attend, everything.

Do you believe Trump? Or do you believe your tribe?

Politicians are expendable. Worldviews and tribes are more durable. And Trump may find this out the hard way. And even if it does not end his presidency, it could cut short his effective power, rendering him a lame duck, not to mention completely torching any ability he might have to seize an unconstitutional third term.

Meanwhile, there is yet another betrayal in the works — not likely to generate as severe a rupture as the first two, but one that may yet have some significant impact for Trump. That would bring us to the Paramount merger.

Trump, all the way back in his first race in 2015-16, promised to “drain the swamp,” and he has of course crowned himself Emperor of the Alligators pretty much since the first day of his first administration. We in the Resistance know this.

But a lot of the corruption from Trump has been complicated and difficult to explain. We know what the Emoluments Clause is, but if we think that’s going to resonate with anyone who isn’t a weirdo politics and government junkie (i.e. most people), think again. We also know what USAID is. Or what the CFPB is. But try explaining the very existence of either agency to someone who isn’t a news junkie — let alone the details of Trump’s and Elon Musk’s attempts to butcher those agencies — and you have unwittingly discovered a non-addictive cure for insomnia.

Yet the Paramount situation presents a clear case of corruption that everyone can understand:

• Paramount wanted government approval for a merger.

• Paramount owns CBS.

• Trump filed a totally bullshit lawsuit against CBS for a story they did on 60 Minutes.

• Trump hates CBS’s late-night talk show host, Stephen Colbert, who had been critical of Trump.

• In early July, CBS coughed up $36 million to Trump to settle the lawsuit.

• In late July, CBS fired Stephen Colbert.

• A few days later, the Trump administration approved the Paramount merger.

This is not rocket science. Everyone knows what CBS is. Everyone knows what 60 Minutes is. Everyone knows who Stephen Colbert is.

And anyone can see that this was bribery.

So much for draining the swamp.

Now, will this damage Trump’s standing with the MAGA faithful? Maybe a bit, especially given the cumulative impact of Strike One and Strike Two above. But there’s a bigger picture consequence here: Trump has now created a simple-to-understand case study of his own corruption that independents and moderates can latch onto, in a way that he has never done before.

Could these self-inflicted wounds thwart Trump’s ability to enact his agenda? Could they deliver a Democratic majority in the midterms? Could they actually result in investigations in Congress, calls for a special counsel, calls for Trump to either release the Epstein files or resign? All while erstwhile Trump loyalists start breaking with him and testing the waters for their own power grabs in a post-Trump universe?

Let’s say we have a lot more to talk about soon — and we will.

1. Oh yes, I have plenty to say about Trump’s insanely desperate attempt to silence Rupert Murdoch and the Wall Street Journal. More on that soon.