How MAGA's Epstein obsession underscores conspiracy theorists' 'merger' with the GOP

30 April

Never Trump conservatives cringe whenever QAnon's name is mentioned, often citing the far-right conspiracy movement as a prime example of why they hold the MAGA movement in such low regard. Yet many allies of President Donald Trump's allies have a history of promoting QAnon's conspiracy theories, from FBI Director Kash Patel to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia).

In an article published on April 30, Salon's Amanda Marcotte details QAnon's influence on the modern GOP and the MAGA movement's "fixation on" the late Jeffrey Epstein.

"It seemed as though QAnon was everywhere a few years ago," Marcotte explains, "but in recent months, the name of this infamous Donald Trump-worshipping cult has faded from headlines. Sadly, it's not because they went away. Instead, the already-porous boundary between the mainstream GOP and the conspiracy cult has collapsed completely. Elected Republican leaders now spend taxpayer money hyping debunked conspiracy theories, while popular MAGA influencers keep up a steady stream of ever-stranger claims that mysterious forces run the world — and are, of course, out to get Trump. The surest sign of the merger of QAnon and the larger GOP is the right's obsession with the Jeffrey Epstein case."

Marcotte continues, "At first blush, you'd think MAGA thought leaders would want to throw the story down the memory hole, since Trump was a close friend and a big fan of the deceased rapist. Instead, MAGA pundits and news outlets have become obsessed with finding the fictional 'Epstein files,' which they falsely believe will produce a 'client list' kept by the infamous sex trafficker. QAnon is the key to understanding the MAGA fixation on Epstein."

Marcotte notes that on Friday, April 25, Virginia Giuffre — one of Epstein's victims — died from suicide. QAnon conspiracy theorists are claiming, without evidence, that she was murdered.

"The central QAnon belief is that a secret cabal of Satanic pedophilic Democrats runs much of the world and that Trump is prophesied to be a savior who will expose them all," the Salon journalist observes. "They now hang their hopes on the belief that the mythical 'Epstein files' will fulfill the prophecy. But even though Trump now controls the federal government and has appointed lickspittles to run the Justice Department (DOJ) and FBI, those 'Epstein files' keep not showing up. The reason is that they don't exist."

Marcotte adds, "Rather than level with the conspiracists and risk losing them forever, however, Trump and his team keep lying. Trump said they'd be here in 'two weeks' — over a month ago. Attorney General Pam Bondi showily gave them binders of 'Epstein files,' which proved to be just the already public information, because there isn't any more…. On Friday, the MAGA restlessness reached a new level after the news that Virginia Giuffre, one of the most outspoken Epstein victims, died by suicide."

Amanda Marcotte's full article for Salon is available at this link.

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