Saturday, July 19, 2025

‘The Ghost of Epstein Is Haunting Trump’s Presidency’: Inside the ‘Maga’ Revolt

THE GUARDIAN: As pressure builds over the president’s broken promise to publicly release details about the convicted sex offender, his base has a new target: Trump himself

“Ifeel so betrayed and so angry. This is not what I voted for.” “This cemented permanent deep state power.” “I’m concerned about being able to trust Donald Trump to keep his word.” “What about justice for these young ladies who were trafficked? What about their justice? Don’t they deserve justice?”

These were just a few of the calls that besieged conservative radio hosts across the US this week. The president’s ardent supporters spent the past decade fulminating over various foes, from Barack Obama and the deep state to undocumented immigrants and transgender children. Now they have a new target: Donald Trump himself.

The “Make America Great Again” (Maga) base is in revolt as never before. The trigger was Trump’s broken promise to publicly release details about Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, who was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking minors when he died in jail in 2019. » | David Smith in Washington | Sarurday, July 19, 2025