On believers – Th Economist:

‘You are a rational person. When someone says the moon landings were faked, or that 9/11 was an inside job, you do not conclude that they must be in the know. Why, then, should you pay any attention to Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories, which have been swirling around since the last year of George W. Bush’s presidency, when Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to procuring a child for prostitution. When everyone in America’s infotainment ecosystem is competing for attention, Epstein content generates more Epstein content until something else comes along to displace it. Ignoring this stuff seems wise. Yet there are reasons why a rational sceptic should spend a few minutes thinking conspiratorially.
Dumb as they are, some conspiracy theories are consequential. There have been at least 1,200 cases of measles in America this year because lots of people believe that the side-effects of the measles vaccine have been covered up. One of those people is the president of the United States (who has taken every position on vaccines).’

(…)

‘There was a real man called Jeffrey Epstein who became rich by managing money for private clients. He was acquainted with many powerful people, including the current president of the United States (who, the Wall Street Journal scooped, sent him a 50th-birthday card that read: “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”) Epstein was initially treated leniently by prosecutors. He hanged himself in prison in 2019.’

(…)

‘The result is that more than 80% of Democrats think the government is covering up evidence about Epstein, which is perhaps to be expected given that lots of them also believed the president was a Russian mole. More surprising is that, according to polling by YouGov for The Economist, half of Republicans agree.’

(…)

‘Since the spike in unwelcome attention, Mr Trump has tried to get people talking about anything else. Normally he embraces support wherever it comes from. The white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville in 2017 were “very fine people”. Nick Fuentes, who denies the Holocaust happened, was invited to dinner at Mar-a-Lago. This is the first time Mr Trump has disowned support, calling Republican voters who keep mentioning Epstein “weaklings”. When that didn’t work, he promised more disclosures, which sounds like a very short-term fix. “Now you see why I didn’t vote in 2024,” Mr Fuentes posted a couple of days ago. Having acquired a taste for criticising the president and finding they can get away with it, some of his supporters may find it is habit-forming.’

(…)

‘The Trump movement includes free-traders and protectionists, pro-Ukraine people and pro-Russia people, those who want mass deportations and those who would spare hotel and farm workers. Mr Trump has kept them mostly happy by taking all these positions simultaneously. No other politician in America can do that. The Epstein story hints at what would happen were this ability to desert him. So it is also a preview of what could happen when someone without Mr Trump’s talents tries to lead his movement.’

Read the article here.

‘Epstein content generates more Epstein content.’

He might be as well another dead Messiah. After all, the Antichrist is a Messiah as well, sort of.

Trump himself is all about offering redemption to his followers.

Most probably, Epstein will last longer than his movement.