Trump Epstein Scandal Takes Brutal Turn as MAGA Slips into Tailspin

As The New York Times brings down the hammer on Trump over Jeffrey Epstein, a writer who focuses on the Epstein elite class explains why MAGA is heading for a major reckoning.

This week, The New York Times confirmed the latest revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, reporting on the missing files that appear to involve charges against Donald Trump himself. The Times is treating this as a blockbuster story, digging in hard on the details in a way that will surely cause media scrutiny to dramatically intensify. MAGA is lurching wildly in all directions on this. Fox News has mostly ignored the revelations, as Media Matters shows. One big MAGA influencer is hyping Hillary Clinton’s supposed role in the scandal, but that’s backfiring. Other MAGA types remain split. We talked to New Republic contributing editor Ana Marie Cox, who writes really well about Epstein and right wing elites. We discuss why the Times coverage is so brutal for Trump, why the saga is driving MAGA toward crackup, what all this says about right wing elites, and why the sun may soon set on Trumpism as a movement. Listen to this episode here.

TNR’s Greg Sargent takes a critical look at the day’s political news and the stories leading NewRepublic.com, and speaks to leading journalists and newsmakers.

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