Source: Washington Post
by Philip Bump
“The conspiracies that take hold of the right centrally rely on the idea that Elites Are Up To No Good. In any objective context, Trump himself would be considered an elite, given his billions of dollars and his power, even before being elected president. But Trump sided with The People, meaning those beside him in the conspiratorial swamps. Because he stood against The Elites, a loosely bounded group that ostensibly controls America — meaning The People — Trump was granted a seemingly irrevocable dispensation from elitism. Now, that dispensation is suddenly looking rather wobbly. The reason? Jeffrey Epstein …” (07/14/25)