ARE you a conspiracy theorist or a credulous cretin?
There’s the story of the conspiracy theorist who died and met God at the Pearly Gates. “Right,” says God. “You can ask me any question and I’ll give you the full, truthful answer.”
The man thinks, then says: “Who killed JFK?” God replies: “Lee Harvey Oswald. And he did it alone, with nobody else involved.”
The man looks worried and says: “Hmmm – clearly this goes higher than I thought.”
There are so many dramatic public events, the electorate have reason to be cautious. Princess Di – did she simply die in a tunnel car-crash, or had those in the royal family who wished her dead acted out their wishes? There’s Donald Trump’s famous inches-from-dead assassination bid: does he deserve pity or suspicion, given that he was out of sight for several crucial seconds before he surfaced with blood (?) on his ear and face. And where are the ear-scars to bear witness to what happened?
Throughout the Troubles, some claimed collusion and were mocked, then later proved right.
Throughout the world, there is growing distrust between ordinary people and the movers and shakers in the corridors of power.
Donald Trump took his second term of office on the back of his promise to dismantle the ‘Deep State’, that is, a network of unelected officials who leak information to the press, undermine the administration’s policies and engage in politically-motivated investigations.
All of which brings us to the Jeffrey Epstein files. These files are believed to contain damning information about businessmen, academics, celebrities and politicians. Among those names, many believe, is that of Donald Trump.
If the information were released and shown to contain the name of Trump, this would damage him seriously. One of Trump’s promises to his base was that he’d root out such Deep State corruption.
In 2002, in an interview with New York magazine, Trump was asked about Jeffrey Epstein. “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years," he said. "Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
But shortly after Epstein’s arrest in 2019, Trump said: “I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him... I was not a fan of his. I had a falling out with him a long time ago.”
Trump the friend had turned into Trump the fearful.
Because here’s the thing: Trump is in a state of deep uneasiness – or a Deep State of uneasiness, if you prefer. There is a film clip of him with Epstein, and if Trump isn’t in the process of telling Epstein a very bawdy joke , it certainly looks like it: Epstein is red-faced and bent double with laughter.
The leader of the Free World seems determined to keep the Epstein files away from public view, or at least any part of those files that might incriminate him. These are testing times for Trump. His loyal base is for the first time split, with many anxious to see the evidence and Trump fearful that they might succeed.
It's ironic that the Epstein files could possibly inflict mortal damage on Trump’s political career. When he was elected he vowed he would drain the swamp; now it’s looking entirely possible that all the time, he and Epstein had been happily swimming in it.
