Try GOLD - Free
I feel more sympathy for 1,500 tarantulas than for a Maga-assailed Trump
The Guardian
|July 19, 2025
Rightwing American conspiracy theories often circle the drain of lurid abuse stories. So it was quite a twist this week to see the chickens of this particular rancid online conspiracy culture come home to roost in the form of Maga faithfuls turning on Trump for what the US president now refers to as the "Jeffrey Epstein hoax".
Monday
Epstein - a convicted sex offender - committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019, and Trump's conspiracy-hungry supporters are now accusing the president of a cover-up.
Specifically enraging to the Trump faithful is his decision to tread water on releasing the so-called "Epstein files". These secret FBI documents supposedly contain the names of Epstein's "client list", and last month Elon Musk suggested they might feature Trump himself.
Until very recently, the Trump administration had been happy to throw meat to the lions by suggesting it would release the files. But now the president has dropped that promise and instead recommended that everyone "move on". Meanwhile the FBI issued a memo last week saying it didn't have evidence to justify interrogating further suspects.
Well. Can you imagine? All across America, the deep-state-is-lying to us klaxons went off like tornado warnings. Maga militant Laura Loomer called for the attorney general, Pam Bondi's resignation; Trump ally Steve Bannon demanded the dissolution of federal law enforcement; and Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host, called the FBI memo a "cover up".
This story is from the July 19, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM The Guardian
The Guardian
Albanese rules out link between gunmen and wider terrorist cell
Investigators in Australia have dismissed suggestions that two gunmen who opened fire on a crowd celebrating a Jewish festival in Sydney on Sunday, killing 15 people and injuring dozens, were part of a wider terror network.
4 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
'Show a bit of dog' Stokes makes rallying call as England strive to save Ashes
Ben Stokes has called on his England players to summon up the rage witnessed against India in the summer and show some \"dog\" as they look to keep their slim Ashes hopes alive.
2 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Doctors to strike after rejecting last-ditch offer
Hospitals are cancelling tens of thousands of appointments and operations after resident doctors voted overwhelmingly to reject a last-ditch offer to avoid this week's strike.
3 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Fright and delight from eye-popping illusions
Paranormal Activity
1 min
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Kendal is formidable in a fitting first epitaph to Stoppard
A fortnight after West End playhouses dimmed their lights in tribute to Sir Tom Stoppard, Hampstead theatre's stage lights rise on a revival of his 1995 play Indian Ink, originally intended to mark 30 years since the play's premiere.
2 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Jimmy Lai The rise and fall of Hong Kong's chief 'troublemaker'
Yesterday’s verdict convicting Jimmy Lai of national security offences was expected.
6 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
'A matter of conscience' Heroic bystander's family on why he risked his life
When Ahmed al-Ahmed tackled and wrested a gun from an alleged shooter at Bondi beach, he was simply thinking that he \"couldn't bear to see people dying\", his cousin says.
3 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Prem Rugby to seek investors if RFU backs franchise plan
Prem Rugby is planning to launch a tender process to secure external investment in the competition after it has received formal approval from the Rugby Football Union to become a closed franchise league, which it expects will happen next year.
2 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Tears, flowers and silence: Sydney unites in grief after Bondi horror
Defiant dawn gathering at site by beach where gunmen had opened fire
3 mins
December 16, 2025
The Guardian
Maresca’s silence only amplifies the Chelsea noise
If Enzo Maresca was interested in ending speculation that he has a problem with elements of Chelsea’s hierarchy then he would have done so yesterday.
3 mins
December 16, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size