Epstein files Has Trump been ensnared in his own web of Maga lies?

'I feel so betrayed and so angry. This is not what I voted for; "This cemented permanent deep state power"; "I'm concerned about being able to trust Donald Trump to keep his word"; "What about justice for these young ladies who were trafficked? What about their justice? Don't they deserve justice?" These were just a few of the calls that besieged conservative radio hosts across the US this week.

- By David Smith in Washington

Donald Trump's ardent supporters have spent the past decade fulminating over various foes, from Barack Obama and the deep state to undocumented immigrants and transgender children. Now they have a new target: Donald Trump himself.

The "Make America great again" (Maga) base is in revolt as never before. The trigger was Trump's broken promise to publicly release details about Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, who was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking minors when he died in jail in 2019.

Spurred on by the president and his allies, the Maga movement has long latched on to the scandal, claiming the existence of a secret client list and that Epstein was murdered in his cell as part of a cover-up. But last week the justice department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced there was no evidence that the disgraced financier had kept such a list or had been blackmailing powerful figures.

Far from closing the case, the memo deepened supporters' sense of grievance. A movement defined by the view that elites rig the system against them felt cheated. Trump made efforts to douse the flames with ever-shifting explanations, excuses and distractions, but merely poured fuel on the fire.

To some, his erratic and evasive behaviour implies a guilty secret. It also evokes a line from President John F Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address: "Those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside." Having spent years embracing QAnon-tinged propaganda that casts him as the only saviour who can demolish the "deep state", Trump is now seen as co-opted by its corrupt bureaucracy.

Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman who ran against Trump in 2020, said: "I talk to the base every day and nothing animates the base more than the deep state. This Epstein thing was Trump's promise. This was going to finally expose the deep state. Now Trump says nothing there? It ain't going to stand."