Conspiracy theories like those surrounding Jeffrey Epstein can’t be extinguished, they can only be managed. Just look at what Trump did with birtherism fourteen years ago.
Trump trying to bury the Epstein files by blaming “Crooked Hillary” for writing them is like a televangelist caught in a brothel claiming the Devil forged the receipts.
This ain’t damage control—it’s spiritual gaslighting for the conspiracy faithful. And the saddest part? Half of MAGA is still passing the plate, waiting for Trump to crucify Oprah live on Pay-Per-View.
You don’t manage conspiracies, you ride them until they turn around and eat you. And baby, the beast is hungry.
I disagree that its the Dems who have to push the Epstein files narrative.
This is a classic story that any journalist with an ounce of ambition and competence would pursue. But we have the NY Times asking Biden about an autopen, so I don't see our free press working much on this story.
One interesting development today is Mike Johnson on Benny Johnson's podcast saying he thinks the "Epstein files" should be released. Mike is they loyalist par excellence. I assume this cannot be what it seems, but still "wow".
I think there are two reasons why Trump is so in sync with the conspiratorial mind:
1. His extreme narcissism makes him prone to believe that whatever doesn't go his way must be the result of some deliberate injustice cooked up against him.
2. His lack of moral scruples enables him to assert that he was unquestionably cheated by some evil cabal, whether or not he has any evidence of it. Because he has no qualms about making claims unsupported by fact, he encourages his fans to hold factually unsupported beliefs - especially if those beliefs benefit him.
#1 and #2 touch on something that relates to conspiracy thinking. Most people have mental emergency brakes--namely when a thought crosses into a lie, something immoral, or unreasonable, one's conscience and sanity causes one to stop pursuing those lines of thinking. And if one doesn't do this, one feels uncomfortable due to shame or a sense of losing one's mind.
My sense is that Trump and conspiracy thinkers don't have these emergency brakes or they really don't function well.
I would argue the 2024 election was lost by the dems the minute they became the defenders of the establishment, defenders of status quo. I don't know anyone that wants status quo. To your point, this is the perfect opportunity for ambitious dems to rail against the elites and the establishment. The Epstein case is an excellent opening. And any dems caught up in the dragnet deserve to go, no qualms about that.
Yesterday I made a comment about using empathy and Andrew said I could comment on that every day! But the topic today includes conspiracies! Yikes, but here goes!
I conduct workshops on having respectful conversations even when disagreeing, and inevitably the question comes up of how to deal with someone who is deep into conspiracies, cults, hoaxes, or denialism. The short answer is that It's nearly impossible to change that mindset by pushing facts (as Andrew noted); yesterday's advice on listening, acknowledging, and showing empathy are still necessary, but are insufficient.
Here are a few tips that may help…
Trust and UNCONDITIONAL love are necessary. If you don't already have a relationship with the conspiracist, you will need to build that first.
Patience and persistence. Don't go into a conversation with an expected outcome in mind. It may take 40 or 400 conversations with every one of them focused on listening, acknowledging, empathy, and unconditional love.
Jump in the media swamp with them, but don't go in empty handed! Ask your conspiracy-minded loved one to teach you what they know by showing you what they found. The goal is not to make them immediately realize it's all hooey; just opening the door to doubt. Here is a method developed by the Newseum that you can use to help ask questions (and the hard part here is to stop your own eye-rolling and cynical verbal tones and ask with genuine curiosity). The acronym is ESCAPE: Evidence: Can you verify names, stats, places, quotes?; Source: Who wrote it?; Context: Is this the whole story or just one side?; Audience: Who was this written for?; Purpose: What is they are trying to get you to do or believe?; Execution: Is the information presented in a way that attracts attention away from the facts?
Provide a safe space to land. Conspiracy groups are their own communities. Extracting someone from the group means they lose their sense of belonging and will need a new community where they are welcomed. There are often groups of people who have already left ready to welcome them.
Elevate their status in the new group. Conspiracy groups often grant status on who has "figured out" the most complex answer (something I think I may have learned from Will Sommer long ago!) so find something that boosts their status and esteem outside of their old group.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list and I could write a book, but good news someone already has! For more concrete steps and more advice see Robert Hassan's book "The Cult of Trump" and some of the points above came from there .
"The spirits that I summoned, I cannot now banish." Goethe, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Trump is looking more and more like Mickey Mouse frantically treading water, but not as cute.
During the Obama birtherism silliness I always felt like Obama and staff were teasing the whole thing along.
The idea that President Obama forged documents shortly after being born, or whenever, was so ridiculous that they felt like letting the future MAGA look stupid was the best play.
Let the Rosie O. Vs Donald T. Flame war play out seemed a pretty safe play to anyone sane. Toss in whatever the birther claim wasn’t and let the idiots play in their cat turd filled sandbox. What serious person is really going to be distracted much less take these people seriously?
None.
But I had no idea there were so many not serious people in our country.
And I never suspected how many were my family, friends, coworkers and fellow citizens.
Obama's birthplace has become one of the tenets of the MAGA Credo, like the claim that Trump won the 2020 election. You have to believe it in order to belong.
Trying to lead a howling mob with pitchforks and flaming torches means staying well out in front of the pack unless you want to be trampled under foot. The typical confidence trickster strategy includes ducking out a side door - January 6th, anyone? Seems to have worked so far for The Don who is no doubt counting on the notoriously fickle American electorate to forget the whole Epstein thing when the mid-term 'elections' roll around.
Think I will invest in a large supply of T. Rump perfume to help cover the stench of corruption being generated by the current administration.
I agree with Lincoln Project dude Stuart Stevens. Democrats have one job....wake up every morning and attack Trump until bed time. This Epstein Filesgate is manna from Heaven for the Dems...they've been handed Thor's Hammer...so why are they screwing it up already? POUNCE on this every nano second of the day and hit the airwaves, hard. If I'm Mayor Pete, I'm all over this. But as usual, they'll take the safe path....still not ready to clobber him with everything in their arsenal. What do you think Trump would do were the circumstances reversed? Is there ANY FIGHTER OF NOTE left in the Dem party?? GOD HELP US.
I don't see the Epstein brouhaha as too beneficial to our cause other than laying out more fracture lines in MAGA that'll come into play when Trump exits the scene.
Trump will regain control and things will settle out soon, they'll move on to "It's the deep state stopping the files' release!", "Time to go after Jack Smith!", "2020 was stolen (still)", etc, etc.
There's too many who utterly depend on Trump for their influence and careers to go against the grain for long.
Bill,Andrew, Jim and Sam. Excellent synopsis of all things Epstein. You laid out the parameters of the case well. We can expect more diversions from Trump and his lackeys. Hopefully, many in the maga sphere will see through the barrage of lies and become more incensed. The Dems need to concentrate on the actual victims of Epstein's sex enterprise. Bring them to life. Put faces on them. Tell the story to reflect the horror and to heighten the injustice. People who didn't know or care about this one iota now are in tune and are wondering WTF.
Trump trying to bury the Epstein files by blaming “Crooked Hillary” for writing them is like a televangelist caught in a brothel claiming the Devil forged the receipts.
This ain’t damage control—it’s spiritual gaslighting for the conspiracy faithful. And the saddest part? Half of MAGA is still passing the plate, waiting for Trump to crucify Oprah live on Pay-Per-View.
You don’t manage conspiracies, you ride them until they turn around and eat you. And baby, the beast is hungry.
I disagree that its the Dems who have to push the Epstein files narrative.
This is a classic story that any journalist with an ounce of ambition and competence would pursue. But we have the NY Times asking Biden about an autopen, so I don't see our free press working much on this story.
One interesting development today is Mike Johnson on Benny Johnson's podcast saying he thinks the "Epstein files" should be released. Mike is they loyalist par excellence. I assume this cannot be what it seems, but still "wow".
Perhaps how to be a decent human......?
ahhhhhh. A boy can dream......
DIPSHITS IN DISARRAY!
I think there are two reasons why Trump is so in sync with the conspiratorial mind:
1. His extreme narcissism makes him prone to believe that whatever doesn't go his way must be the result of some deliberate injustice cooked up against him.
2. His lack of moral scruples enables him to assert that he was unquestionably cheated by some evil cabal, whether or not he has any evidence of it. Because he has no qualms about making claims unsupported by fact, he encourages his fans to hold factually unsupported beliefs - especially if those beliefs benefit him.
#1 and #2 touch on something that relates to conspiracy thinking. Most people have mental emergency brakes--namely when a thought crosses into a lie, something immoral, or unreasonable, one's conscience and sanity causes one to stop pursuing those lines of thinking. And if one doesn't do this, one feels uncomfortable due to shame or a sense of losing one's mind.
My sense is that Trump and conspiracy thinkers don't have these emergency brakes or they really don't function well.
I would argue the 2024 election was lost by the dems the minute they became the defenders of the establishment, defenders of status quo. I don't know anyone that wants status quo. To your point, this is the perfect opportunity for ambitious dems to rail against the elites and the establishment. The Epstein case is an excellent opening. And any dems caught up in the dragnet deserve to go, no qualms about that.
the Ds usually do kick people to curb , even for much less serious sins . the D prosecuted Menendez, they booted Al Franken , etc
Yesterday I made a comment about using empathy and Andrew said I could comment on that every day! But the topic today includes conspiracies! Yikes, but here goes!
I conduct workshops on having respectful conversations even when disagreeing, and inevitably the question comes up of how to deal with someone who is deep into conspiracies, cults, hoaxes, or denialism. The short answer is that It's nearly impossible to change that mindset by pushing facts (as Andrew noted); yesterday's advice on listening, acknowledging, and showing empathy are still necessary, but are insufficient.
Here are a few tips that may help…
Trust and UNCONDITIONAL love are necessary. If you don't already have a relationship with the conspiracist, you will need to build that first.
Patience and persistence. Don't go into a conversation with an expected outcome in mind. It may take 40 or 400 conversations with every one of them focused on listening, acknowledging, empathy, and unconditional love.
Jump in the media swamp with them, but don't go in empty handed! Ask your conspiracy-minded loved one to teach you what they know by showing you what they found. The goal is not to make them immediately realize it's all hooey; just opening the door to doubt. Here is a method developed by the Newseum that you can use to help ask questions (and the hard part here is to stop your own eye-rolling and cynical verbal tones and ask with genuine curiosity). The acronym is ESCAPE: Evidence: Can you verify names, stats, places, quotes?; Source: Who wrote it?; Context: Is this the whole story or just one side?; Audience: Who was this written for?; Purpose: What is they are trying to get you to do or believe?; Execution: Is the information presented in a way that attracts attention away from the facts?
Provide a safe space to land. Conspiracy groups are their own communities. Extracting someone from the group means they lose their sense of belonging and will need a new community where they are welcomed. There are often groups of people who have already left ready to welcome them.
Elevate their status in the new group. Conspiracy groups often grant status on who has "figured out" the most complex answer (something I think I may have learned from Will Sommer long ago!) so find something that boosts their status and esteem outside of their old group.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list and I could write a book, but good news someone already has! For more concrete steps and more advice see Robert Hassan's book "The Cult of Trump" and some of the points above came from there .
If they don't know you love them even where they are, they will not come to you. Trust begins with acceptance. From there, everything is possible.
"The spirits that I summoned, I cannot now banish." Goethe, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Trump is looking more and more like Mickey Mouse frantically treading water, but not as cute.
During the Obama birtherism silliness I always felt like Obama and staff were teasing the whole thing along.
The idea that President Obama forged documents shortly after being born, or whenever, was so ridiculous that they felt like letting the future MAGA look stupid was the best play.
Let the Rosie O. Vs Donald T. Flame war play out seemed a pretty safe play to anyone sane. Toss in whatever the birther claim wasn’t and let the idiots play in their cat turd filled sandbox. What serious person is really going to be distracted much less take these people seriously?
None.
But I had no idea there were so many not serious people in our country.
And I never suspected how many were my family, friends, coworkers and fellow citizens.
Obama's birthplace has become one of the tenets of the MAGA Credo, like the claim that Trump won the 2020 election. You have to believe it in order to belong.
Trying to lead a howling mob with pitchforks and flaming torches means staying well out in front of the pack unless you want to be trampled under foot. The typical confidence trickster strategy includes ducking out a side door - January 6th, anyone? Seems to have worked so far for The Don who is no doubt counting on the notoriously fickle American electorate to forget the whole Epstein thing when the mid-term 'elections' roll around.
Think I will invest in a large supply of T. Rump perfume to help cover the stench of corruption being generated by the current administration.
I agree with Lincoln Project dude Stuart Stevens. Democrats have one job....wake up every morning and attack Trump until bed time. This Epstein Filesgate is manna from Heaven for the Dems...they've been handed Thor's Hammer...so why are they screwing it up already? POUNCE on this every nano second of the day and hit the airwaves, hard. If I'm Mayor Pete, I'm all over this. But as usual, they'll take the safe path....still not ready to clobber him with everything in their arsenal. What do you think Trump would do were the circumstances reversed? Is there ANY FIGHTER OF NOTE left in the Dem party?? GOD HELP US.
I don't see the Epstein brouhaha as too beneficial to our cause other than laying out more fracture lines in MAGA that'll come into play when Trump exits the scene.
Trump will regain control and things will settle out soon, they'll move on to "It's the deep state stopping the files' release!", "Time to go after Jack Smith!", "2020 was stolen (still)", etc, etc.
There's too many who utterly depend on Trump for their influence and careers to go against the grain for long.
They spent years promising Epstein red meat. Then they delivered Trump Steaks.
No wondering the base is hopping mad.
Here's a list Trump can learn from Obama:
English
Spelling
Grammar
Empathy
Character
Integrity
Dignity
Self awareness
Art of self-depreciation
What a marriage is
What a fact is
What evidence is
What truth is
What it means to be human
That is what he SHOULD learn. He CAN not.
Bill,Andrew, Jim and Sam. Excellent synopsis of all things Epstein. You laid out the parameters of the case well. We can expect more diversions from Trump and his lackeys. Hopefully, many in the maga sphere will see through the barrage of lies and become more incensed. The Dems need to concentrate on the actual victims of Epstein's sex enterprise. Bring them to life. Put faces on them. Tell the story to reflect the horror and to heighten the injustice. People who didn't know or care about this one iota now are in tune and are wondering WTF.