Alex Jones, a far-right conspiracy theorist and superfan of President Donald Trump, is in a state of crisis and confusion over his idol’s ongoing cover-up of information on accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump promised that he would expose the inner workings of Epstein’s alleged operation in a second term. Instead, the Trump administration has refused to release much of the government’s information on Epstein, including a rumored client list, and Trump has berated his followers for having an interest in the story. The about-face has been annoying Trump’s backers in the MAGA movement for months.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that concerns about the Epstein story were “total bullshit,” and lied that the controversy was the creation of the Democratic Party.
That news led Jones to lament in a social media post, writing, “Trump‘s disastrous handling of the Epstein firestorm last month was starting to die down and now he has let the corporate media bait him into re-launching a new Streisand effect.”
Jones’ state of crisis worsened in a video posted on Thursday, showing him visibly confused as he ranted at length and tried to rationalize Trump’s obfuscation.
“This is just crazy,” Jones said. He insisted that despite his mishandling of the issue, “Trump is not stupid,” but he also expressed concern that Trump is “caught off guard with a new issue.”
“I don’t know what to say at this point. I am actually in a conundrum. I’m god-smacked,” he added.
Despite Jones’ conspiracies about 9/11 and the Sandy Hook school shooting, he attained mainstream conservative acceptance around the time of Trump’s first presidential campaign, when Trump sat for an interview with him. Ever since then, Jones has been a Trump cheerleader.
However, the Epstein issue seems to be causing Jones to rethink his devotion.
In July, Jones accused Trump of acting cultish about the topic, after Trump complained about being asked about his former friend Epstein. Jones also claimed that month that MAGA influencers were being frozen out from White House access for expressing dissent over Epstein.
Trump’s actions around Epstein are putting his most vocal backers out on a limb. They have carried a lot of water for Trump over the years, excusing his bigotry and racism while amplifying his conspiratorial allegations—only to see him in full retreat over one of the movement’s central narratives.
A possible reason for Trump’s stonewalling is that the government’s documents on Epstein’s crimes might implicate Trump, if not in a crime, then at least in misconduct. However, it is currently unclear whether this is true—the information is being hidden from the public, after all—but The Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump was told his name appears numerous times in the government’s Epstein files.
For Trump to be on the supposed client list that MAGA supporters see as a Rosetta Stone to so many of their conspiracies would be devastating. They surely cannot handle that possibility, so they, like Jones, are forced into abject confusion by Trump’s ongoing cover-up.