This was an interesting and thought-provoking article by Kali Holloway. The argument being made is that, for all intents and purposes, the traditional "law and order" crowd that applauded Trump's rise as the "law and order" leader now fully knows that he has engaged in criminal behavior and is aware that he is named tens of thousands of times on the Epstein Files and did everything possible to cover this up. But they just don't care.
Indeed, "law and order" has been a favorite argument from right-leaning politicians and their followers for a very long time. Trump tried to pose as the "law and order" candidate in 2016, and even more in 2024. These people who support him on that basis are the ones who applaud the every move of the masked ICE agents, even when they are murdering seemingly innocent American citizens on the streets. They are the ones who claim that Trump "tells it like it is" and gets things done and does what he says.
Yet, the outrage of Trump not following up on one of his major campaign promises - namely, releasing the Epstein Files - is telling. Some rightwing media personalities expressed outrage, initially. But then all of this conveniently died down. And the very same crowd - MAGA supporters of Trump, that is - who were screaming and foaming at the mouths for the Epstein Files to be released when they were sure that their man Trump was about to unmask stunning levels of privilege and corruption among prominent Democrats have suddenly grown quiet once it became clear that their man himself was possibly the main offender listed on the Epstein Files.
To be sure, they know that he seems guilty. They know that he was friends with Epstein. Close friends. They know - although they pretend not to - that Trump had nothing but praise for Epstein in a major magazine published way back in 2002, long before Trump ever ran for the White House. And they know that in that interview, Trump "joked" about how Epstein loves beautiful women even more than Trump himself, but that he tends to like them on the young side. Given what we know about Epstein's pedophilia ring now, as well as Trump's close personal friendship with Epstein over the years, that sure looks compromising as hell, doesn't it? Plus, all of those video clips of Trump and Epstein partying together, all of those photos from the Epstein Files showing Trump with clearly underaged girls (not women), and all of those parts of the Epstein Files which were conveniently blacked out, they all saw and know all of that, too.
Does it have any impact? Is there a real backlash, or anything?
Not so much, no.
And this, Holloway suggests, is far more terrifying than most Americans understand. Here is how she puts it to open the article (see link below):
Every segment of the Trump-backing right wing—America First nationalists, Trump loyalists and rank-and-file MAGA activists—has unsubscribed from the idea that there is any such thing as right and wrong, much less that wrongdoing should result in consequences. In effect, there is no behavior Trump’s GOP sees as too wrong to vote for. In late July 2025, almost half of Republicans said they would keep voting for Trump even if he were “officially implicated in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking activities.” Crime is legal, where right-wingers are concerned, however heinous the crime is.
Hard to argue that, given the facts. Indeed, the "law and order" crowd suddenly seems to make very notable exceptions. We all knew that they conveniently turned a blind eye to the blatant corruption, the transparent conflict of interests, and Trump's overreach of power. All of that they seemed fine with.
But have they abandoned all pretense of supporting "law and order" regarding Trump that they are now going to actually give him a pass for pedophilia?
It sure seems like it.
And if so, what does that translate to for the future?
Take a look at this article (see link below), which might prove scarier about the prospects of Trump remaining president still with the full and unconditional support of MAGA, and what that might mean for the country:
MAGA’s Reaction to the Epstein Files Reveals Total Moral Collapse by Kali Holloway, February 20, 2026:
The right’s moral charade was always going to be undone by the Trump of it all.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/epstein-maga-trump-morals/
MAGA’s Reaction to the Epstein Files Reveals Total Moral Collapse | The Nation
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