The Wrath of QAnon
What do you do when you can no longer control the masses?
These past two weeks, we've seen Donald Trump's control over his followers loosen for the first time in a decade. The root cause has been his administration's handling of the Epstein files and its refusal to release any and all information associated with them. In true Trump fashion, his team of bumbling buffoons has dropped the ball, and not only that, but they seem insistent upon gifting that dropped ball directly to the other team. What should have been a non-story has become the story, much to the dismay of King Cankles. You know it's bad when Rupert Murdoch's own Wall Street Journal is dropping damaging information on Trump and Epstein, a sign that even a nonagenarian Australian knows that this story has legs. When Alan Dershowitz, of all people, calls on the Justice Department to release the files, you know that this story won't go away. And when Lara Loomer is warning that the Epstein debacle could "consume" Donald Trump's presidency, that is the clearest signal yet that Donald Trump is finally facing an issue that he cannot lie his way out of.
He can no longer lie because QAnon won't let him.
QAnon is the far-right cult that emerged as a result of the 2016 Pizzagate conspiracy theory. It is a group that believes there exists a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic child molesters in league with the Deep State in operating a global sex trafficking ring, and Donald Trump is secretly leading the fight against them. During Trump's first term, QAnon was convinced that the Trump administration would conduct mass arrests and executions against these heinous individuals. These would occur on a day known as "the Storm" or "the Event" when people like Hillary Clinton, George Soros, Barack Obama, and other Hollywood actors, business tycoons, government officials, and medical professionals would all receive their comeuppance. This movement existed on the 8chan (now 8kun) portion of the dark web, a section reserved for the most outlandish conspiracy theories. Still, it quickly gained mainstream popularity, with QAnon supporters emerging and attending Trump rallies throughout his first term, and frequently posting on social media. When it was clear that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and knowing that Trump had not yet exposed these enemies, many of them stormed the Capitol in hopes of buying Trump more time. When he was re-elected in 2024, it was now widely assumed that Trump would resume his efforts to bring forth the day of reckoning, starting with those closely associated with Jeffrey Epstein.
So when Pam Bondi's Justice Department shockingly closed the books on the Epstein files, QAnon revolted.
Because this was not how it was supposed to be. King Donald was their savior, fighting pedophilia when others would not. It was he and he alone who would end this cabal of criminality. His own Attorney General had said that the public "had a right to know" what was in the Epstein files in early March. That meant that the day of reckoning of "the Storm" or "the Event" was also coming soon. While seven years seemed like a long time, it must have been necessary for Donald Trump to get his team in place ahead of the massive sweeps that would capture these thousands and thousands of sex trafficking pedophiles. QAnon had its popcorn ready and was set to watch the fireworks that were about to unfold. Finally, after all this time, the world would see the truth, and it would be Donald Trump who would be the truth's messenger.
Until he wasn't.
And not only was Trump unable to take down these pedophiles, but he now seemed to be protecting them. Why else would he side with his Attorney General and refuse to release the Epstein files? QAnon had been promised a list; a list that would confirm all their suspicions. Why was Donald Trump, of all people, preventing the release of this list?
When you convince yourself you are right, you have a hard time understanding why you are wrong. When you are in a far-right, conspiracy-laden cult that exists solely on the belief that Donald Trump will expose a global pedophilia ring, and he refuses to do so, you have an even harder time understanding how and why he would betray you like this. Because for QAnon, that's exactly what this is: betrayal. A betrayal of the core belief that Donald Trump is not only one of them but that he is their leader. A betrayal that Donald Trump will always do the right thing. A betrayal that Donald Trump is the savior they are seeking. Because if Donald Trump can't use his power and his authority to end this terrible sex trafficking, then what good is he anymore?
That's where we're heading in the coming weeks. Donald Trump is desperately trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube, but it is too late. His coterie of conspiracists is no longer worshipping him as the godlike figure he once was. Instead, QAnon sees him as a fraud and a phony. As someone who can't deliver on his promises. As someone who lies to get their vote. For the very first time, QAnon is seeing Donald Trump the way Democrats have for decades. They are now realizing that they have been duped. Not only was Donald Trump not going to release the Epstein files, but he was instead flagging any mention of himself and his role in Jeffrey Epstein's world. For seven years, the one person whom QAnon saw as their savior was actually the biggest impediment to their work of exposing a ring of sex trafficking child molesters. Once they realized this, QAnon had no choice but to drop their support of Donald J. Trump.
Support that Trump desperately needs and simply cannot live without.