The Charlie Kirk Shuffle

What's going to happen to MAGA when the disinformation machine kicks in about Epstein, firing all on one message? A lot less than you think, although it's not the panacea some hope for.

I just learned about the firing of Maurene Comey, the prosecutor in the Ghislaine Maxwell case. Let’s be clear about this: I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I believe, for example, that birds are very real, and so is climate change. In this Epstein case, I find something a bit odd. Where are the johns? Why is Ghislaine Maxwell spending 20 years in prison, and not a single man is in there with her? Why are there no clients locked up? Aside from Epstein himself, no one else has been incarcerated for this aside from Ghislaine Maxwell. With Maurene Comey’s firing, now we have two women who have been victims of the fallout from the Epstein case. Still no other men. Why?

That’s my first question, but here’s another: Comey is the daughter of James Comey, who, let’s not forget, only came out against Trump after Trump personally attacked him. Before that, he was responsible for handing Trump the 2016 election—does anyone remember that? I do, even though it seems like an eternity ago. So this is my next question: why are so seemingly few concerned about the retribution against political enemies that continues to purge? That’s not normal either. But that fact hasn’t twisted MAGA into pretzels the way the Epstein case has so far.

I got my information this morning from Brian Tyler Cohen’s podcast, and he made an excellent point on this episode from last night. By dismissing Comey, Trump may be preparing to turn this Epstein thing into another conspiracy theory. Trump campaigned, whether he likes to admit it or not, in part on the Epstein thing, so not releasing the files at this point is looking more like an impossibility. He may have decided to try to discredit the investigation, just as he discredited the Mueller Report, which did not exonerate him, when he and his reporters both claimed it did.

Do you know how this will play out? If you go through our podcast history for Right and Freedom, you’ll see that a lot of what we’ve predicted so far has (unfortunately) come about. So, what do we, at Right and Freedom, think comes next?

It’s going to hinge on his base. They’ve been waiting for the Epstein files with bated breath, and when they get those files, they will see a lot more mentions of Trump than they’d expected. Some will suck in their breaths and do what I like to call the “Charlie Kirk Shuffle.” That is, they’ll decide in real time to adjust their worldview to align with the Trump Regime’s propaganda.

But this won’t be all of the supporters, or even the majority.

The reason I say this is that imagine being a child waiting for a bag of candy, and someone tells you how bad candy is for you, only to hand you the bag. Very few children, depending on their age, can resist eating candy, even if it makes them sick. Trust me, I’m a parent, and I’ve seen this result—it’s not pretty. So, those adults whose favorite obsession over the last few years began with QAnon and seamlessly shifted to concern about Epstein are not all going to say, 'You know what, it’s all probably fake, so I’m giving up this fight.’

What Trump is doing right now is the exact sort of thing someone might expect a “Deep State” to do, and these similarities will be lost on nobody.

My perspective is that Trump will do his little dance and try to make things less impactful, but the damage is done. The reason I say this is because there are enough folks in the House to demand the release of the files, and if that trend continues, then he’s likely to be forced to release the files. If he tampers with the files, he now knows that there are competent reporting agencies, such as Wired, that are likely to figure out a way to expose him, so he can’t really do that. Additionally, there are several individuals capable of determining the truth on the matter, not the least of whom is Ghislaine Maxwell, who has literally nothing to lose at this point, being behind bars. The House GOP members who signed on to getting the release are calculating that their base cares more about that than about Trump, and that’s going to peel away people from the current lock-step. And many of them did get re-elected, so they likely know what to feed their base, and what not to.

A week ago, I thought we’d never see those files, and said as much. Now? I think we will, and when we do, the disinformation machine will crank into gear. But I don’t think it’s likely to change much. Those who believe, will continue to believe, for the most part, with a few Charlie-Kirking it. This won’t be enough to impeach Trump or anything, but it does make the midterms look even worse for Republicans. If we make it to midterms, and that’s a pretty big if for me, still given all that’s happened in the last year, then there’s a solid chance of a sweep on the left. You’ve heard the expression, right?

“Give him enough rope, and he’ll hang himself.”

That’s exactly what’s happening to the GOP. The unfortunate fact is that while they’re busy hanging themselves, they’re bringing us along for the ride. So we still have to take to the streets, and still have to cause good trouble. But it’s affirming to see that their government is as inept as we’d have expected a party that doesn’t believe in government to be. With all branches firing, they can’t even keep the Epstein controversy under control. And I don’t see that slowing any time soon…especially when we can help it along!

Author’s Note: The social media image is attributed to Andrew Braithwaite and is titled “Melbourne Zombie Shuffle,” which I was not aware of until today. How fun is that?