Will Epstein Break MAGA? + Trump’s Police State w/ Chris Lehmann

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On this edition of Parallax Views, Chris Lehmann, D.C. Bureau Chief at The Nation, joins the program to unpack the unraveling of Trump’s deep‑state narratives — and how it could spark fractures within his own movement.

At the heart of our conversation: Trump’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Faced with mounting pressure from the QAnon‑influenced wing of MAGA — who’ve long treated “the Epstein client list” as proof of a hidden global cabal — Trump recently pivoted to claiming the list exists but was fabricated by Obama and the Democrats. Lehmann explains how Trump's moves in relation to Epstein threatens to alienate the very conspiratorial base that, for years, functioned almost like a religious movement around Trump, providing meaning and a sense of cosmic struggle.

We explore how this moment reveals deeper tensions: what once unified the MAGA coalition is now splintering into paranoia and internal suspicion — setting the stage for a potential “MAGA civil war.”

From there, we dive into Lehmann’s other recent piece on Trump’s omnibus “Big Beautiful Bill,” which quietly funnels billions into ICE and federal law enforcement — constructing the scaffolding of an unprecedented police state, largely unnoticed amid the media circus.

Finally, we turn to the Democratic Party’s failures: why their reluctance to engage on issues like immigration and their procedural, visionless opposition have helped clear the path for authoritarian expansion.

Together, we trace how conspiracy, disillusionment, and institutional power are converging — and what that might mean for America’s political future.

Further reading:

Trump’s Deep-State Conspiracy Theories Are Getting Beyond His Control | The Nation

Trump’s Big Bill Is Building a Big Police State | The Nation