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Notes -
The crux of the matter is incentive and who stands to gain from any given scandal, be it by fanning the flames or dousing them. The actual substance of Trump's many scandals (Epstein, Iran, tariffs, etc.) is ancillary. The real engine is tribal, he makes the libs cry, and his base derives visceral satisfaction from watching the spectacle. And by clearing him of objective moral failures, they can keep a functional weapon so he can keep triggering the libs, who won't be triggered any less if those scandals did not exist (quite the contrary, perhaps).
Also, remember Johnny Depp? What kicked off as a messy celebrity divorce became a proxy war against MeToo. Depp is a lib himself, yet celebrity support for him was noticeably tepid because backing him meant siding, even indirectly, against the feminist narrative. Meanwhile, Amber Heard still has a vocal defense squad in online feminist spaces precisely because the case became symbolic ammo for the other side. The actual veracity of the verdict is not very important, it’s just a flag to be defended at all costs.
Now coming to Epstein and Graham Platner. There is zero upside in defending Epstein or even questioning the popular narrative. And Platner isn’t some irreplaceable leftist icon. Nobody scores tribal points by batting for either of them. When there’s no political or status reward for skepticism, the default is to let the mob run rampant.
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