Trump is the establishment now

The Epstein debacle is just the latest story that has tested his support with young men and the Manosphere

Young men aren’t pleased with the Epstein situation. A new CNN/SRSS poll shows that just 10 percent of men ages 35 or under are satisfied with the amount of information released on the “Epstein files,” a possible collection of documents containing evidence on the convicted sex trafficker’s victim and client list. Transparency regarding Epstein's dealings and a follow-up investigation into his cause of death have been focal points for conspiracy theorists, particularly in MAGA circles, since his 2019 death in prison. (The phrase "Epstein didn't kill himself" has been a rallying cry for years.)

Far from obeying the President’s call to get over it, the “manosphere” and right-wing podcasters are throwing fuel on the fire.

On a podcast released Tuesday, Joe Rogan said, “They’ve got the videotape and all a sudden they don’t … Why’d they say there [were] hundreds of thousands of hours of tapes of people doing horrible s–t? Why’d they say that?”

Dave Smith, the host of “Part of the Problem Podcast,” earned raucous applause at a recent event when he stated that Trump “actively cover[ed] up a giant child rapist ring.”

And late Wednesday night, Theo Von quote-tweeted a video of JD Vance saying “seriously, we need to release the Epstein list,” commenting, “Yeah what changed?” Shane Gillis even poked fun at the situation while hosting Wednesday’s ESPY awards, telling the crowd, “There was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but I guess it got deleted … probably deleted itself, right?”

No doubt, declassifying the Epstein intelligence has been a longstanding interest in these circles. But the backlash we’re seeing now runs deeper. From Trump's involvement in foreign conflicts to the debt-ballooning ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ the Epstein files are just the latest example of Trump going back on campaign promises that won over millions of anti-establishment young men.

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Ro Khanna recognizes this isn’t an isolated issue. The Silicon Valley Congressman recently appeared on Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant with Akaash Singh, with the ostensible purpose of discussing his proposed amendment that would require the DOJ to release any information about Epstein.

Khanna, who is no stranger to right-coded podcasts, hovered on the topic for the opening portion of their conversation. He delineated the process required to move his amendment to a floor vote, and (accurately) predicted that the House Rules committee would block the motion from going forward. The Flagrant hosts were blown away by Khanna’s explanation of how the real “game” in DC isn’t what gets voted down, but what gets voted on. In fact, Schultz asked Khanna to vocalize every single House Rules member to his audience, and then exhorted his listeners to remember those names should the vote fail.

But Khanna didn’t come purely to speculate about conspiracy theories. The fifth-term Congressman argued the Epstein fiasco is just another piece of evidence that Trump has become the very establishment he campaigned against.

For the remainder of the podcast, Khanna and the Flagrant bros railed on super PACs. Schultz jokingly praised Khanna as a politician who actually is trying to get the U.S. out of endless wars. They disparaged the Democratic Party as we currently know it, condemning the Kamala Harris’ and Chuck Schumer's of the group who reject fair primaries and were afraid to question Biden’s mental acuity. Or, as Schultz and Khanna put it, “call balls and strikes.”

Ever aware of Flagrant’s audience, Khanna seized on the opportunity to group Trump together with this “old guard” of the Democratic party. He didn’t blink an eye as he talked about “them,” them being the types of politicians who are bought out by interest groups and only care for the elites. In other words, the very establishment that young men distrust.

Recent data from Young Men Research Project (YMRP)’s May survey bears out why Khanna’s message resonates. U.S. men ages 18-29 were asked which party they think of when they hear different words (snobby, elitist, funny, vulgar, etc.). Perhaps most telling was where young men thought both political parties were the same.

A plurality of young men (32%) say both parties are equally corrupt. When asked which party “wants me to prosper,” the most common response was “neither” (26%). And when it comes to “honesty” and “fun,” 37 percent say neither party fits the bill, nearly double the share who associate these qualities with either party.

Separately, young men were asked which careers they admire most. At the bottom of the list–tied with social media creators and influencers–were public servants (including elected officials), with just three percent of young men selecting them.

In terms of party identification, research from PRRI shows that among 18-29-year-old men, 29% identify as independent, 26% as Republican, 24% as Democrat, and 22% as other. That’s 51% of young men who do not identify as Democrat or Republican (compared to 41% of all Americans). This is a constituency that is generally negative on the traditional political parties. It should be noted that the only group more likely to not identify with any political party is young women (they are much more Democratic overall, but 56% are Independent or Other).

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Young people, like most Americans, are disillusioned with the “swamp” which Trump promised to drain. This is arguably what propelled his rise to politics in the first place.

That’s why Khanna’s argument, one that links Trump with the “old guard” establishment types of both the Republican and Democratic parties, is particularly potent. Zooming in on these numbers, or Zohran Mandami’s incredible rise in recent months, it’s clear that the thirst for an outsider politician hasn’t abated. As Flagrant host Akaash Singh put it, “I think people would be shocked how similar the thought process that leads someone to vote for Donald Trump is to the thought process that leads someone to vote for Mandami.”

It’s unclear what long-term impact (if any) the Epstein files will have on the Trump presidency. But the president is clearly flustered–on Wednesday morning, he attacked those buying into the Epstein “hoax” on Truth Social, calling them his “PAST supporters” and “weaklings.” Already, many fervent supporters are calling this the final straw.

However this saga unfolds, the Epstein files may be better understood as yet another sign that Trump is embodying the Establishment he has long disdained. And there’s no question that the more Trump resembles the “system,” the more opportunity anti-establishment figures have to capture young men and the influencers they follow.