One of the scenes that best portray the current state of American politics occurred on July 29, when Anthony Fauci appeared before a Senate committee. Fauci led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for 38 years and was the main medical advisor to former President Joe Biden during the pandemic.
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Republicans, led by Senator Rand Paul, extensively questioned him, accusing him of lying about the origin of the coronavirus, manipulating health recommendations for political reasons, and coordinating a conspiracy to silence scientists who defended the “lab origin.”
The former head of NIAID repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment, which allows him not to make statements regarding the accusations against him. Because of this, several Republican lawmakers insisted that he should end up behind bars, and government members posted memes with doctored images showing him handcuffed.
Conspiracy theories are key to understanding contemporary United States, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo. They were decisive in Trump’s reelection, driven by movements like QAnon, which claim that a secret elite of politicians, businessmen, and celebrities, led by the Clintons, runs an alleged pedophilia and child trafficking network from pizzerias, tunnels, and sewers. According to that theory, Trump is secretly waging war against them.
However, that same ecosystem of distrust, nurtured for years by ideas about the “deep state,” vaccines, and the FBI, no longer distinguishes between enemies and allies. The controversy over the Epstein case led part of the MAGA universe to accuse the Trump administration, and several of its officials, of hiding information to protect the elites. The demands for transparency that previously targeted Democrats and officials are now directed against Trump’s Republican government.
In recent months, a split has occurred within the MAGA world. Conservative political analyst Tucker Carlson said he felt “tormented” for having supported Trump. Former Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene apologized for having believed falsehoods after the president himself called her a “traitor.” Conservative commentator Candace Owens said she felt “ashamed” for having backed him after the bombing of Iran. She, Greene, and Alex Jones suggested that the cabinet should consider the 25th Amendment to remove him.
When the dominant discourse shifts from questioning institutions to denying them all trust with uncontrollable theories – El Mundo pointed out – no narrative is manageable. This was applied by the MAGA leader against his adversaries, but now he himself is experiencing it with the Epstein case, the Iran war, and the resignation of high-ranking officials who denounced Israel’s “influence” in the Executive.
Trump is the one who has most contributed to fueling the conspiracy machinery, the newspaper suggests. He continues to mention Barack “Hussein” Obama with the false claim about the former Democratic president’s birthplace. He has dedicated himself to spreading theories about electoral fraud in the 2020 elections, along with stories about invasions of “alien” migrants, or Haitians in Ohio who supposedly ate their neighbors’ pets.
However, the conspiratorial logic does not distinguish loyalties. Not even those who helped install that culture are outside of it. This happened as soon as the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk became known, when those same MAGA figures spoke of the involvement of secret services and Israel, and rejected the authorship of Tyler Robinson, the detainee for the attack.
The repeated assassination attempts against Trump himself multiplied skeptical voices. Thirty percent of Americans believe that at least one of the attacks against Trump was staged, according to a NewsGuard/YouGov survey. Twenty-four percent think that the Butler shootings in Pennsylvania in 2024, and the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner were also staged.
Other theories point to the White House ballroom. The underground construction associated with the new complex fueled the version that Trump is preparing a “bunker” to govern indefinitely and avoid leaving power after 2028.
Speculations also reach the health of the president, specifically his made-up hands that have become a frequent target of photographers. Added to this are doubts about his cognitive decline and a rumor that circulated over a weekend about his death and replacement. The same dynamic that Trump himself fueled regarding Joe Biden is now activated against him.
In April, after Trump threatened to “eradicate” Iranian civilization and presented himself on social media as Jesus Christ, Tucker Carlson dedicated an entire program to wondering if he was the Antichrist, a concept that also obsesses tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel.
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