One of the underrated aspects of 2020, overshadowed by the pandemic, apocalyptic fires, and militias murdering people in the streets, is the gradual mainstreaming of the idea that virtually all of Donald Trump’s enemies are pedophiles. The TrueAnon podcast has been doing some excellent work on these theories, and specifically on the proliferation of “Save the Children” rallies and their dubious origins. Others have noted the theory taking root amongst Mommy bloggers and influencers. Meanwhile, the AP reported today that VP Mike Pence will attend a fundraiser hosted by QAnon believers, as will RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel — showing the extent to which the mainstream Republican party has embraced these ideas.
While believing in the existence of a ring of elite pedophiles doesn’t seem all that crazy in the wake of Jeffrey Epstein (who clearly enjoyed some high-level protection and special treatment), the kind of mental gymnastics required to believe that Epstein’s old acquaintance, Donald Trump, is somehow the guy who’s going to protect us from it all are hard to fathom. This is the same guy who once described Epstein on the record as “a terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Yes, that was in 2002, but it was 2020 when Trump said “I wish her well” of Epstein’s fixer/girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell on camera. But yeah, sure, the born-rich Casino owner/pageant magnate is definitely our best defense against pedophiles.
On that note, Once Upon A Time In The Valley, a wonderful new podcast about 1980s underage porn star Traci Lords, recently made some interesting connections in a discussion of porn, celebrity, the sex tape as a path to stardom. They referenced a 2019 Vanessa Grigoriadis profile of Ivanka Trump from The Cut, which noted, according to Ivanka’s friends, Trump’s obsession with Paris Hilton’s sex tape stardom.
In 2003, when Paris Hilton’s sex tape was leaked on the internet, Donald wouldn’t stop talking about it, saying, “Paris is laughing all the way to the bank, she’s got the last laugh, she’s marvelous.” Ivanka could not believe her father was not only idolizing an airhead heiress caught blowing a guy on a night-vision video but encouraging her to follow Paris’s lead. (Speaking from the White House, [White House press secretary from June-April Stephanie] Grisham says, “This is untrue and is disgusting.”)
In fairness, it’s a fairly gossipy article, sourced mainly to named and unnamed “friends” of Ivanka’s, and it’s slightly hard to tell from the way it’s written whether Trump encouraging Ivanka to follow Paris Hilton’s lead extended specifically to making a sex tape. My guess is he probably said it at some point and probably wasn’t entirely serious, if he ever is, rambling and riffing and forgetting most of it 15 seconds later like an overconfident goldfish.
Despite the abundance of rape and sexual assault allegations against Trump, I’m not convinced Donald Trump is an actual pedophile. Still, he seems like a pretty weird guy to turn into the secret savior of the global anti-pedophilia movement. It’d be like trying to position Steven Seagal as the world’s foremost opponent of hoagies. Somehow Tom Hanks is a part of a pedophile ring but the model for Biff in Back to the Future 2 is our savior? Okay, sure man whatever.