Examining Trump and His Administration's Manipulation of Public Perception

Though establishment narratives remain powerful, a rising public awareness is eroding their control.

This was a quick write-up for a Political Science course I was recently enrolled in. Given its relevance, I thought it was worth posting here.

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Kash Patel, Director of the FBI.

WITHOUT the influence of corporate media institutions (and now certain sectors of partisan independent news media), shaping public opinion becomes a rather difficult task for any state. From the manufacturing of consent for the War on Terror to the deceptive coverage of President Biden’s mental fitness for reelection, and the United States’ most recent drums of war with Iran, a well-coordinated, corporate media narrative, or propaganda, is always crucial for a state to bend the will of its citizens towards its own agenda. This form of political communication can be observed, firsthand, in the current Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein scandal.

Prior to Trump’s reelection, key figures that now occupy his cabinet—namely Kash Patel, Director of the FBI, Dan Bongino, Deputy Director of the FBI, Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General, and Vice President JD Vance—represented some of the most critical and trusted voices on the inquiry into the Epstein scandal. Patel and Bongino, especially, as recent as 2023, are on record making incessant calls for the release of all of the information pertinent to the case of the financier and sex offender who mysteriously died in prison six years ago, and for the prosecution of powerful figures involved in the scandal.

When these figures were nominated into the positions they now occupy within the Trump administration, the Make America Great Again (MAGA) constituency believed that these figures would be entering a corrupt establishment with a wrecking ball, finally exposing the depravity within the halls of government institutions. However, after several months of dragging out what was initially presented by Attorney General Pam Bondi as a phase-based release of all of Epstein’s client list (launched with the publicity rollout at the White House in February that featured conservative political commentators parading binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Part I”, the US Department of Justice and the FBI suddenly concluded this month that there was no such client list and that Jeffrey Epstein, in fact, took his own life while imprisoned. As the BBC reports:

The US Department of Justice and FBI have concluded that sex offender Jeffrey Epstein did not have a so-called client list that could implicate high-profile associates, and that he did take his own life - contradicting long-held conspiracy theories about the infamous case.

While campaigning last year, President Donald Trump promised to release files relating to the disgraced financier.

From Trump and Bondi to Patel and Bongino, their rhetoric on this matter had suddenly taken a swift and noticeable turn. The administration now heavily relied on favorable media outlets (including independent conservative podcasting platforms such as the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro podcast, etc.) to normalize what is, on its nose, a coverup of the highest order. While Patel and Bongino made appearances on various corporate and independent media outlets in an attempt to sell the Justice Department’s conclusion on the Epstein Files to the MAGA base, and the country at large, Trump, on Truth Social (his social media platform) and during a press segment, chastised his supporters and journalists for continuing to obsess over the Epstein case.

For some Trump supporters, this was the final straw. The administration that was supposed to represent transparency, integrity, and order had quickly been exposed as just another form of the same establishment administration they’d voted against. This was a key turning point, and Trump’s administration is still reeling from this fallout today, even if only from a messaging standpoint—that he is not delivering on what his administration promised its voters. According to Newsweek, “the backlash on Truth Social reflects growing internal division among MAGA supporters, many of whom have spent months anticipating revelations from the so-called ‘Epstein Files.’”

In this particular instance, not only was Trump able to use his own social media platform, which Newsweek refers to as his “haven…where engagement overwhelmingly leans positive,” to influence the opinion of his supporters, his MAGA base also had the ability to use the same platform to voice their concerns and dissent as Trump attempted to sweep the Epstein case underneath the rug. The only issue here is that the Trump administration overestimated the loyalty of a segment of its own base and did not anticipate there would be any dissent among the MAGA constituency.

Nowadays, political communication via propagandistic narratives still have a stronghold on the populace, however a significant portion of the population have become attuned enough to spot the sophisticated narrative tactics employed by the state and its media tentacles. I, for one, am more excited for a world with critical thinkers and dissidents than subservient political lackeys who will swallow up any narrative tossed their way. That a sliver of Trump’s own base is critically engaging with the administration’s policies and actions—on the Espetin case and on more substantial issues—is a positive sign. People do not want to be manipulated into submission.

While support from Trump’s core base remains largely unaffected, the public fallout from this issue continues, especially for the key figures inside of his administration. According to a Guardian report:

An Economist/YouGov poll found that Republican voters who identify as “Maga” were more likely to approve of how the president is dealing with the Epstein investigation (56%) than those who do not (38%). Overall among Republicans, 45% approve and 25% disapprove, with the remaining 30% unsure.

Only time will tell how these polling numbers shift as time passes.

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