Column | Tacitus wouldn’t be surprised by Epstein or Trump
Tacitus would not have been surprised by the Epstein Files. Perhaps the Roman historian had also looked, curiously, to see whether any descendants of Tiberius, the morally derailed emperor (r. 14-37 AD) who lustfully indulged in a rich catalog of perversions, were present. Tacitus knew that political and moral corruption go hand in hand. He documented the misconduct of the emperor and his associates in the Annales in History. Another bonus of a grammar school education: aspiring members of the elite can, with a little good will, learn how to not must.
Tiberius also indulged himself on an island, in his case Capri off the Italian coast. According to Tacitus’ fellow historian Suetonius, who described the emperor’s hormonal activity more explicitly, girls, boys and even babies suffered there. The bedrooms had raunchy paintings and a library full of erotica, should a manual be needed for the endeavors.
It is no coincidence that Jeffrey Epstein and his old buddy Trump both flirted with the status of a Roman emperor. One in his sexual crimes and privileged inviolability, the other with his megalomaniac ballroom, gilded offices, statues and towers that he erects for himself. After all, the term fascism also has Roman roots (a Mussolini reference to the you will receivebundles of wooden rods that symbolized public authority).
Where does classic kitsch end? At any moment you expect that the Kennedy Center in Washington, closed by Trump for renovation, will soon open its doors as a MAGA Colosseum, where ICE gladiators can hunt down immigrants and naval captain Hegseth can fight a naval battle with the Venezuelan fishing fleet. Nothing too crazy in the Trump universe, which expands and contracts somewhere in between my fight, the Dow Jones and the psychiatric manual DSM-V.
It is no coincidence that Jeffrey Epstein and his old buddy Trump both flirted with the status of Roman emperors
That may be the most frightening thing about the revelations about Epstein and Trump: the idea that this is the real world, the smoking cesspool behind the facade that conspiracy theorists have always smoked and where everything is gross and horny. That disappointment can be recognized in it I told you so which now sounds here and there about ‘the hypocritical West’, with its science, Enlightenment and universal human rights. All empty phrases, a lying Potemkin village where in reality Auschwitz is a “permanent possibility” (Sinan Çankaya in his Echoing histories). The masks fall off.
Only, the point is: this is exactly what fascists want you to believe.
Their message: get rid of liberal civilization and that softness about democracy, human rights and equality. The world is no place for ‘weak peoples’, as an infamous and once again topical German statesman once said – get used to it. Only Darwinian drive for power counts. Trump House fanatic Stephen Miller said it in so many words. But anyone who goes along with this, morally and intellectually disappointed, ultimately has no answer to the ‘Western’ drive for power and unscrupulousness that he wants to denounce.
Better to hold on to that ‘hypocritical’ legacy, the promises of freedom and equality that American citizens, even if they want stricter supervision of immigration, now rely on to stop the erosion of their imperfect democracy. Not everyone in the political, economic and academic elite fell in with Epstein – you might forget. Not everyone bows to Trump. On the contrary, now that he too has dropped the mask and the brutality of his accomplices is on full display, cracks are appearing in the MAGA revolution, he said. NRC recently fixed, also among his supporters. You can also love your country without Trump.
And here, on a polder scale, the Forum youth are making less and less of a secret of their far-right inspirations and ambitions, spurred on by the success of the new, chillingly calm party leader. Whether the Jetten minority cabinet will now be able to say ‘fuck off’ to these forces in Ruttian style will be an interesting question.
It should. The cesspool is never the whole story. Tacitus knew that too. That is why he made such efforts to restore old republican values.
DOCUMENTED REFERENCES
Exploring Documented Records
Public interest in the Epstein case continues not only because of court proceedings and testimonies, but also due to the growing body of documented records that help researchers and readers understand the broader context. Beyond legal files and media reports, some independent projects have organized publicly available data connected to Epstein’s activities.
One example is a structured archive of documented Amazon order records, where purchases are cataloged with dates and product details. While individual items do not prove wrongdoing on their own, examining documented information alongside established facts helps paint a clearer picture of the environment and circumstances surrounding the case.
For readers looking to review primary-source style data rather than interpretations, exploring compiled records can provide additional context to the broader discussion.
