S.E. Cupp: Can MAGA go any lower defending Donald Trump?
On October 7, 2016, a shocking revelation from *The Washington Post* sent ripples through the political landscape just a month before the presidential election. The article unveiled a previously unreleased recording of Donald Trump making lewd comments about women during a 2005 interview on *Access Hollywood*. In the recording, Trump boasted to host Billy Bush about how his celebrity status allowed him to engage in predatory behavior, infamously stating, “grab ’em by the p*ssy.” This revelation sparked immediate outrage, with many Republicans calling for Trump to withdraw from the race. The fallout dominated discussions leading up to the next presidential debate, where Trump’s defense of the comments as “locker room talk” was met with widespread condemnation, including from professional coaches and commentators who expressed their disbelief at the normalization of such language.
Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves facing a similar moral crisis in the political arena. Prominent figures in the MAGA movement, such as Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, have been accused of downplaying the severity of white supremacy and pedophilia. Carlson’s recent interview with Nick Fuentes, a known Holocaust denier, showcased a disturbing trend where extremist views are being sanitized and presented as acceptable discourse. Meanwhile, Kelly has controversially defended Jeffrey Epstein’s predatory behavior, suggesting that his preference for underage girls does not qualify him as a pedophile if they appear “barely legal.” Such statements not only distort the reality of these crimes but also raise alarm about the lengths to which some are willing to go to protect their political allies, including Trump.
The normalization of these abhorrent ideologies marks a new low in political discourse, with MAGA influencers seemingly competing to outdo each other in their controversial defenses. This troubling trajectory raises critical questions about the future of conservatism and the moral boundaries of public discourse. As S.E. Cupp, the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered,” articulates, the willingness of these figures to embrace and rationalize such extreme viewpoints is a startling indication of how far the political conversation has shifted. The implications of this shift extend beyond mere rhetoric, challenging the very foundations of societal values and the responsibility of public figures in shaping the moral compass of the nation.
I remember it well. It was Oct. 7, 2016, a Friday. That afternoonÂ
The Washington Post
 dropped a bombshell, the perfect October surprise, just a month before the presidential election.
Earlier in the week, Hillary Clinton had beenÂ
hammering
 Donald Trump on the news that he may not have paid taxes for 18 years.
The vice presidential candidates, Sen. Tim Kaine and Gov. Mike Pence, had had a feisty debate at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia.
It had already been a campaign full of crazy turns and fireworks, and it was about to get even crazier.
âTrump Recorded Having Extremely Lewd Conversation About Women in 2005.â
In a never-heard-before recording from an âAccess Hollywoodâ interview, Trump describes how he seduces women as a celebrity to host Billy Bush: âI donât even wait. And when youâre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything ⊠grab âem by the p*ssy. You can do anything.â
It was mayhem after that. Was this the end of Trumpâs candidacy? Dozens of Republican lawmakers called for him to drop out. The topic took up a considerable amount of attention at the next presidential debate, just two days later. Professional coaches, offended by Trumpâs excuse that it was merely âlocker room talk,â condemned the statement.
But while the tape certainly put Trump on defense, as we all know, the revelation that the Republican nominee for president admitted to sexually assaulting women did not derail his candidacy.
For those of us covering this, it was a low point. I remember sitting across from Jake Tapper at CNN, a friend and colleague and someone I admire and respect, and having to talk about this sordid, lewd, crass, gross comments, and the sordid, lewd, crass, gross man who said them.
I felt embarrassed â I couldnât believe that this is what we were talking about. Nowhere in my journalism career did I think Iâd be discussing a presidential candidate who bragged about grabbing a womanâs genitalia.
Flash forward about nine years, and it feels like weâre in a similar place, having crossed yet another unfortunate Rubicon into the moral abyss.
Two of the major story lines in politics today involve MAGA influencers with massive platforms, who are inexplicably white-washing white supremacy and pedophilia.
If you havenât heard, Tucker Carlson has devolved into aÂ
conspiracy-theory spouting
,Â
despot-defending
,Â
neo-Nazi protecting
 weirdo. He recently interviewed Nick Fuentes, aÂ
self-proclaimed
 Hitler lover and Holocaust denier who has said some of the most vile and disgusting things Iâve ever heard any person say ever. Carlson didnât press Nick on his hideous ideas, but instead gave him a very friendly interview where the implied takeaway was, âThis neo-Naziâs not so bad!â
The fawning conversation sparked an internecine battle on the right over whether laundering the reputations of white supremacists is a good idea. Believe it or not, many areÂ
defending it
. Including the president.
Enter Megyn Kelly, another Fox News washout whoâs found a new pool of paid subscribers to rile up, and using all the predictable foils:Â
Bad Bunny
,Â
Zohran Mamdani
,Â
Michelle Obama
and
Meghan Markle
.
In addition to defending Carlson, sheâs also â and I canât believe Iâm saying this â white-washing Jeffrey Epsteinâs crimes, too, questioning whether his preference for 15-year-old girls or âbarely legal typesâ actually made him a pedophile.
Referring to someone who was âvery close to this case,â sheÂ
said
 âEpstein, according to his individual, was not a pedophile.â
âHe wasnât into, like, 8-year-olds,â she said. âBut he liked the very young teen types that could pass for even younger than they were, but would look legal to a passer-by.â
Of course, 15 isnât âbarely legal,â itâs clearly illegal. But what point is she making in doing pedophile math other than a morally bankrupt one â that Epstein, and by extension Trump, isnât so bad because he didnât sexually abuse or traffic an 8-year-old girl?
The decision to protect neo-Nazis and pedophiles, just because it might benefit Trump in some way, is a precipice I never thought Iâd see so-called conservatives walk up to. And yet, here they are, giddily leaping off of it.
Trump ushered in so many ugly elements, from white supremacy to rank misogyny. And the MAGA influencers who hitched their wagons to his star have to out-gross each other to prove their loyalty and keep their subscribers sufficiently radicalized.
For these unconscionable ghouls and sell-outs, nowhere is too low. Seriously, if theyâre able to normalize neo-Nazis and pedophilia, what else is left?
S.E. Cupp is the host of âS.E. Cupp Unfilteredâ on CNN.
