S.E. Cupp: Can MAGA go any lower defending Donald Trump?
On October 7, 2016, the political landscape shifted dramatically when The Washington Post released a recording of Donald Trump making lewd comments about women during an “Access Hollywood” interview. This revelation came at a critical moment in the presidential campaign, just a month before the election, and followed a week where Hillary Clinton had been attacking Trump for possibly not paying taxes for 18 years. Trump’s comments, which included a boast about being able to “grab ’em by the p*ssy” because of his celebrity status, ignited a firestorm of controversy. Many Republican lawmakers publicly called for him to withdraw from the race, and the topic dominated the subsequent presidential debate, where Trump’s defense of his remarks as “locker room talk” drew widespread condemnation. Despite the uproar, Trump’s candidacy endured, marking a significant moment in the 2016 election that many viewed as a low point in political discourse.
Fast forward to today, and the political climate appears to have taken another troubling turn, with prominent figures in conservative media seemingly normalizing extreme ideologies. S.E. Cupp, host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN, highlights the alarming trend of MAGA influencers downplaying white supremacy and pedophilia. Cupp points to Tucker Carlson’s recent interview with Nick Fuentes, a self-identified neo-Nazi, where Carlson failed to challenge Fuentes’ abhorrent views, instead presenting him in a favorable light. This has sparked a division within conservative circles about the appropriateness of rehabilitating the reputations of white supremacists. Additionally, Megyn Kelly has controversially defended Carlson and attempted to diminish Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, suggesting that Epstein’s preference for underage girls does not classify him as a pedophile. Cupp criticizes this moral relativism, arguing that such justifications represent a dangerous descent into a moral abyss for those who once identified as conservatives.
The current political discourse reflects a disturbing trend where extreme rhetoric and actions are increasingly tolerated or even celebrated among certain factions. Cupp’s reflections on the normalization of neo-Nazism and pedophilia raise critical questions about the values being championed by influential figures in the conservative movement. As these discussions unfold, one must consider the implications for the future of political dialogue and the societal standards we uphold. The trajectory from the 2016 election to today’s political landscape illustrates a concerning evolution in which the boundaries of acceptable discourse continue to be pushed further, leaving many to wonder what might come next.
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.
