The Jeffrey Epstein Scandal That’s Finally Making Trump Squirm

How Trump’s Broken Promise on the Epstein Files Sparked a Backlash — and Exposed His Greatest Fear: Humiliation

In Donald Trump’s world, humiliation has always been a coin of the realm. Long before he ran for office, he used it like a weapon—especially against women—calling them “fat,” “pig,” “lowlife,” and “dog.” As a candidate, he aimed his insults mostly at male rivals, branding them with schoolyard nicknames: “Little Marco” Rubio, “Low Energy” Jeb Bush. With Ted Cruz, he combined tactics—calling him “Lyin’ Ted” and insulting his wife’s looks.

As president, Trump used humiliation to control his own team. During his first term, he famously gathered his cabinet around the White House table, forcing them to praise him like he was a tinpot dictator. In his second term, no one even needs to be asked. They debase themselves automatically—and often.

So it shouldn’t surprise us that Trump fears humiliation more than anything. Abusers always try to hurt others with the very thing that wounds them most. For Trump, it’s public failure and defeat. Look no further than his deranged campaign to overturn the 2020 election—a humiliation so unbearable that he incited a violent mob to attack the Capitol. And even now, he still won’t admit he lost.

Today, Trump faces a shame he can’t escape: the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Epstein—once a close friend of Trump’s—was a financial guru to the ultra-rich who also ran a horrific sex-trafficking operation. Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet and spoke admiringly of him. Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting federal charges for abusing underage girls, a death officially ruled a suicide.

Epstein’s ties to the powerful—including Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, and Prince Andrew—fed endless conspiracy theories in MAGA circles, especially the fantasy that a shadowy elite pedophile ring secretly runs the world. When Trump supporters demanded the release of federal files on Epstein, Trump saw political opportunity. He made the Epstein files a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign, promising to release them if elected—a gamble, given his known ties to Epstein.

Trump won the election and put his Attorney General, Pam Bondi, on the case. She teased a list of Epstein-linked names supposedly sitting on her desk. She released a few bland documents and promised more bombshells to come. None did. Earlier this month, Bondi announced there was no list, Epstein really had killed himself, and no further files would be released.

The MAGA backlash was instant and brutal. Social media lit up with fury. “We’ve been played,” wrote one Trump supporter. Comedian Andrew Schulz accused the administration of covering up a “global pedophile blackmail ring.” Right-wing podcaster Liz Wheeler practically called Trump a liar, writing, “A true friend tells the truth—even when it hurts.”

The fallout spread. House Speaker Mike Johnson turned on Trump (for a whole second). Even Rep. Lauren Boebert, usually a MAGA loyalist, called for a special counsel to investigate the Epstein files.

This is Trump’s worst nightmare: public rejection by his own movement. And it’s hitting him hard. A recent Quinnipiac poll showed 63% of Americans disapprove of his handling of the Epstein scandal. Reuters found 69% believe the government is hiding something. For Trump—obsessed with ratings and polls—this is humiliation on a national stage.

Desperate, Trump renewed his promise to release the files—but only after court review. If they do come out, they’ll likely reveal just how close Trump was to Epstein. In a normal era, a scandal like this would drive a president to resign. Trump won’t. He’ll hide behind the office and pretend nothing happened.

But the damage is done. The polls will get worse. The historians will be harsher. And the rest of us? We get the satisfaction of watching a lifelong bully squirm. Exposure is a kind of justice—and this time, it fits the crime.