Trump Folds: Why MAGA Is Turning on Him Over the Epstein Files
A growing Republican rebellion forces Trump to reverse course on the Epstein investigation...kind of
Voiceover at top, paid subscriber video at end, The Last Republican on demand…see what I did there?)
Lauren Boebert (R. Col.) stood up to Donald Trump, and then he changed his mind. Now he says he wants the Department of Justice to release all the documents collected in its investigation of his former pal (and Palm Beach neighbor) Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced playboy pedophile.
“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files because we have nothing to hide,” wrote Trump on Truth Social Sunday night. He added, “I DON’T CARE. All I do care about is that Republicans GET BACK ON POINT.”
While Trump wants Congressional Republicans to talk about the economy, members like Boebert, long a staunch ally, are listening to their constituents who are demanding that Congress force the release of the files. When administration officials pressured her on the issue, Boebert refused to do their bidding, siding with the voters back home.
The demands for the documents are coming from House members who are usually loyal soldiers in Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. They may still say they love the president, but they love their jobs more, and standing with him against the release of the files could be career-ending.
Of all people, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R Ga.), once a super-Trumper, did the math and saw that voters in her base, whom she’ll need come next year’s election, are adamant about seeing the files. Why? For four reasons:
First, Trump made a direct campaign promise to release them as soon as he took office. As Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi played hide-and-seek with the documents, they began to feel jerked around.
Second, the financier Epstein’s crimes included the sexual abuse of young women, reportedly more than a thousand in total, who were lured to his homes with promises of wealth and glamor. In some cases, the women were underage, and if there’s one crime that inflames Trump’s conservative Christian base, it’s pedophilia.
Third, the cast of characters around Epstein was comprised of the kind of elite figures that rank-and-file MAGA members love to hate. Included are Democrats like former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the former president of Harvard, Larry Summers, and former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. All three have denied wrongdoing.
Fourth is the suspicious nature of Epstein’s death. Officially, he committed suicide while awaiting trial in 2019. But in many corners of the MAGAverse, people entertain conspiracy theories that suggest he was killed on the orders of someone who didn’t want the truth of the case to emerge. In 2020, Trump himself toyed with the idea that something nefarious had occurred, saying, “…people are still trying to figure out how did it happen,” Trump said. “Was it suicide? Was he killed?”
In the last campaign, Trump sided with his supporters. When asked if he’d release the files, he said, “I’d have no problem with it.” This was despite the fact that he and Epstein were once such close friends, and he had to know that his name was raised in the investigation.
As President, Trump left it up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, who first pretended she was going to review and release the files. Then, in July, the Justice Department announced that, essentially, the case was closed. There would be no mass release of the files. Trump praised her for doing a “fantastic job.” He went into cover-up mode while the MAGA movement was torn apart.
Weeks passed. Trump stonewalled. The pressure mounted. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican, and Ro Khanna, a Democrat, drew up a “discharge petition” to force a House vote on a proposal to require the DoJ to release the files. Trump attacked Massie, calling him “weak and pathetic” and a “RINO” (Republican in Name Only.) Still, Massie kept coming, and gaining support. He crossed an important threshold when Greene, once the most dedicated of all Trump’s supporters, decided to sign the petition. Trump responded with typical bullying bombast, calling her, “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene” and saying she “betrayed the entire Republican Party when she turned Left.”
When Trump couldn’t bully Greene, he tried Boebert. When he couldn’t intimidate her, more Republicans signaled they would sign the petition. By Sunday, Massie was saying, “There could be 100 [votes for the documents bill] or more. I’m hoping to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote.”
By Sunday night, Trump had folded his hand, and the country was left to wonder if something truly scandalous might be revealed and force Trump to resign, or if he’s going to get nicked and bruised but survive. As of now, I’d bet on the latter.
Two outcomes are possible. The first is that Trump, dramatic as ever, decides to release the files on his own, pre-empting Congress. This display of bravado — “See, I told you there’s nothing there!” —would be followed by an aggressive defense against every bit of evidence that implicates him.
But there’s also a chance we could enter another period of delay and another fight over the files. You see, days before he changed his stand, Trump ordered Bondi to open a new investigation into Democrats who may have been connected to Epstein. It’s conceivable that this new probe could last for months or more. During this time, the files will be part of an ongoing investigation and necessarily be kept secret. Bondi will be praised once again for doing a “fantastic job” and Trump, ever the escape artist, will evade being held accountable. For the moment.
Check out the new “USA, Insurrection Free Since Jan 7, 2021 collection!
Paid video:
