Donald Trump and his best pal Jeffrey Epstein were truly children of the hyper-hedonistic excesses of the 1970s, when it was pretty much anything goes for almost an entire decade.
This is not in any way intended to let either of them off the hook for the cruel exploitation and objectification of those, including the seriously underaged, they sexually abused in that decade and then carried forward as deep personal flaws ever since.
The evidence so far in the public domain points to a special relationship between Trump and Epstein as go-to sex party buddies, and one can only imagine the kinds of activities their romps involved. Even with their preferred tastes for the underaged, it cannot be assumed their sexual endeavors were restricted to missionary-position one on one encounters, either.
No one would want their minds to be polluted by images of the kinds of scenes they might conjure, but as with the famous Menendez brothers case from that decade, the whole truth, as distasteful as it may be, still needs to come to light. That’s especially so as it involves the president of the United States.
The enormous number of photographs and videos that were taken around these two and their prey suggests that blackmail could easily have been a danger associated with it all. Into whose hands did photographic evidence of compromising and criminal activity fall? To what extent has all of that led to political acts that were done out of fear of exposure rather than the national interest? Even acts directly contrary to the national interest?
Remember, we are not going to be told about what kind of damage to many U.S. assets would be or has been done as the result of blackmail-driven information leaks of covert names and operations, even as bad as many of them could be or have been.
But if this was a factor at any level, it is a very dangerous national security issue that every American should be deeply concerned about, over and above the heinous impact on children and the moral stains involved.
The fact that the current Epstein cover up is the subject of a continuing mass outrage from among Trump supporters suggests something new. Trump is freaking out over this growing ferment because he sees that the usual guardrails that have worked to date to contain tendencies of his base to go off the reservation are not there now.
This could be due to any number of factors. One theory that is gaining more and more traction is that the powerful political forces that were behind Trump’s rise to power are now setting in motion a process to dump him.
The theory is that these forces believe Trump has used up his usefulness to them, which centered around what it took to get the tax cuts achieved for big business during his first term to become permanent, and that’s what the “big beautiful bill” passed last month accomplished.
Now, he’ll increasingly become a liability to their interests, because if he stays in the White House going into the midterm elections next year, his unpopularity, including but not limited to his mental decline, will guarantee the Republicans lose control of both the House and Senate.
So, now is the time to get him out of office, in their view. And Trump knows it.
Vice President Vance under this scenario would be a colorless caretaker president while the push to find ways to limit the vote continues apace.
How does the American public best respond under these circumstances? Well, it is in all of our interests that the Epstein case come out in the open and that Trump be held fully accountable for his tasteless role.
But the real challenge goes much deeper. Our government must be recast by a constructive vision that puts economic stability for the middle class at the forefront, and that can repel efforts by the Project 2025 crowd to divide and conquer in their usual fashion.
In other words, divisive (as in divide and conquer) issues must not be allowed to pollute the campaigning of a popular front. A honed down statement of issues will be key.
