Epstein saga may be the downfall of Donald Trump
Donald Trump 's downfall.
For most of the US president's critics, the Jeffrey Epstein saga that has dominated the domestic news cycle for the past week or so seems like a gift that keeps on giving. Many of Trump's supporters – who had lapped up the right-wing media ecosystem's insistence that America's 'deep state' was hiding evidence of a paedophilia ring orchestrated by the billionaire financier – turned on their leader. They demanded a full accounting of Epstein's alleged '
client list ' and lurid activities.
With a farcical nothing-to-see-here defence that was camera-ready for juxtaposition against his earlier comments, Trump
turned this anger right back against the 'Make America Great Again' (Maga) furious.
'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' Trump wrote on social media, in an unforced error that may trigger his downfall.
Trump later authorised the Justice Department to
seek the release of grand jury testimony from the prosecution of Epstein. How much the episode will drag Trump's declining approval rating lower is anyone's guess. We may never know
how involved he was in Epstein's underworld; the US leader has a reptilian survival instinct that has only grown stronger since his first administration. Without evidence proving that he was engaged in illegal behaviour involving minors, he will not be deterred from his apparent mission to turn every branch of his government into weapons aimed at anyone who has ever crossed him.
Some in his party may be happier about the scandal than they are letting on, at least those who understand the extent of the harm that they are doing outside the orbit of criminal billionaires. The scandal is a monumental distraction from what Americans should be railing against, and what threatens the entire Republican Party.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AllAfrica
5 hours ago
- AllAfrica
Gaza ceasefire talks collapse as starvation crisis mounts
Efforts to end the relentless siege of Gaza have been set back by the abrupt end to peace talks in Qatar. Both the United States and Israel have withdrawn their negotiating teams, accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff says it would appear Hamas never wanted a deal: While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith. We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people in Gaza State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott reads Steve Witkoff's statement on the collapse of the Gaza peace talks. The disappointing development coincides with mounting fears of a widespread famine in Gaza and a historic decision by France to formally recognize a Palestinian state. French President Emmanuel Macron says there is no alternative for the sake of security of the Middle East: True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine What will these developments mean for the conflict in Gaza and the broader security of the Middle East? The failure to reach a truce means there is no end in sight to the Israeli siege of Gaza, which has devastated the territory for more than 21 months. Amid mounting fears of mass starvation, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Gaza is in the grip of a 'humanitarian catastrophe.' He is urging Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law: Israel's denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food cannot be defended or ignored. According to the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, more than 100 people – most of them children – have died of hunger. One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished, with the number of cases rising every day. Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini says with little food aid entering Gaza, people are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses […] most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying if they don't get the treatment they urgently need. The UN and more than 100 aid groups blame Israel's blockade of almost all aid into the territory for the lack of food. Lazzarini says UNRWA has 6,000 trucks of emergency supplies waiting in Jordan and Egypt. He is urging Israel – which continues to blame Hamas for cases of malnutrition – to allow the humanitarian assistance into Gaza. The latest ceasefire proposal was reportedly close to being agreed upon by both parties. It included a 60-day truce, during which time Hamas would release ten living Israeli hostages and the remains of 18 others. In exchange, Israel would release a number of Palestinian prisoners, and humanitarian aid to Gaza would be significantly increased. During the ceasefire, both sides would engage in negotiations toward a lasting truce. While specific details of the current sticking points remain unclear, previous statements from both parties suggest the disagreement centres on what would follow any temporary ceasefire. Israel is reportedly seeking to maintain a permanent military presence in Gaza to allow for a rapid resumption of operations if needed. In contrast, Hamas is demanding a pathway toward a complete end to hostilities. A lack of mutual trust has dramatically clouded the negotiations. From Israel's perspective, any ceasefire must not result in Hamas regaining control of Gaza, as this would allow the group to rebuild its power and potentially launch another cross-border attack. However, Hamas has repeatedly said it is willing to hand over power to any other Palestinian group in pursuit of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. This could include the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which governs the West Bank and has long recognised Israel. Israeli leaders have occasionally paid lip service to a Palestinian state. But they have described such an entity as 'less than a state' or a 'state-minus' – a formulation that falls short of both Palestinian aspirations and international legal standards. In response to the worsening humanitarian situation, some Western countries have moved to fully recognize a Palestinian state, viewing it as a step toward a permanent resolution of one of the longest-running conflicts in the Middle East. Macron's announcement that France will officially recognize a full Palestinian state in September is a major development. France is now the most prominent Western power to take this position. It follows more than 140 countries – including more than a dozen in Europe – that have already recognized statehood. While largely symbolic, the move adds diplomatic pressure on Israel amid the ongoing war and aid crisis in Gaza. However, the announcement was immediately condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who claimed recognition 'rewards terror' and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became. A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel – not to live in peace beside it. A Palestinian state is unacceptable to Israel. Further evidence was recently presented in a revealing TV interview by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who stated Netanyahu had deliberately empowered Hamas in order to block a two-state solution. Instead, there is mounting evidence Israel is seeking to annex the entirety of Palestinian land and relocate Palestinians to neighbouring countries. Given the current uncertainty, it appears unlikely a new ceasefire will be reached in the near future, especially as it remains unclear whether the US withdrawal from the negotiations was a genuine policy shift or merely a strategic negotiating tactic. Ali Mamouri is research fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
In Trump's tariff deals with Southeast Asia, will there be any winners?
Now that Donald Trump's arbitrary July 9 deadline for negotiations on 'reciprocal' tariffs has come and gone, what are the implications for Southeast Asia? To date, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are the only countries in the region to have secured so-called deals. Other countries are left with the previously announced April tariffs intact, although the negotiating deadline has been extended for three weeks to August 1. As things stand, there remain few winners in Southeast Asia in the ongoing saga. Details on the agreement with Vietnam are sparse, but it seems Hanoi has managed to get its initial 'reciprocal' tariff rate of 46 per cent reduced to 20 per cent. A 40 per cent tariff will be applied on transshipped products – without an exact definition of exactly what constitutes 'transshipment'. Trump posted on social media that Vietnam had granted the US 'TOTAL ACCESS' to its market, which seems to amount to a duty waiver on US products entering Vietnam. An artisan works on a pair of leather boots in Indonesia. Indonesian goods entering the US will face a 19 per cent tariff. Photo: AFP
RTHK
12 hours ago
- RTHK
Trade on agenda as Trump lands in Scotland
Trade on agenda as Trump lands in Scotland Donald Trump takes questions after landing in Scotland. Photo: Reuters US President Donald Trump landed in Scotland on Friday for a five-day visit set to mix diplomacy, business and leisure, as a huge UK security operation swung into place amid planned protests near his family-owned golf resorts. The president, whose mother was born in Scotland, will split his time between two seaside golf courses bearing his name, in Turnberry on the southwestern coast and Aberdeen in the northeast. Air Force One, carrying the president and White House staff, touched down at Prestwick Airport near Glasgow shortly before 8:30 pm (1930 GMT). Police officers lined surrounding streets and several hundred curious Scots came out hoping for a glimpse of the US leader as he made his way to Turnberry. Trump has no public events scheduled for Saturday and is expected to play golf at his picturesque resort, before meeting EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday for trade talks. Trump is also due to meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the trip. "We're going to do a little celebrating together, because we got along very well," Trump told reporters as he left the White House on Friday, calling Starmer "a good guy" doing "a very good job." He said they would discuss "fine tuning" the bilateral trade deal struck in May, and would "maybe even improve it." But the unpredictable American leader appeared unwilling to cede to a UK request for reduced steel and aluminium tariffs. Trump has exempted British exports from blanket 50 percent tariffs on both metals, but the fate of that carve-out remains unclear. "If I do it for one, I have to do it for all," Trump told reporters, when asked if he had any "wiggle room" for the UK on the issue. The international outcry over the conflict in Gaza may also be on the agenda, as Starmer faces growing pressure to follow French President Emmanuel Macron and announce that Britain will also recognise a Palestinian state. (AFP)
