Trump rebukes MAGA supporters on 'Jeffrey Epstein hoax'
The comments are a remarkable rebuke to some of Trump's top supporters and key MAGA influencers, who have pushed back on his administration's attempt to close the book on Epstein after the president and some of his top officials ginned up expectations of blockbuster revelations.
For months, Attorney General Pam Bondi promised to release new information about Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. New York's chief medical examiner ruled Epstein's death a suicide, but some - including many Trump loyalists - have questioned that finding and whether the government is shielding Epstein's potential clients from public view.
Then, on July 7, Bondi's Justice Department released a memo stating that a "systematic review" of documents "revealed no incriminating 'client list,'" and "no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted." The memo also says there's no evidence that Epstein was murdered while in custody.
The memo enflamed parts of Trump's base. "No one believes there is not a client list," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, a close Trump ally, posted on X July 8.
Prominent Trump's allies are calling for the release of more Epstein records.
"I'm for transparency," Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a July 15 interview with the Benny Johnson Show.
"It's a very delicate subject," he added, "but we should put everything out there and let the people decide."
Trump, who had a friendship with Epstein years ago, told reporters July 15 that he doesn't understand the "fascination" with the case.
"It's sordid, but it's boring," Trump said. "And I don't understand why it keeps going. Really only bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going."
Contributing: Aysha Bagchi, Joey Garrison, Savannah Kuchar
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BBC News
15 minutes ago
- BBC News
Trump and golf - striking balls and deals over 18 holes
Mick Mulvaney thought he had beaten Donald Trump. The president and his White House chief of staff were playing golf at Trump's Bedminster club in 2019, and Mulvaney was up by one stroke with three holes left."I slapped him on the shoulder and joked with him, 'I got you today, old man,'" Mulvaney told the BBC. "He looked at me, half smiled, half-sneered and just laughed."The president birdied two of the next three holes and beat Mulvaney by who worked in Trump's White House for three years in his first term, says he played golf with, or in the group just behind, the president around 40 times and never beat the man 21 years his elder. "Just soul-crushing" is how he described has been a popular activity for many modern American presidents, but none has had quite the same relationship with the sport as Trump, who is in Scotland this weekend for the opening of a new Trump course near Balmedie in presidents like Barack Obama and George W Bush, golf seemed to serve as a diversion from the burdens of office. For the current president, however, golf is a business venture, a networking opportunity and – as Mulvaney recounts - a fiercely competitive undertaking. On the fairways and greens, he says, the president is focused on the game and has little tolerance for poor shots or slow play."In fact, if you are slow," Mulvaney said, "you aren't going to get invited back and might get left behind on the course." Trump flies to Scotland for golf club visits - and a meeting with StarmerHow Trump's mother moved from Scottish island to New York's elite British golf journalist Kevin Brown experienced that first-hand when he played with Trump on his Balmedie course in 2012. He said he was taking in the scenery on the second hole, when one of the other players in his foursome told him that Trump had asked if he could "get a move on"."He was more focused, head down, motoring on ahead of us," Brown said. "Most of the time, he was just playing his own game and obviously thinking about stuff he had to do."After the round, however, Brown spoke to Trump for nearly an hour about his connection to golf. He said the future president's passion was clear."He's nuts about golf," he said. "He knew the background and history of the game. It was impressive."Trump, a real-estate developer turned politician, has played golf since his college days and bought his first golf property, Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach Florida, in 1999. Trump Golf currently owns 11 courses in the US and three in the UK, manages several others and has plans for new resorts in Oman, Indonesia, Vietnam and clubs are a prized possession for Trump – and not always a profit-making one. According to filings with the British government, Trump's Balmedie course lost $1.83m (£1.35m) in 2023 – its 11th-straight year running a deficit. Turnberry, on the other hand, reported about $5m in has at times clashed with local authorities over land use and sought to restrict construction of wind turbines off the coast of his Balmedie his US courses have hosted major professional tournaments, he has long wanted Turnberry, which he will visit this weekend, to be the site of a future British Open Championship. The historic course has hosted four of the prestigious competitions, but none since Trump purchased the property in 2014. According to Brown, Trump is drawn to high-profile golf properties because of the prestige they provide."He just likes the quality and the pedigree," he said. "It's about attracting the right people – i.e. filthy rich businessmen with pretty deep pockets."A single round of golf at Turnberry, for instance, costs around $1, has long been an avocation enjoyed by the elite, where the wealthy and the powerful could conduct business and make connections in an exclusive – and, until recently in many cases exclusively white and male – businessman Trump, it was a pathway to the kind of connections helpful to building his real estate empire. It has offered him a means to connect with American politicians and foreign leaders – even if he did promise in 2016 that he was "not going to have time to play golf" if he was ever voted into White in his first presidential term, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gifted Trump a golden golf club. The two would later play five rounds together – forging a friendship that lasted until Abe was assassinated in regular golf partners have included close political allies, like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, and Republicans with whom he sought to forge new connections, such as 2016 presidential rival Rand Paul of Kentucky."He's a little better golfer than I am, admittedly, but we had a good time," Paul said after a 2017 round with the president, adding that the two mostly focused on golf – but also discussed Trump's tax policies. In March of this year, Trump golfed with Finnish President Alexander Stubb in West Palm Beach, partnering in a club tournament Trump said the two men won. Stubb would later say that they talked about the war in Ukraine, Russia and global security."In Finnish history, it's quite rare that the Finnish president has spent so much time with the president of the United States, either physically or on the phone or messaging," Stubb told Canadian broadcaster CBC this kind of access, and influence, that has made a tee time with Trump a coveted prize for those seeking a presidential audience."Anybody who is sophisticated dealing with Donald quickly understands that everything about him is transactional," said Professor David Cay Johnston of Rochester Institute of Technology, who as a reporter covered Trump for decades and has written three books about the man."If you're the head of a company or the head of a nation, you either try and minimise any prospective damage he might do to you by buttering him up or to size him up on something if you're unsure."Even back at the White House, foreign leaders have tried to parlay a golf connection into a friendly reception. When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Oval Office in May, he gave the president an illustrated South African golf book and included golf professionals Ernie Els and Retief Goosen in his national didn't help much, however, as the meeting devolved into an extended confrontation over South African land confiscation policies. While that drama played out in front of the gathered press and live television cameras, Trump may see benefit from his more cloistered golf outings, as it gives him an opportunity for meetings well removed from the prying eyes of journalists. Reporters accompany Trump on all of his public movements, but when the president is on the golf course they are kept well away."He has time out of the eye of anybody else to deal with people," Johnston said. "And of course, those heads of corporations or states, similarly, are going to use the opportunity to be away from any spotlight."The president's penchant for privacy on the links also means there are wildly conflicting accounts of how good a golfer Trump really is. He boasts of winning dozens of club championships - all on courses he owns - including five this year journalist Rick Reilly, in his 2019 book Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump, writes that Trump's championship claims are so "over-the-top" that he loses all details what he says is Trump's penchant for cheating, including moving his ball to better spots on the course and taking multiple mulligans – a custom in which a player is allowed to replay a stroke with no penalty, after a mishit."He's a notorious cheat," Johnston said. "I spoke to someone once who played a round of golf with him, who told me that he had taken six mulligans on a single hole."According to Mulvaney, who says he never saw Trump cheat, the president may use golf as a way to connect, but 18 holes with the president isn't about business or government or politics."This is golf," he said. "And while that sounds obtuse, golfers know what I mean. Trump was a golfing enthusiast long before he was president. And he will be long after, as well."
The Guardian
26 minutes ago
- The Guardian
From 60 Minutes to Colbert, it's been a dark time for CBS. But there's a ray of hope
The past few weeks have brought a torrent of bad news for those who care about CBS News – the home of the legendary Walter Cronkite and a great deal of investigative journalism over many decades. Most notably, the network's parent company, Paramount Global, capitulated to the Trump administration, unnecessarily – and wimpily – settling a lawsuit by paying $16m, purportedly for a future presidential library. Trump had sued over a story on 60 Minutes, the network's flagship program, claiming it was deceptively edited to favor his then-rival for the presidency, Kamala Harris. After the settlement was announced, Trump crowed that the network had 'defrauded the American people' and was desperate to settle; he also claimed that another $20m in advertising and programming was also coming his way. Days later, another troubling sign. The network decided to dump The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the top-rated show on late-night television, whose host has been relentlessly critical of Trump. Network bosses claimed the move was financial, since the show was losing money. But it wasn't hard to connect the dots and see this as part of an all-out effort to appease the president. The Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren called for answers in a Variety op-ed, asking: 'Are we sure that this wasn't part of a wink-wink deal between the president and a giant corporation that needed something from his administration?' That 'something' is federal clearance for an $8bn merger between Paramount and another giant media corporation, Skydance. (The latter company is doing its kowtowing part, promising to 'evaluate any complaints of bias' at CBS News, appoint an ombudsman to keep watch, and ensure there are no diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Paramount. The proposed merger got approval on Thursday from the FCC, which means that it's essentially a done deal.) Colbert's on-air commentary on the settlement was brutal: 'This kind of complicated financial settlement with a sitting government official has a technical name in legal circles. It's 'big, fat bribe'.' Could it be a complete coincidence that The Late Show was canceled three days later? Amid all this, one positive development this week shone through like a wan blade of light. A new executive producer for 60 Minutes – the top editorial role – got the nod. To the relief of many there, Tanya Simon is no outsider who might have been tapped to make the show more Trump-friendly. Simon has deep roots at the revered program – a 25-year veteran of 60 Minutes, she is also the daughter of the late CBS correspondent Bob Simon. She has been the acting executive producer since the previous executive producer, Bill Owens, resigned under pressure, saying he felt he no longer had the full editorial independence he had always enjoyed. Her appointment, of course, doesn't mean no political pressure will be exerted from corporate bosses above her, who seem to be under Trump's sway. 'There is great fear about what comes next,' one CBS News staffer told CNN earlier this month. Simon's appointment offers at least a modest measure of reassurance. She 'understands what makes '60 minutes' tick,' said the news division's president, Tom Cibrowski, in a memo to staff. She's also the first woman, in the show's nearly six-decade history, to be at the helm. If the choice had been a right-leaning newcomer, it's a good bet that top quality talent like Scott Pelley – a former chief White House correspondent and a former anchor of the CBS Evening News – would have quickly headed for the door. As for the future of CBS, once admired enough to be dubbed the Tiffany Network, the outlook is mixed. 'I know that the C in CBS stands for Columbia, but … it ought to be called the Contradiction Broadcasting Network,' wrote Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch. That's always been true, he argued, given the bright journalistic legacy of Cronkite and Edward R Murrow along with some ugly chapters in the distant past. That includes the time when – under fire from the FBI director J Edgar Hoover in the late 1940s – the network demanded that all its employees sign a loyalty oath to the US government. When it comes to integrity, that history of contradiction is bad enough. Capitulation, though, is far worse. And given recent events, it's easy to make the case that CBS – or, more accurately, its parent company – deserves that acronym even more. Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture
Powys County Times
32 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Get your act together on immigration, Trump tells Europe as he lands in Scotland
Europe 'better get your act together' on immigration, US President Donald Trump said as he landed in Scotland. Mr Trump is in the country for a four-day visit to both of his golf clubs in Aberdeen and Ayrshire. Landing at around 8.30pm on Friday, the president was greeted by Scottish Secretary Ian Murray before speaking to reporters. Asked about illegal immigration – which successive UK governments have sought to curb – Mr Trump said: 'On immigration, you better get your act together. 'You're not going to have Europe anymore, you've got to get your act together. 'As you know, last month we had nobody entering our country – nobody, (we) shut it down.' He added: 'You've got to stop this horrible invasion that's happening to Europe.' Immigration, Mr Trump said, was 'killing Europe'. Some European leaders, he continued, 'have not let it happen' and are 'not getting the proper credit they should', though the president did not say who he was talking about. Mr Trump said: 'Many countries in Europe, some people, some leaders, have not let it happen, and they're not getting the proper credit they should.' The president also praised Sir Keir Starmer ahead of a meeting between the two at one of his courses in the coming days, describing him as a 'good man'. 'I like your Prime Minister, he's slightly more liberal than I am – as you probably heard – but he's a good man. He got a trade deal done,' he said. 'You know, they've been working on this deal for 12 years, he got it done – that's a good deal, it's a good deal for the UK.' The president's motorcade – which contained more than two dozen vehicles – passed a small group of protesters as he entered his Turnberry golf club. Mr Trump also suggested he would be meeting Sir Keir 'tomorrow evening', although it is understood the pair will not meet until Monday. As well as the Prime Minister, Scottish First Minister John Swinney will meet with the president, as will European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who confirmed on X she will come to Scotland on Sunday in a bid to hash out a trade deal between the US and Europe. Mr Trump told journalists there was a 'good 50/50 chance' of a deal being struck, adding that it would be the 'biggest deal of them all'. The president and Sir Keir are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month. Mr Swinney has pledged to 'essentially speak out for Scotland'. Speaking as he boarded Air Force One in the US, Mr Trump said he would be having dinner with the Prime Minister at Turnberry, before 'going to the oil capital of Europe, which is Aberdeen'. He said: 'We're going to have a good time. I think the Prime Minister and I get along very well.' Mr Trump added: 'We're going to be talking about the trade deal that we made and maybe even approve it.' He also told journalists he was 'looking forward' to meeting with the 'Scottish leader' Mr Swinney, describing him as a 'good man'. During his time in Scotland, the president is also likely to spark a number of protests, with concerns being raised about how such demonstrations are policed.
