Donald Trump has a Jeffrey Epstein problem and it's just getting started
Fuelling the rebellion among his Make America Great Again loyalists is Mr Trump's response to developments in the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced former financier who authorities say took his own life in a New York jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Epstein in 2008 had pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a child for prostitution, and his death in 2019 quickly became a cause celebre for Maga loyalists and the right-wing media world. They claimed, without evidence, that Epstein was murdered to keep him quiet about any wealthy and powerful clients he may have had.
The theory was so widespread that it became received wisdom in the Maga universe. Last year, Vice President JD Vance said: 'We need to release the Epstein list, that is an important thing."
But when the FBI and the Justice Department published a much-anticipated memo last week, it stated that no evidence supported the claim that Epstein had kept a 'client list', or that he had blackmailed prominent people. Investigators also reasserted 2019 findings that he had died by suicide.
For many Maga supporters, the memo amounted to a betrayal, especially considering the source. For years before joining the Trump administration, FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, had pushed Epstein conspiracies in one form or another. Now that they are in office, they are saying there is nothing to see here and it's time to move on.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had an Epstein client list 'sitting on my desk right now to review". But when asked about it last week, she sought to withdraw the comment, saying she was referring to the overall Epstein file.
For conservative influencers including Elon Musk and Laura Loomer, it all stinks. Ms Loomer, a staunch Trump loyalist, on Sunday told Politico that a special counsel should be appointed for an independent investigation of the handling of the Epstein files.
Mr Musk, who fell out with Mr Trump last month, lobbed a 'really big bomb' at the President as he left the White House, claiming the reason the full Epstein investigation has not been made public is because Mr Trump is 'in the Epstein files'. He later deleted that post on X.
We already knew that Mr Trump, Bill Clinton, Britain's Prince Andrew and other rich and powerful men had moved in Epstein's orbit, before he was known to be a sexual predator. But Mr Musk appeared to be hinting at something else. On Saturday, the tech billionaire posted on X that Mr Trump should 'just release the files as promised".
Mr Trump's own reaction to the release of the memo has been disastrous. When asked about it at a Cabinet meeting last week, instead of addressing the terrible crimes Epstein was accused of, or telling supporters that he was committed to making sure justice is done, he snapped at a reporter who had the temerity to ask him about the case.
'Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?' Mr Trump said testily. 'This guy's been talked about for years … are people still talking about this? … That is unbelievable."
It was a massively disingenuous answer as he knows only too well how important the Epstein case is to his supporters. He made things worse still on Saturday when he claimed that the Epstein file had been created by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other 'losers and criminals of the Biden administration".
Let's 'not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about", he posted in a lengthy message on Truth Social.
A look at comments underneath that post are instructive. Normally, Mr Trump's posts are greeted with a tsunami of seemingly bot-generated memes that adulate him. Now, angry supporters are alleging he is part of some sort of cover-up.
'This is going to cost you so many supporters. I being one of them. I have been to multiple rallies and even was there on [January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol],' one user wrote.
Another said Mr Trump is 'losing too many in your base'.
It all amounts to a huge headache for Mr Trump and a credibility crisis for his administration. Just last month, he was coming off perhaps the most successful period of his time as President.
In less than two weeks, he announced an Israel-Iran ceasefire, sealed a peace accord between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and persuaded European allies to increase defence spending for Nato.
But his handling of the Epstein case means cracks are forming in his foundational support. If he's not careful, the saga could start to undermine his broader agenda.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Zawya
41 minutes ago
- Zawya
Egypt Values President Trump's Statement to Resolve Conflicts & End Wars
Egypt values the statement by President Donald Trump, which demonstrates the seriousness of the United States—under President Trump's leadership—in exerting efforts to resolve conflicts and end wars. Egypt reaffirms its confidence in President Trump's ability to address complex challenges and to advance peace, stability, and security across the globe, whether in Ukraine, the Palestinian territory, or Africa. Egypt also appreciates President Trump's keenness on reaching a just agreement that safeguards the interests of all parties regarding the Ethiopian Dam, as well as his recognition of the Nile as a source of life for Egypt. Egypt reaffirms its support for President Trump's vision of establishing just peace, security, and stability for all countries in the region and around the world. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Khaleej Times
2 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Chinese firms rush to buy Nvidia AI chips as sales set to resume
Chinese firms are scrambling to buy Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chips, two sources told Reuters, as the company said it planned to resume sales to the mainland days after its CEO met U.S. President Donald Trump. Nvidia's AI chips have been a key focus of U.S. export controls designed to keep the most advanced chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns. The U.S.-listed company has said the curbs would cut its revenue by $15 billion. The world's most valuable firm is filing applications with the U.S. government to resume sales to China of the H20 graphics processing unit (GPU), and expects to get the licences soon, Nvidia said in a statement. "The U.S. government has assured Nvidia that licences will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon," said the company, whose chief executive, Jensen Huang, is visiting Beijing and set to speak at an event on Wednesday. The White House, which has previously expressed concern that the Chinese military could use AI chips to develop weapons, did not respond to a request for comment. Chinese companies have scrambled to place orders for the chips, which Nvidia would then need to send to the U.S. government for approval, the sources familiar with the matter said. They added that internet giants ByteDance and Tencent are in the process of submitting applications. Central to the process is a "whitelist" put together by Nvidia for Chinese companies to register for potential purchases, one of the sources said. ByteDance and Tencent did not respond to a request for comment. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment regarding the "whitelist". Nvidia, which has criticised the export curbs the Trump administration imposed in April that stopped it from selling its H20 chip in China, also said it has introduced a new model tailored to meet regulatory rules in the Chinese market. Huang is set fpr a media briefing in Beijing on Wednesday when he attends a supply chain expo. The Nvidia CEO also visited China in April and stressed the importance of the Chinese market. "The Chinese market is massive, dynamic, and highly innovative, and it's also home to many AI researchers," Huang told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday. "Therefore, it is indeed crucial for American companies to establish roots in the Chinese market." Nvidia's Frankfurt-listed shares jumped 3.2%. Asked at a regular foreign ministry briefing in Beijing about Nvidia's plans to resume AI chip sales, a spokesperson said, "China is opposed to the politicisation, instrumentalisation and weaponisation of science, technology and economic and trade issues to maliciously blockade and suppress China." Nvidia has faced increased competition from Chinese tech giant Huawei and other makers of GPUs - the chips used to train artificial intelligence. But Chinese companies, including big tech firms, still crave Nvidia chips for its computing platform known as CUDA. Huang's visit is being closely watched in both China and the United States, where a bipartisan pair of senators last week sent the CEO a letter asking him to abstain from meeting companies working with military or intelligence bodies. The senators also asked Huang to refrain from meeting with entities named on the United States' restricted export list. The move to resume sales of the H20 chips comes amid easing tensions between Washington and Beijing, with China relaxing controls on rare earth exports and the United States allowing chip design software services to restart in China. "The uncertainties between the U.S. and China remain high and despite a pause in H20's ban, Chinese companies will continue to diversify their options to better protect their supply chain integrity," said He Hui, research director of semiconductors at Omdia. The H20 chip was developed specifically for the Chinese market after U.S. export curbs imposed on national security grounds in late 2023. The AI chip was Nvidia's most powerful legally available product in China until it was effectively banned by Washington in April. The H20 ban forced Nvidia to write off $5.5 billion in inventories, and Huang told the Stratechery podcast this year that the company also had to walk away from $15 billion in sales. Nvidia also announced the development of a new AI chip designed specifically for China, called the RTX Pro GPU. The company described it as "fully compliant" with U.S. export controls and suitable for digital twin AI applications in sectors, such as smart factories and logistics. In May, Reuters reported Nvidia was preparing to launch in China a new AI chip, based on the RTX Pro 6000D, at a significantly lower price point than the H20. The graphics processing unit would be part of Nvidia's latest generation Blackwell-architecture AI processors and was expected to be priced well below the H20 for its weaker specifications and simpler manufacturing requirements, sources said. China generated $17 billion in revenue for Nvidia in the fiscal year ending January 26, or 13% of total sales, based on its latest annual report. Huang has consistently highlighted China as a critical market for Nvidia's growth.
Zawya
3 hours ago
- Zawya
Trump joins tech and energy executives amid AI push
President Donald Trump will join executives from some of the largest U.S. tech and energy companies for a summit in Pittsburgh on Tuesday as the administration prepares fresh measures to power the U.S. expansion of artificial intelligence. Top economic rivals U.S. and China are locked in a technological arms race over who can dominate AI as the technology takes on increasing importance everywhere from corporate boardrooms to the battlefield. The Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University is expected to bring tech executives and officials from top energy and tech firms including Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet and Exxon Mobil to discuss how to position the U.S. as a leader in AI. Trump will use the summit - put together by U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican ally from Pennsylvania - to announce some $70 billion in artificial intelligence and energy investments in the state. Big Tech is scrambling to secure vast amounts of electricity supplies to power the energy-guzzling data centers needed for its rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. The CEOs expected to attend include Khaldoon Al-Mubarak of Mubadala, Rene Hass of SoftBank, Larry Fink of BlackRock, Darren Woods of ExxonMobil, Brendan Bechtel of Bechtel and Dario Amodei of Anthropic. The White House is considering executive actions in the coming weeks to make it easier for power-generating projects to connect to the grid and also provide federal land on which to build the data centers needed to expand AI technology, Reuters previously reported. The administration is also weighing streamlining permitting for data centers by creating a nationwide Clean Water Act permit, rather than requiring companies to seek permits on a state-by-state basis. Mike Sommers, head of the influential American Petroleum Institute, said executive action is welcomed to unlock the energy needed to power the data centers, but a more durable solution is needed. "Real durable permitting reform requires an act of Congress, not just an executive order," Sommers said in an interview with Reuters. Trump ordered his administration in January to produce an AI Action Plan that would make "America the world capital in artificial intelligence" and reduce regulatory barriers to its rapid expansion. That report, which includes input from the National Security Council, is due by July 23. The White House is considering making July 23 "AI Action Day" to draw attention to the report and demonstrate its commitment to expanding the industry, Reuters has reported. U.S. power demand is hitting record highs this year after nearly two decades of stagnation as AI and cloud computing data centers balloon in numbers and size across the country. The demand is also leading to unprecedented deals between the power industry and technology companies, including the attempted restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania between Constellation Energy and Microsoft. The surge has led to concerns about power shortages that threaten to raise electricity bills and increase the risk of blackouts, while slowing Big Tech in its global race against countries like China to dominate artificial intelligence. (Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Laila Kearney contributed reporting from New York; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Stephen Coates)
