"Exonerated."
That is Trump's position. Not just "not guilty." Not just "unknown," nor "unknowable," nor "unproved guilt based on admissible evidence in a court of law."
"I have nothing to hide. I've been exonerated. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein."
Trump to reporters on Air Force One
Democrats who get their news from a mix of "mainstream news" and from social media feeds derivative of those sources think Trump is surely guilty of something illegal or hugely embarrassing as regards Jeffrey Epstein. After all, it is Trump-the-Lothario-predator. Otherwise, why his ham-handed coverup? And look at all the evidence. Photos. Flight logs. Birthday cards. Testimony from victims.
Trump has protectors, not defenders. The Justice Department and his allies in the Congress withhold information the best they can. When they are forced to release information they mess it up with haphazard redactions and point at Democratic-coded people and institutions. That is why they questioned Hillary Clinton yesterday.
No Trump defender says, "Manipulate a young woman into sex play? Why Trump wouldn't do anything like that."
Being a sexual predator sounds exactly like something Trump would do if he could get away with it. He has had a lifetime of experience doing it. He bragged about being able to walk in on undressed contestants in teen beauty pageant dressing rooms. Trump's supporters heard the Access Hollywood tape and voted for him anyway. It was "just Trump being Trump," evidence of his forceful will, his ability to take what he wants. Trump-the-winner in sex, politics, and war. Maybe we can get Greenland.
Democrats who consider Trump to be a malicious sociopath, a narcissist, a flagrant liar and lawbreaker, and a man unfit for any position of responsibility -- a reasonable position -- have a hard time crediting Trump for his talents. Democrats overlook his skill in transactional negotiations. Trump takes an outrageous opening position. Greenland. DOGE. Tariffs at 100 percent. Ghislaine Maxwell -- herself negotiating for a full pardon -- asserts that Trump "was a perfect gentleman." Exoneration is a negotiating position.
I doubt the Epstein files will resolve anything, although I expect more resignations and public shaming, some well-justified, some guilt by implication and accusation. The files have gone through many hands. I presume some files were shredded, some are intact but haphazardly redacted, some released, some withheld for good reason, and some withheld for corrupt reasons. Even photos and videotape with clear images of Trump doing criminal acts with very young girls can be discounted as fake, manipulated, or created by AI. No credible proof is possible.
That is the real lesson Americans will learn: No one knows, and some people will get away with bad behavior. The result will be a general cheapening of America's respect for our business and political leaders and an overall sense that there is no true anything. The news is fake. Elections are rigged. Tabulating machines flip votes. Obama's birth certificate was faked. The CDC hides that vaccines are dangerous. College admissions are rigged. Sports are rigged. Members of Congress trade stocks on inside information. There really was an elite ring of powerful pedophiles, only it wasn't in a pizza shop basement. It was on a private island.
Trump is hurt by the Epstein mess, but so is everyone else. Trump is adept at riding out a scandal: deny, accuse, deflect. Trump's malignant sociopathy gives him a powerful weapon: shamelessness. Others will resign. They will admit to some error in judgment. They will feel shame. Not Trump. After all, he was exonerated.
[Note: To get daily delivery of this blog by email go to Https://petersage.substack.com. Subscribe. The blog is free and always will be.]
Whatever Trump is guilty of, and it's SOMETHING TERRIBLE, Republicans will shield him until he is of no more use to them.
ReplyDeleteThen we'll see...
“Epstein, Epstein, Epstein” is the new “Russia, Russia, Russia.” In other words, you can be sure that over the many years they were best buddies, Trump was an eager participant in Epstein’s perversions, just as we all know that he eagerly welcomed Putin’s help in getting him elected. Let’s keep it up, along with reminding everyone of the obvious: In spite of Trump’s lies, everything is getting more expensive.
ReplyDelete“Trump's malignant sociopathy gives him a powerful weapon: shamelessness” What’s worse is that he has made it acceptable to so many- even and especially the supposedly moral Evangelical Christian Right. That Billy Graham’s son Franklin endorses him without reservation is telling.
ReplyDelete