Between sending an army of goons from Immigration and Customs Enforcement into Minneapolis and threatening to invade Greenland, Donald Trump has successfully knocked the Epstein files out of the headlines — for now. The president’s long and intense friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in jail awaiting trial for sex trafficking minors, was getting another round of heavy media scrutiny in December. The Justice Department was scheduled to release millions of documents related to the case — and then failed to do so.
This came after reports emerged that Epstein called himself “Don’s best friend” and that the two men spoke multiple times a week for years, in addition to frequently partying together. The reluctance of Attorney General Pam Bondi and other shamelessly corrupt officials to release the files, as required by law, suggests they are worried that what’s in them could somehow be even worse.
But while a fascistic assault on a major American city and the threat of starting World War III are understandably crowding out discussion of the Epstein files, Trump’s repeated demands that this story go away aren’t going to be heeded. This week, an art installation was erected on the National Mall depicting a lewd birthday card reportedly sent by Trump to Epstein, which alluded to having “certain things in common” and a “wonderful secret.” Media outlets are marking that it’s been over a month since the deadline to release the files, with no sign that the Justice Department has made any movement beyond a few embarrassing photos of men other than Trump hanging out with “Don’s best friend.”
Bondi and her communications staff keep making lame excuses for the delay, which almost no one is buying. A CNN poll shows that only 6 percent of Americans are happy with the amount of material released, with two-thirds believing the failure is a deliberate cover-up. According to a YouGov poll, 49% of Americans think Trump was directly involved in Epstein’s crimes, while a whopping 71% believe he knew about the crimes.
Invariably, whenever the Epstein files are brought up in relation to Trump’s other atrocities and scandals, a go-nowhere discussion about the word “distraction” erupts. Since the deadline for the Epstein files came and went, Trump has attacked Venezuela, invaded Minneapolis and threatened Greenland. Some, like Democratic strategist James Carville, have argued Trump wants to “draw attention away from Epstein.” Others have gotten angry at the “distraction” language, correctly pointing out that Trump’s abuses of foreign countries and liberal cities are rooted in his hatreds and grievances.
Like his friend Epstein — who enjoyed targeting small, helpless teenage girls — the most important thread throughout Trump’s life is that he tries to feel big by harassing those who he feels can’t fight back.
But this binary debate over whether Trump’s various offenses are a distraction misses the larger story. All these issues are tied together under one common theme: Trump is the worst kind of bully, a cowardly one. Like his friend Epstein — who enjoyed targeting small, helpless teenage girls — the most important thread throughout Trump’s life is that he tries to feel big by harassing those who he feels can’t fight back.
So far, Trump hasn’t been accused of sexually assaulting any underage girls trafficked by Epstein. But there’s overwhelming evidence the president shared Epstein’s view that what makes one powerful is avoiding conflict with those who can truly challenge you, and instead preying on the young, the small and the disadvantaged. In a civil trial, journalist E. Jean Carroll accused Trump of using his physical size to overpower her during a sexual assault, a claim the jury found to be true. The common theme of the over two dozen women who have accused Trump of sexual abuse or harassment is of a man who only goes after those he believes can’t defend themselves because they’re asleep or cornered. Or, as was the case of the pageant contestants who said he leered at them in the dressing room, he literally owned the event. Reporting shows that Trump and Epstein shared an enthusiasm for creeping on teenage girls, exploiting their dreams to be models and bullying them into accepting unwanted sexual attention.
This pathetic stance of feeling strong by going after the vulnerable has permeated Trump’s behavior of the past few weeks, whether he’s consciously trying to distract from the Epstein files or not. “[H]e really does seem to think that might makes right — that if the U.S. has the power to take something, then that thing is rightfully ours,” Jill Filipovic wrote in her newsletter this week about Trump’s threats to Greenland. “This is the kind of antisocial, base world view that preschool teachers work diligently to counter: It’s nice to share with others and they should share back with us; no, William’s toy truck is not yours to take home simply because you are bigger.”
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Speaking to reporters ahead of the World Economic Forum, Trump kept up his third-rate gangster act, sneering that it would be “a very interesting Davos.” The tone he used was clearly meant to be menacing. While the situation very serious — his behavior could blow up the NATO alliance — it’s also pathetic and clownish.
Greenland is clearly in his sights because Trump and his team see it in the same way a predator eyeballs a 14-year-old girl: as an easy target. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said as much earlier this month, telling CNN, “Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”
Trump’s invasion of Venezuela to seize the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, was similar in its cowardice. Rather than risk a military confrontation, they forced American troops to play the role of the sleazy kidnapper sneaking in windows. The president and his aides all talk like tough guys, but they repeatedly reveal that the only fights they like are the easy ones.
This theme of cowardly bullying is the big story of ICE’s invasion of Minneapolis. There’s a lot of big talk from MAGA figures about fighting crime, but the actual targets of the invasion are teenage Target employees, an old man in his underwear and, of course, 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent after she and her wife lightly taunted him for playing dress-up in his camo. No one in good faith could see these victims — all citizens, by the way — as a legitimate challenge, much less a threat, to anyone, especially to armed ICE agents.
Trump’s dread of the Epstein files appears to be rooted in a fear that the MAGA base will sour on him if they get more details of his lengthy involvement with the notorious sex trafficker. But what’s so telling is how his other actions — many that the base thrills over, such as the sadistic abuse taking place on the streets of Minneapolis — share the same poison root that led Trump to be so fond of Epstein for so long.
Whether the targets are vulnerable young women, lightly populated ice-covered islands or regular folks in Minneapolis, Trump’s modus operandi never changes: He makes himself big by picking on those he sees as small. He’s a man who will kick a mouse and pretend he wrestled a bear — and then demand the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
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