Politico’s Playbook column unpacked the idea: “Spinning the Epstein story as a ‘Beltway’ story is an attempt to reclaim the position of the ordinary American—flipping it so that Trump isn’t the one in power, he’s the outsider crashing the gates.” Although the publication ultimately did not come to the conclusion that this is going to work—more on that below—it added that “there is truth to the idea that [Epstein] isn’t exactly a kitchen-table issue,” i.e., that Ma and Pa Heartland would not care if the president were a pedophile, so long as it didn’t affect their household finances. What all the outlets above have suggested is that he might be turning the tide with them by casting himself as a victim of a deep state smear job—i.e., the Journal’s report that he apparently wished Epstein a happy 50th birthday in the form of a poem about how they shared a “wonderful secret,” which was written inside a drawing of a woman with visible bosoms. The Times cited “Stephen K. Bannon, a former White House adviser to Mr. Trump and influential leader of the MAGA base,” who told the paper that “the Murdochs’ bizarre assault on the president galvanized his base” and that “we are united as Trump goes on offense—against the Murdochs, the courts and the deep state.” (The Murdoch family owns the Wall Street Journal.)
Author: Ben Mathis-Lilley
Published at: 2025-07-21 22:10:35
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