Trump’s face-saving capitulation exposes cracks in MAGA empire
So the US President did what he so often does: he changed his mind.
On his return to Washington from Mar-a-Lago on Sunday evening local time, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.”
On Tuesday (AEDT) he went further, saying he would sign legislation to release the files if the vote passed the Senate.
This eleventh hour backflip is an admission of defeat and a face-saving exercise to avoid the appearance of the House GOP openly defying Trump by voting en masse for release of the files.
The reality is that Speaker Mike Johnson had adjourned the House for six weeks during the shutdown to try and avoid such a vote and the US President was personally invested in this campaign.
Efforts were made by the White House to encourage Republican signatories to the discharge petition aimed at bringing on a vote to withdraw their names – with Lauren Boebert of Colorado, one of the signatories, being called into the Situation Room for a meeting with Attorney-General Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel.
But these efforts collapsed. The decision to reverse course in the face of such stubborn resistance to his will shows that Trump’s hold over the GOP and his MAGA constituency is not absolute.
This is a win for the US Congress and it is possible there will now be a unanimous vote in the House. Trump’s about face will be widely interpreted as a sign of waning authority and a turning point for the US President.
As many as 100 Republicans were expected to break ranks from the President and, in recent days, Trump has publicly condemned one of the most outspoken advocates for releasing the files – Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Congressional ally turned critic of the President.
Shortly after he announced his change in position on Sunday night, Trump fired off another Truth Social missive attacking Greene after she warned she was receiving death threats because of the President’s statements.
“Wacky Marjorie “Traitor” Brown (Remember, Green turns to Brown where there is ROT involved!) is working overtime to try and portray herself as a victim when, in actuality, she is the cause of all of her own problems,” he said. “The fact is, nobody cares about this Traitor to our Country!”
In the end, Trump was outfoxed by Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democrat Ro Khanna of California – the leading champions in Congress for the release of the Epstein files. Massie argued that Republicans needed to vote for the release of the files on merit rather than out of loyalty to Trump, an argument that many of his colleagues found compelling.
“They need to look past 2028 and wonder if they want this on their record for the rest of their political career,” he said.
Trump is now feigning indifference to the issue, making clear he has undergone no road to Damascus conversion.
Despite the fierce and ongoing interest in the Epstein files from his MAGA base, Trump made clear his decision was about removing impediments to his agenda and providing clear air.
He said it was “time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party.”
“I DON’T CARE!” he said on Truth Social. “All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT.”
This is unlikely to win back supporters who had grown disillusioned with his stance on Epstein and concerned about his relationship with the disgraced financier who committed suicide in August 2019.
Trump’s change in position also raises further questions about whether he will actually take proactive steps to help release the files himself, or whether he is simply lifting the political bar on House Republicans voting for the release of the files.
If Trump was serious about releasing the Epstein files he could always sign an executive order ordering his Attorney-General and the FBI to review and declassify the full volume of materials within their control.
The Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on social media on Sunday night: “The vote is to compel YOU to release them. Let’s make this easier. Just release the files now.”
If Trump was hoping his new position would make the issue go away, he was mistaken. The obvious question is, now that Trump supports a vote in the House, why would he oppose one in the Senate?
The US President is now at a perilous moment in his second term and is trying to reclaim the narrative and the political initiative amid fissures in his MAGA constituency, growing pressure over his management of elevated household costs and threats to his political agenda including a looming Supreme Court ruling on his sweeping tariffs.
The risk is that Trump’s recalibrations only create new political problems rather than the reset he is looking for.
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Donald Trump knew he was losing the fight and could no longer stop Republicans voting for a measure to release the Department of Justice files on convicted sex trafficker and pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.