On Trump's Bait-and-Switch

The Weekly Take

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

This last week Americans witnessed President Donald Trump flip-flop on two core issues that he ran on: the release of the Epstein files and ending the war in Ukraine. His bombing campaign in Yemen and his recent strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were also a reversal from his campaign promise to not start any new wars. These examples highlight a frustrating aspect of politics that US citizens have become all too familiar with. Namely, that politicians will say or promise whatever they need to in order to get elected, but will rarely follow through on those promises.

Donald Trump, who was a political outsider when he first ran for president in 2016, claimed to be different from the standard career politicians. He promised to fight the “Deep State”, end US involvement in foreign conflicts, cut government spending and bring about peace, stability and prosperity. Whether his rhetoric was sincere or not, he has failed to fulfill these promises, and last week he revealed that he is either incapable or unwilling to go against many of the power centers that are entrenched in our system.

The Epstein Files

The Context

By now, nearly everyone has likely heard the name Jeffery Epstein, the disgraced billionaire financier and convicted sex offender who had ties to many of the world’s richest and most powerful people — including Donald Trump. Epstein was charged with sex trafficking underaged girls back in 2019, but before his case went to trial he was found dead in his jail cell at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. His death was ruled a suicide, but it has been widely speculated that he was murdered in order to keep information that could implicate those wealthy and powerful people in his crimes from coming to light.

Epstein’s former girlfriend and close associate Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking minors in late 2021, and is currently serving a 20-year sentence in a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida.

For years, Trump and many of his most prominent supporters — some of which are now high-ranking officials in his administration — claimed that the government was purposefully withholding information pertaining to Epstein and his alleged clients. Trump even made comments during his 2024 presidential campaign suggesting that he would release that information, and many of his administration officials have echoed those statements since he returned to the Oval Office.

Some of those statements have since been walked back, with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino both publicly stating that, after reviewing the documents, they now believe that Epstein killed himself.

Last Sunday, July 6, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a memo which states that “This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list.’ There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.” The memo also states that Epstein committed suicide and that “it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”

Just two days later, on July 8, a reporter asked US Attorney General Pam Bondi about Epstein and his alleged ties to intelligence agencies. Trump interjected before Bondi had a chance to respond, and berated the reporter for daring to ask such a question.

“Are you still talking about Jeffery Epstein?” Trump asked. “Are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.”

The Take

My take on this situation is pretty much the same as that of anyone else who has followed this story to any extent. We are clearly being lied to by the Trump administration in order to sweep this story under the rug and prevent any further disclosure or accountability from taking place.

The idea that Epstein acted alone and that none of the myriad of influential people he had ties to were involved is preposterous. This conclusion by the DOJ and FBI leaves many questions unanswered, the most obvious of which being if there is no “client list” then how could Ghislaine Maxwell be convicted of sex trafficking? Who exactly was she trafficking minors to?

There are many powerful individuals who regularly interacted with Epstein, flew on his private jet, and visited his private island or his various mansions, but we’re expected to believe that none of them had any involvement in his crimes? Fortunately, no serious person seems to be buying this load of shit from the Trump administration, but the DOJ and the FBI attempting to close this case without conducting a thorough investigation into those individuals ensures that these crimes will go unpunished and that the obvious blackmail operation Epstein was apart of will continue for years to come.

Trump’s reaction to Bondi being asked about Epstein within mere days of the DOJ memo being released provides more reason to be skeptical, as it was clearly a pathetic attempt to deflect from one of the most important and relevant stories in recent memory. His suggestion that people should just stop talking about Epstein and all of the the implications that go along with this case only raises suspicion that Trump and his administration know more than they’re letting on, which begs the question: why are we being lied to and who benefits from the truth remaining hidden?

This cover-up is easily one of the most disgraceful things Trump has ever been apart of, and it should make clear to all of his supporters that he’s no better than any of the other swamp creatures he claims to oppose.

More Weapons to Ukraine

The Context

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, much of the American right has opposed the US government providing military or financial aid to Ukraine. Those who support aiding Ukraine claim that the reason for this opposition is that right-wingers have some sort of affinity toward the Russian government — or specifically, Russian President Vladimir Putin — but this is ridiculous. Most of the opposition toward aiding Ukraine stems less from a love for Russia or Putin and more from a desire to see an end to US involvement in foreign conflicts.

In 2024 Donald Trump ran on negotiating a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and even claimed that he would have that conflict resolved “within 24 hours” after winning the election. To this day, that war is still taking place, and recent events suggest that it will continue for the foreseeable future — with the US being involved every step of the way.

Not only has Trump failed to bring about an end to that war, he has also continued to provide weapons to Ukraine despite his base’s opposition to such a policy. There have been notable differences in Trump’s stance toward Ukraine than that of his predecessor, former president Joe Biden, including a couple pauses in arms shipments — one which came after a televised argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — but by and large US involvement in the war in Ukraine has remained constant throughout Trump’s second term.

One of those pauses occurred just recently, but Trump changed course almost immediately after that pause took effect.

As the Associated Press reported last week:

President Donald Trump said Monday [July 7] the U.S. will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv.

The comments by Trump appeared to be an abrupt change in posture after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons because of what U.S. officials said were concerns that stockpiles have declined too much.

“We have to,” Trump said. ”They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now. We’re going to send some more weapons — defensive weapons primarily.”

The Take

Personally, I was never under the illusion that Trump would end the war in Ukraine within a day of taking office, but I was hopeful that some sort of shift in policy would take place. That hope has dwindled with every failed attempt Trump has made at ending that war, and this recent continuation of arms shipments has crushed any remaining hope I had.

It appears as though this war will go on for at least a few more months — if not the rest of Trump’s term — and the foreign policy establishment and military-industrial complex will continue to benefit off of the deaths of countless Russian and Ukrainian soldiers.

This situation also highlights the contradiction in Trump’s “America first” rhetoric and his actions as president. If the recent pause in arms shipments to Ukraine came out of a concern that US weapons stockpiles have decreased to dangerous levels, then how is it in America’s national interest to continue those arms shipments? The Trump administration appears to be more concerned with arming foreign governments than defending our own country, despite how often Trump claims to be “America first”.

Conclusion

Both of these recent developments show the continuity of US politics. No matter who the president is, certain aspects of our system remain the same. While I was always skeptical that Trump would follow through on most of his campaign promises, it’s still disappointing to witness his drastic reversal on these two extremely important issues.

It seems clear to me that far too many people within our government have too much to gain from engaging in forever wars to ever see a substantial shift in US foreign policy, and too much to lose from the release of the Epstein files for us to ever get complete transparency on that case.

Our government is full of warmongering swamp creatures who seem hell-bent on protecting Epstein’s clients, and that includes President Donald Trump. To me, this reality has been evident for quite some time, but this last week leaves little doubt that this is the case. Trump’s supporters should pay close attention to his recent actions, and seriously ask themselves if this is what they voted for.

---

Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my writing, feel free to subscribe to my Substack, or you can follow me on Twitter, Minds, or MeWe.