I’m going to be honest: optimism isn’t my thing.
In the era of Donald Trump, I’ve learned to expect absolutely nothing. I’ve accepted that people’s moral compasses can flip on a dime, that long-held beliefs suddenly dissolve the moment Trump is involved. But right now? I’m feeling something I haven’t felt in a long time. A flicker of hope. Maybe even some optimism that Donald Trump is finally heading toward the reckoning he deserves.
“But Ally, we’ve thought this so many times over the years. So many horrible things have happened, and every time, he evades accountability.”
I know, I know. But this time—as a former MAGA voter—it feels different.
Voters across the country—including Republicans—have been watching Trump flail his way through the Epstein files situation, and they’re not impressed. First he promised to release them. Then they were coming “any day.” Then suddenly they didn’t exist—they were a Democratic hoax. Then he wasn’t in them. THEN he quietly pressured Republicans in Congress not to release them—while publicly pretending he wants them out. None of it makes sense unless you accept the obvious: Donald Trump is all over those Epstein files. Not vaguely. Not tangentially. All over them—with evidence that is, by all accounts, extremely damning.
And here’s where it gets even worse for him: Congress is done waiting. The Epstein transparency bill has now passed through both the House and the Senate with overwhelming support. Republicans. Democrats. Everyone wants these files public. The only thing standing between the American people and the truth is Donald Trump’s signature. He’s been cornered by his own party, boxed in by the public’s demand for answers, and he knows the moment he signs that bill, the full truth comes out. The clock is ticking.
He’s even burned through long-time allies trying to keep these files buried. He picked fights with Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie. Today, he told a female reporter to “be quiet, piggy” when she pressed him on the files. And with the Saudi crown prince sitting in the room—a man found responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi—Trump turned to an ABC News reporter, insulted her, and said ABC should have its license revoked. He is having a full, public, unhinged meltdown over these files. And it’s getting uglier by the hour.
Anyone with a functioning brain and two working eyes can see what’s happening. Republicans are finally realizing that Donald Trump is out to protect one person and one person only: himself. Certainly not the Epstein survivors. Certainly not the truth. This is who he has always been—it’s just impossible to ignore now.
I sincerely hope the truth comes out. For the victims. For justice. To get powerful predators off of our streets. And I sincerely hope Republicans finally wake up to the fact that the man they’ve defended for years is a liar, a crook, and very likely something far worse.
I wish I could concur. My sense is that Bondi has assured him that his name has been scrubbed from the files. Whatever gets released will not implicate him or his favorite Republicans.
I am hopeful, but not very. I think the fix is in. Especially since the Senate also passed the resolution so quickly. I have read they have had FBI agents "scrubbing" the files for any mention of trump's name. Now, that would be stupid (which fits the man) because there would be no way he isn't mentioned at all. I also am hopeful that either Epstein's brother or his estate has an unredacted copy of the files. How many years ago is it now that Karen Johnson (I think that's her name) tried to sue demented donnie and was scared off the case? She described a brutal rape including slapping her for daring to object. I believe the threats were to her family as well as herself.