The Epstein scandal is helping distract voters away from Trump’s most destructive transgressions. Whatever his involvement was with Epstein and his bevy of women, it didn’t damage the country. In sharp contrast, these are more worthy of concern:
- Trump appointed the most unqualified and dangerous cabinet in America’s history in order to assist in the ravaging of America’s government, influence and respect around the world.
- The FBI has, for decades, prevented millions of crimes. But Trump’s choice of Kash Patel to head it is ending all that. Instead, Patel and Attorney Pam Bondi transformed the FBI and Justice Department into Trump’s personal prosecutor to target anyone he wants to for any reason and to whitewash his involvement across multiple scandals.
- Trump put countless lives at stake by appointing anti-vaxxer RFK Jr. as head of the Department of Health. He is dismantling the Department of Health and just announced a $500 million cut to promising vaccine research
- Trump’s choice of Kristi Noem for Secretary of Homeland Security has turned ICE into a marauding masked gestapo deporting illegal and legal immigrants and leaving America’s crops unharvested.
- During the last month of his last presidency. Trump wanted to use the country’s nuclear arsenal. It took General Mark Milley to stop him. There’s no Milley now, only a sex-offending, alcoholic, unqualified Fox News co-host.
- Trump’s shamelessly mislead working Americans to believe his Big Beautiful Bill would increase their income, and then screwed them with $4.5 trillion in tax cut for the rich that Trump will pay for by cutting the safety nets relied on by working Americans. It’s like wiring money from their bank accounts directly to the accounts of the very rich. In a shameful deceit of American voters, Trump’s bill, now law, delays the $1 trillion in safety-net cuts until after the 2026 elections so voters won’t feel the pain until after they vote. Not surprisingly though, the tax cuts for the wealthy take effect in 2025 and 2026.
- Trump drastically cut foreign aid while HIV and drug-resistant tuberculosis are spreading unchecked in many countries and while millions face food shortages and starvation.
- Cutting foreign also reduces America’s influence and military might around the world. It’s been an important tool for building U.S. military bases and critical defense allies. The cuts are likely to enable China’s influence and military advancements to go beyond ours.
- Foreign aid also strengthens the U.S. economy by growing foreign industries that buy U.S goods. Over the past 10 years, nearly two-thirds of the growth in U.S. exports was given to major recipients of U.S. aid.
- Trump is creating a world order which will shrink America’s role, access to trade, dominance and influence across the globe and handing it to China. Trump’s helter skelter tariff barrage pushed our trading partners seek other buyers for our exports.
- Trump’s failure to mitigate the suffering and 120 deaths from the Texas floods is part of a pattern of failing to prepare for disasters, ignoring warnings, hiring incompetent health leaders, firing researchers, cutting funding for agencies that rescue disaster victims, and misleading Americans about their risks and his progress in addressing them.
- Trump’s eliminating anti-corruption guardrails to create the perfect environment for graft, self-dealing and influence-peddling. He also fired the people responsible for policing corruption in the White House. He is the only President ever to exploit the office to enrich himself in violation of the Constitution and all rules of ethics.
It’s difficult to understand Trump’s behavior if you assume he’s normal. But he’s not. He checks all the boxes that mental health professionals’ use to diagnose a sociopath. He
- Is incapable of experiencing guilt, shame, remorse, or empathy,
- Exhibits aggressive behavior and verbally attacks his critics,
- Intimidates and threatens to maintain control,
- Disregards rules and laws,
- Has difficulty controlling impulses,
- Acts without considering the consequences.
Putin sees all this. Too bad American voters don’t, and Republicans have decided to tolerate it.
So, why do MAGAs choose to express so much anger regarding Trump’s involvement with Epstein instead of the destruction he’s wreaked here at home and around the world? The answer may be that the media’s exhaustive and damning coverage of Trump’s and Epstein’s adventurism far exceeded the coverage of his threats to America’s strengths and durability, and forced MAGAs to express revulsion and disassociate themselves from such behavior.
