MIKEY SMITH: 8 unhinged Donald Trump moments as he makes sinister menace towards political enemies
There’s a risk with Donald Trump that his frequent breaching of the barriers of taste, decency and the law could be put down to “Trump being Trump” – but this one might finally cross the line
There’s a risk when reporting on Donald Trump of falling into ‘dog bites man’ territory. The old journalism adage runs that “dog bites man” is not news, but “man bites dog”, on the other hand… So when you have someone whose daily behaviour is so egregiously unacceptable, on such a regular basis, it’s tempting to see it as “dog bites man”. The last two days have seen many arms of the media, particularly in the United States, fall into this trap. The President of the United States calling a reporter “Piggy” should have been bigger news. As should his branding of another reporter “insubordinate” and threatening to ban her employer because she asked two perfectly reasonable questions. It is, of course, exhausting to keep up with. This President breaches barriers of taste, decency and the law with such regularity that it’s easy to become numb to even his most shocking transgressions. With that in mind, we should all probably take a moment and reflect on the President’s latest Truth Social posts, in which he calls for opposition politicians to be put to death. This isn’t normal, and we shouldn’t treat it as just “Trump being Trump”.
Meanwhile in Trumpworld
- Trump calls for Democrats to be executed
- Bondi babbles incoherently
- The Comey trial might just have collapsed
- Trump is still mad at Jimmy Kimmel
- Mamdami headed for the Oval Office
Here’s everything you need to know
Epstein
1. Trump surrenders
Donald Trump last night surrendered and signed the bill compelling his administration to release the Justice Department’s files on America’s most notorious paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
As recently as last week, Trump was hauling Republican members of Congress into the White House in a bid to convince them to scupper the move. But faced with the potential humiliation of publicly opposing the release while it sailed through both houses, he committed an abrupt u-turn and declared he didn’t care if the files were released, and that Republicans should vote for it.
“I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had,” Trump said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon, explaining the rationale for his abrupt about-face.
And last night, he confirmed on Truth Social, in capital letters: “I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!”
He went on to try and convince everyone that it was his idea, saying: “As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage. At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress.”
But he continued to describe the release of the files as a “Democrat hoax”, and warned it would “backfire.”
He wrote: “For years our Great Nation has had to endure RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, IMPEACHMENT HOAX #1, IMPEACHMENT HOAX #2, and many other Democrat created Witch Hunts and Scams, all of which have been so terrible and divisive for our Country, and have been done to confuse, deflect, and distract from the GREAT JOB that Republicans, and the Trump Administration, are doing. This latest Hoax will backfire on the Democrats just as all of the rest have! Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
2. Bondi babbles
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel called a press conference last night, apparently to discuss Ryan Wedding, a Canadian drug trafficker – and former Olympic snowboarder – who has been added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list and is on the run in Mexico. But, astonishingly, they seemed a touch blindsided when the second question they were asked was about the Epstein Files.
Asked whether the DoJ would comply with the bill once signed by the President, Bondi said: “We have released over 33,000 documents to the Hill, and will continue to follow the law, and to have maximum trasparency. Also we will always encourage all victims to come forward.” All of which raises more questions than it answers. Asked what the next steps are, and to confirm specifically how the files would be released, she added: “We will continue to follow the law with maximum transparency, while protecting victims.” Asked what “follow the law” meant, she added: “We will follow the law. The law passed both chambers last evening, it has not yet been signed [note: it has now] but we will continue to follow the law while protecting victims, but also providing maximum transparency.”
She was then asked about the new “investigation” ordered by Trump into several Democrats mentioned in the files released last week, including Bill Clinton – and what changed since the review her department performed of the evidence which did not suggest another probe was warranted. “Information, that has come forward…” She stammered. “Information. Um. There’s information that …new information, additional information and again we will continue to follow the law, to investigate any leads, if there are any victims we encourage all victims to come forward and we will continue to provide maximum transparency under the law.” Glad we got all that cleared up.
3. Start the clock
So what happens next? Well, under the new law, the DoJ has 30 days to release all “unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials” related to the Epstein investigation. They have to make them available in a searchable and downloadable format. And they can only redact or withhold files that would “jeopardise an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary.” They can also withhold personal identifiable information of victims or other disclosures that would constitute invasion of privacy. They can obviously also withhold anything depicting child sexual abuse, death or physical abuse – and anything that needs to be “kept secret in the interest of national defence or foreign policy.” On the other had, it specifically bars the DoJ from holding back information over concerns about “embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity”.
General authoritarianism
4. Trump calls for Democrats to be hanged
Yesterday we reported on a video doing the rounds made by a group of Democrat members of Congress who also happen to be veterans, with the relatively uncontroversial message to serving members of the armed forces that they shouldn’t follow illegal orders. Well, word of this has reached the President and he is unimpressed. Responding to the video on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???”
He reposted a series of posts from other users, one of which read: “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!” Trump added: “It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.” And then, as if to resolve any ambiguity for headline writers, he posted: “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!
Trump has frequently used Truth Social posts to order the Justice Department to go after his enemies – and they have complied. The case against former FBI director James Comey and a new probe into high profile Democrat acquaintances of Jeffrey Epstein, including Bill Clinton, were both launched as a result of Truth Social posts by Trump. It’s extremely unlikely the video would reach the bar of “seditious behaviour” under US law, and even if it did, the crime of sedition does not carry the death penalty.
5. Comey trial nears collapse
The Justice Department says the full grand jury in its increasingly baffling case against former FBI Director James Comey weren’t shown a copy of the final indictment against him. Prosecutors made the acknowledgment under questioning from the judge overseeing the case yesterday, admitting the full Grand Jury only saw a draft – and only the foreperson and one other juror saw the final version. Comey’s lawyers said that lapse was grounds for dismissal of the case. There was no immediate decision from the judge.
It comes after a federal judge said “investigative missteps” and “government misconduct’ may have tainted the Trump administration’s case against the President’s arch rival. Judge William Fitzpatrick ordered the Justice Department’s lawyers to release grand jury materials to Comey’s defence team – something they are appealing against. But in a 24-page opinion, the judge had identified at least two statements made by Trump’s dubiously appointed federal Prosector Lindsey Halligan made to grand jurors which couldd be seen as “fundamental misstatements of the law that could compromise the integrity of the grand jury process”. One statement “suggests” that the grand jury “did not have to rely on only the record before them”, and that there was “more evidence – perhaps better evidence” that the government would bring forward at trial..
6. What’s behind Trump vs Kimmel Round 2?
In still antidemocratic, but not quite as egregious events, Trump called for Jimmy Kimmel to be taken off air again. This time he had no specific gripe, other than him being untalented and biased against him.
Oh, and it might also have something to do with him fuming at ABC News, which broadcasts Kimmel’s show, over entirely legitimate questions a reporter asked in the Oval Office earlier this week during Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit. The questions – relating to the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents and the Epstein files – sent Trump into a wild tailspin, branding them “insubordinate” and “embarrass[ing to] our guest”. He also floated the idea of yanking ABC’s broadcast licence. Trump was so incensed by the questions that the White House genuinely issued a press release overnight listing perceived transgressions committed by ABC News.
7. Mamdani to visit the Oval Office
Popcorn at the ready. Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor-elect of the Socialist Republic of New York is paying a visit to the White House tomorrow. In what can only be described as a TRAP, DON’T DO IT ZOHRAN, IT ABSOLUTELY IS NOT WORTH IT, Trump announced on Truth Social that he would welcome Mamdani to the White House for a meeting. As the world braces for a replay of the Zelensky meltdown, Mamdani seemed pretty chill about the whole affair. He told MSNB…sorry MS NOW last night: “We did reach out to the White House, and my team reached out because of a commitment that I made to New Yorkers that I would be willing to meet with anyone and everyone, so long as it was to the benefit of the 8.5 million people who call the city home and their struggle to afford the most expensive city in the United States of America.”
Asked by Host Chris Hayes what his goal would be, Mamdani said: “I want to just speak plainly to the president about what it means to actually stand up for New Yorkers, and the way in which New Yorkers are struggling to afford the city. And frankly, cost of living is something that I heard time and time again from New Yorkers about why they voted for Donald Trump. And this is something that is only continued in the last few months of this year, where we’re hearing about child care concerns, rent concerns, con Ed concerns, even just getting on the bus just $2.90. And just to make it clear to the president that this is what we’re talking about, these are the stakes for New Yorkers and their ability to keep calling the city their home.”
8. Trump snubbed for Cheney funeral
According to CNN, neither Trump nor JD Vance were invited to former VP Dick Cheney’s funeral today. Which, while not entirely surprising given how much Cheney hated Trump and everything he stands for, is still worth recording.
