Trump Team’s Bungled Epstein Release Means Debate to Rage On

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump wielded populist fury over the “Epstein files” as a cudgel against a corrupt and out-of-touch Washington elite that the president’s MAGA movement has long blamed for the country’s ills.

His base had high expectations after Trump took office. But in the span of 11 months, misstep after misstep has turned an issue that helped Trump get elected into a political albatross he can’t shake. Over the past week, facing a deadline he signed into law, the stumbles continued.