Why Trump’s Epstein Defense Is Failing Miserably
Plus, unlike in his first term, Trump is in full control of the government. There are no more analogues to Jeff Flake or John McCain in Congress—there are rabblerousers like Representative Thomas Massie, but the party is clearly and unmistakably marching in lockstep behind him. And Trump’s Cabinet is stacked with arch loyalists who are using their powers to remake the federal government in his image; you won’t find anyone fitting the profile of, say, Rex Tillerson or Jim Mattis. Trump could credibly claim seven years ago that there were forces in the government using their powers to undermine him. He cannot do so now.
Lastly, Trump’s old Democratic foils have lost their salience. Obama, who remains popular, spends more time on yachts with his rich buddies than he does doing politics (though his office did make a rare public statement to call Trump’s claims of treason “nonsense”). Hillary Clinton is still out there, but nowhere near as prominent; Bill Clinton is almost 80. Trump could try to whip up conspiratorial interest in the most recent Democratic president, whose favorability numbers are about as low as Trump’s, but Joe Biden is in exile—and even Trump would strain to accuse him of orchestrating a massive conspiracy, given that he has spent the last half-decade calling him a senile puppet. On Sunday, a flailing Trump stretched even further, suggesting that Kamala Harris should be prosecuted over normal, completely aboveboard payments made by her campaign to Oprah and Beyoncé (whom Trump, naturally, thinks should be prosecuted as well).
And there are no new Democratic foils to help Trump distract from the mess he’s in. The party’s leaders in the House and Senate—Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, respectively—are uncharismatic husks who have spent the past six months struggling to orchestrate basic messaging to counter the Republicans, let alone lead any sort of resistance to Trump. There is no clear Democratic favorite for the 2028 presidential nomination for him to take aim at. The closest to a new foil, California Governor Gavin Newsom, is more akin to a Trump sparring partner—and seems to be going out of his way to defuse right-wing attacks by punching left.
