President Trump just offered some bizarre new ramblings about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. But he undermined himself: He claimed to know about elite Democrats and liberals who had visited Epstein. But that just raises the question that won’t go away: If this is what the Epstein files would reveal, then why isn’t Trump ordering their release? Every time Trump says such things, he wrecks his own Big Lie: that the Epstein scandal is a Democratic hoax that actually implicates Democrats even as he won’t release the files. Meanwhile, Elon Musk just endorsed the idea that Trump might try to pardon Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for exoneration. Musk knows Trump’s machinations here are a major point of weakness. We talked to Jennifer Rubin, editor in chief of The Contrarian, who has a good new piece laying out why Trump should be panicking over this scandal. We discuss the absurdity of Trump’s biggest Epstein deceptions, why they’re unsustainable for Trump, and why it all underscores the urgency of a Democratic victory in 2026. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.
PODCAST
Trump Accidentally Wrecks His Own Epstein Lie as Musk Goes for Jugular
As Trump’s new spin on the Jeffrey Epstein fiasco goes awry and Elon Musk nails Trump on a key point of weakness, Jennifer Rubin of The Contrarian explains why this mess is unsustainable for Trump and the GOP.

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Elon Musk and President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on May 30