During a Truth Social rant a few days ago, President Trump threatened to interfere with a deal to build a new football stadium in Washington D.C. unless the local NFL team now known as the Commanders, changes their name back to the Redskins.  The team dropped the name Redskins in 2020 after decades of criticism that it was a degrading racial slur with links to US genocide of indiginous populations.

“I may put a restriction on them that if they don’t change the name back to the original Washington Redskins and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, Washington Commanders, I won’t make a deal for them to build a stadium in Washington,” he stated on his social media platform.

In an obvious reference to his war on DEI, Trump also said “Times are different now than they were three or four years ago.  We are a country of passion and common sense.  OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!”

Later, when asked to clarify why he would resurrect such a contentious issue, Trump seemed firm in his response. “That name change was a disgrace, a bunch of woke nonsense.  We all remember those pesky redskins.  One of them came up to me just the other day, big man, strong man, war paint streaming down his cheeks.  He said “sir, sir, why did white man change name of football team?  Me, redskin.  Call me redskin, my heart will soar like a hawk.  You, heap big chief, you make white man change name back!’  I gotta tell you ol’ Red, I call him Red, he was really mad.  You don’t want to piss off those redskins I’ll tell you. They’ll SKIN YOU ALIVE! They have those special scalping knifes.  Of course in the old days they were called ‘dirty redskins’ because they fought kind of dirty- the scalping, flaming arrows, nasty war clubs with nails in them.  And living in those Teepee’s they didn’t really shower or anything.   But we took care of that, cleaned them up, sent the kids to nice schools and got rid of all the buffalo so they finally started eating right.  When we get back our great football team, the’ Washington Redskins,’ I think the players should wear different colors of that stuff they smear on their faces, some nice red and blue, like, flag colors, maybe some white, to look more like real redskins.  Ol’ Red would really like that. I don’t like that black color. There’s too much black going around. I think the fans would like to see their Redskins look more like real Redskins.  If that doesn’t happen, then, well, management might be getting a visit from the tax auditor.”

Sticking with a theme of merging the good old days with the new age, Trump also reminded his supporters that there was a time when pedophilia was commonly accepted, and it was time everyone moved on from the practice’s social distain.  “I can’t believe people are still talking about sexual abuse of children.  We should be talking about all the great things I have done to make America great again.  I have gotten more things done in 6 months than any previous president got done in  four years.  That’s what people should be talking about.”  He went on to mention that the age of concent has kept creeping upward over the years, and states needed to get back to the good old days and take a hard look at lowering it or getting rid of it altogether. The importance of compliance in this regard seems paramount to Trump since he threatened to withhold federal funding of any kind to states that do not submit to his desire.  

The first part of this particular blog is basically a reprint of my Omaha World Herald article published in the public pulse section on 7/17/25 and is italicized.  I mention that because this is a tediously long blog and skipping that part will save you some time.  The remainder is related stuff to a subject I can not seem to let go of- which is my quest to try and understand how so many people in this country have become disinterested in objective truth.  I do consider Trump to be the catalyst of the spiraling decline of factual observance, but still feel there is so much more to unravel.  It is a tortuous journey for me.

You could argue President Trump’s power is his cunning ability to manipulate.  I’m not sure where that comes from.  He has that “deal maker” image that was perhaps honed and embellished as a TV personality. Regarless he does have that uncanny knack to persuade large groups of people to believe whatever he says. They let him get by with all sorts of flip flopping- the Tic Tok Ban, legalizing marijuana, crypto, abortion, opinion of Putin, to name a few.  But currently he is attempting to push the credulity envelope further with the ever tricky flip flop FLIP maneuver.  Example one: his on, off, on again tariff policy. Example two: his circling stance on deporting essential immigrant labor.  Initially, he was in the Steven Miller camp of ban all the brown, then it was let’s let those doing all the back breaking work stay awhile, but within 24 hours he changed his mind again and decided Miller had the right idea.  Example three: his Epstein file position.  In his second term, he has stated, somewhat reluctanly at times, that he would approve the release of all of the Epstein information.  Then, at the 11th hour last week, he had a change of heart and declared the files AG Bondi had on her desk really didn’t exist.  Then in an effort to deal with vitriolic backlash from his conspiracy starved base, he issued a disjointed social media post in which he admits that the Epstein documents do exist, but were created by his usual antagonists- Obama, Biden, Hillary Clinton and ex-Cia chief Brennan.  A conspiracy engineered by the ultimate conspiracy promoter. Will his clever slight of hand once again go unnoticed by his minions? 

A  more consequential question is how did we even get to this point with this Epstein mess?  Sadly, what it all points to is what founders like John Adams and Ben Franklin knew to be one of the  most important condition for the survival of of democracy- an informed public.  For years, pictures and video snippets of Trump cavorting with Epstein circulated freely on almost all of mainstream/network media.  It’s been everywhere.  Everywhere that is except right wing media.  Ok I can’t say I know that for sure, because the only expoure I have to right wing media is Fox News, and I only watch that while channel surfing during commercial breaks or out of curiosity to see what Fox is currently reporting.  But that conclusion only makes sense.  If all that Trump/Epstein revelry is readily presented on right wing media, surely the loyal MAGA crowd would understand the last thing Trump would want is to be exposed to embarassiment, or worse, criminal entanglement.  The logical conclusion is that information has generally been absent from or glossed over by right wing media.

Of course his supporters have to be confused.  Up until now Trump has said he would see to it that all the Epstein details would be released.  That’s because he had to.  When all the Epstein conspiracy and  predation stories initially took flight years ago, they  almost always involved some kind of “deep state,” or a  cabal of  pedophilic elitist Democrats who  nurish themself with the blood of children.  Sensing  politcal opportunity Trump went right along promoting them.  So Trump has no one but himself to blame for his awkward predicament.  He knows there is a good chance his name could be prominent in some of the sordid Epstein minutiae.

So now Trump is drawing hard on his powers of persuation, hoping he can make this story disappear.  That power is amazingly potent.   Persuading Fox News to stop their reporting on the issue will be high on Trump’s agenda, but that will deplete little energy from his power pack.  Other actions will prove to be more energy consuming.  After all, this is the guy who promised he was different.  He was going to drain the swamp and strip away the cover of the “deep state.”  He projected himself as the country’s savior, and decked himself out in a digitilized Superman costume to prove it.  All the things the conspiracy theorists were concerned about, he would expose.  He professed to be a straight shooter who would humble the powerful elitists and make them suffer.

All that has worked, up till now. The Epstein business has turned all that on its head.  Now from all appearances Trump is the one with something to hide, the one not telling the truth, part of the “deep state.”  In the scheme of things, it is hard to figure in a way.  I mean, after all Trump’s verifyable, factual offenses, the lying and grifting,  instigating an insurrectin and all the other horrible assaults on democracy and his dismissive moral conduct, and head scratching policies that contravene the best interests of his political base,  the Epstein saga is the thing that is jamming him in the ass?

But people want answers.  Not just entrenched members of MAGA, but almost everyone.  The word Epstein is synonimous with sex trafficking and pedophilia and I feel sorry for anyone with the last name Epstein right now.  Even prominent Trump deciples House Speaker Mike Johnson and VP Vance want answers.  What’s the deal there?  I know they probably only watch Fox News, but they can’t be totally clueless about Trump’s connection with Epstein.  I have a feeling Trump will be using his compelling powers of persuasion to convince both to remove the Eptein entree from their political plates.

It took awhile, but here is my point.  If our country had a generally informed citizenry, Trump would not be in this mess.  If MAGA fanatics had exited their information silos occasionally they might  have seen enough of the Epstein-Trump connection to conclude that if they truly still believed in the double standard diety of Trump, the last thing they should do is insist on any kind of investigation concerning it.  After all, they have consistently ignored Trump’s rancid amoral behavior in the past.

And even more to the point, If we had a generally well informed citizenry, our country wouldn’t be in this mess.  That’s because outside of a minority of anarchists, a well informed republic  would never have elected a narcissistic authoritarian who’s main concern is enriching himself  rather than the affairs of governing.  The bombardment of conspiracy saturated  right wing media is what got us here and entwined us all in this convoluted Epstein scandal.   Like never before, our 21st century existence offers  hundreds of choices when it comes to selecting our sources of information.  But paradoxically many people have limited their options to a narrow set of preferences.  I think most of us are guilty of resorting to the comfort of our own information silos.   We are now experiencing the danger in that.  We’ve become less tolerant of different opinions and unaware of critical facts.

It is more important than ever to carefully choose our information sources.  Support, not vilify, the free press.  Without it we loose the most important hedge against political corruption.  Professional journalists working for traditional media companies will present the truth, and if they make a mistake they will own up to it. Support your local newspaper and make your local TV news stations a primary source of infomation.   Programs offering different viewpoints are usually good choices.  Be careful not to get sucked into social media propaganda.  Take the time to fact check suspicious stories.  Rueters Fact Check, Associated Press Fact Check, and Snopes are reliable fact checking sites.

Going full circle, the Epstein business appears to be a significant threat to MAGA solidarity .  But Trump is a master at extracting himself from  a treacherous morass, and honestly, he is possibly the luckiest SOB to ever walk the planet.  His fanatical base will not desert him. That is explained best by one of Carl Sagan’s most famous quotes-  “One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we have been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle.  We are no longer interested in finding out the truth.  The bamboozle has captured us.  It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken.  Once you give a charltan power over you, you almost never get it back.”

But the Epstein saga is a very serious matter that does need closure. Trump has the power to make that happen.  The fact that he is squirming like a fresh worm on a fish hook over this is not a good sign that he will effectually cooperate.  You would think if there was nothing nefarious about his relationship with Epstein, Trump would want any documentation related to it released to clear his name    Unfortunately we are probably in for a classic Trump siege of delay and diversion.

As you’ve probably heard Attorney General Pam Bondi has miraculously made the “Epstein Files” disappear.  Maga world is pissed.  They are obsessed with everything Epstein.  Adamant conspiracy theorists among them are convinced such a list would be riddled with the names of prominent  Democrats, thus linking them to Epstein’s pedophilic enterprise.    Bondi already disappointed them with the release of the first phase of the declassified Epstien files in February, which revealed nothing new.  To ward off criticism she boldly stated later she had thousands of pages of new material on her desk waiting for her review.   FBI Director Patel and FBI Deputy Director Bongino, who before their government appointments were promoting their own Epstein conspiracy theories, are now in sync with Bondi,  saying there is nothing to see here.  Now it’s not just Maga members who want answers.  And the die hard Maga crowd wants Bondi fired!  What’s going on?  Hmmm.  There is this. Grabbing is Kind of His Thing  Leftist conspiracy theory or not, this is the kind of thing that typically shrinks a politicians nuts.  And Bondi was chosen to be Trump’s AG to specifically  protect the family jewels and castrate Trump’s enemies.

How is Trump handling the Epstein situation?  Well he did get a little “teste” when asked about it during a July 8th cabinet meeting.  Someone Poked a Sore Spot  And the next day Trump’s justice department initiated an investigation of formet FBI Director Comey and former CIA chief Brennan.  The Top Branch of Trump’s Enemies Tree  How many times have we seen Trump pull diversion out of his play book when things get a little toasty.  From appearances any investigation in this regard will be an exercise in futility. It’s old news already covered by the  the exhaustive  Durham report.

On the topic of Trump retribution, how about the 50% tariff on Brazil.  Birds of a Feather This is just another example of what really motivates Trump- his lust for power.   This has nothing to do with economics.  It’s all about power, the power to do just about whatever he wants as president.  He has no business meddling in another sovereign nation’s judicial procedures.

And to the point, Trump’s understanding of tariffs is just that- leveraging  his power, to bully, a blunt instrument to be used indiscriminantly without regard to repercussions.  Nevermind the damage to our country and other nations of the world.  It’s becoming clear he has little proper perception of the nuances of applying tariffs. All the mind-spinning whipsawing with tariffs is reminiscent of his incoherent rally ramblings he called “the weave.”  It’s a method of masking his incompetence, but it doesn’t matter  because he is ever confident in his power to intimidate.  But that doesn’t seem to be working with his tariffs .  So far, of the 90 tariff deals Trump was supposed to have signed off on in 90 days, the score is zero.  In hand are just two cursory agreements without official details.

Trump is hardly concerned with affairs of the nation.  He doesn’t seem to even want to be in charge of some aspects of governing.  Recently when there was a Ukranian weapons pause, he was initially surprised about the incident, and admitted he had no idea who stopped the shipments.  (Spoiler allert- it was Hegseth’s Department of Defense). Trump’s chief interests are personal, and confined principally to three things- staying out of jail, retribution, and personal enrichment.  I think you can safely say, from Trump’s perspective anyway, so far this second term has been a resounding success.