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If the goal was to fire up his base with more decisive action, then Donald Trump had an off day on Thursday.
First came word that accused rapist and human trafficker Andrew Tate would be permitted to return to the US from Romania, where he’d been awaiting trial.
Shortly after Tate and his brother touched down in Florida, another infamous sex trafficker re-entered the headlines.
The Justice Department on Thursday announced the release of a handful of files pertaining to its investigation of deceased child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It was a moment that many had been anticipating for years, but within hours, their relief turned to bitter disappointment.
Trump administration’s release of ‘Epstein files’ slammed as meaningless stunt
According to a report from the New York Post, “there appear to be no new names or details” in the files.
Several big names reportedly appear in the documents — including Donald Trump, Michael Jackson, Prince Andrew, and Alec Baldwin — but the only information about them is that they traveled on Epstein’s private jet, which was already public knowledge.
Not only that, the manner in which the files were released — the first “phase” was presented to conservative influencers like Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Rhaichik, who proceeded to pose gleefully with her binder — has been widely criticized.
Even some high-profile conservative influencers were critical of the handling of the Tate and Epstein situations.
“Trump administration failed massively today. No other way to put it,” tweeted Matt Wallace.
“Something about this Epstein release doesn’t feel authentic. Why do we need ‘phases’ of the release and why not just release it to the entire public at large to comb through?” Candace Owens asked.
Some of the harshest condemnation came from Laura Loomer, who was one of Trump’s biggest supporters during his 2024 presidential campaign.
“I’m not even joking, I literally feel physically nauseous over what happened at the White House today,” Loomer tweeted.
“I ordered dinner and can’t even eat it because I have no appetite from what happened today. This is really unacceptable and everyone should be calling today’s stunt out,” she continued.
On the other end of the political spectrum, Thursday’s stunt with greeted with a total lack of surprise:
“OF COURSE TRUMP WAS GONNA HIDE THE REAL EPSTEIN FILES! Daily Beast reported (based on literal audio of Michael Wolff and Epstein himself in 2017) That Trump and Epstein were best friends for a decade,” journalist Kyle Kulinsky tweeted.
Trump defenders say Thursday’s move was just the first step in a long-term effort to reveal the truth about one of the most notorious sex traffickers in modern history.
They remain hopeful that additional information is forthcoming.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.