Eternal Sunshine of the Trumpist Mind

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The news, in brief …

• “Heard there are no files”: Rogan mocks Trump for changing his story on Epstein

  The podcaster prodded the president, who previously called the Epstein files scandal "a hoax." Read more.

• Comey indictment was never approved by grand jury

  Prosecutor Lindsay Halligan may have sunk the case against Comey with one stunning admission. Read more.

• Larry Summers exits OpenAI following Epstein emails release

  The former Harvard University president has retreated from public roles. Read more.

• “Clearly erroneous”: Texas appeals midterm redistricting ruling to Supreme Court

  In 2-1 ruling, a lower court said Republican state lawmakers relied on race to draw new maps. Read more.

Make me smarter …

Trump’s greatest crime is practically invisible

Estimates show that the dismantling of USAID has killed at least 600,000 to date. It could get much worse. Read more.

Like all new religious movements, devout followers of MAGA must first learn to be flexible. 

Proclamations of the end of days come and go. New edicts from on high radically reshape the previously established view of the world. A big part of faith in the Big Guy is going along with his moods and fascinations, conveniently forgetting that they run counter to what he was saying just days before.

They wipe the slate clean when asked to rail against COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine rollouts that happened with Trump in the White House. They go along when Trump says the case against Jeffrey Epstein was orchestrated by Democrats, draping red fabric over any pesky calendars within eyesight. They keep the simple fact of who was president when Jeffrey Epstein died in custody on a need-to-know basis, ruling at the same time that they don’t need to know it. 

Trump asks that news networks forget his legal troubles if they want to do business. He asks Cabinet members to forget his personal insults. He decrees that thoughts about a birthday card to a sex offender are taboo. Given everything that they’re willing to forget, is it any wonder that Trump is asking his followers to forget last week?

Once Trump realized his pressure campaign failed to scare Congressional Republicans away from passing a resolution to force the release of the Epstein files, he quickly flipped his position on the documents. He proclaimed that he was in favor of full transparency after months of trying to squash the scandal, a brazen turn in the face of embarrassment the likes of which we haven’t seen since Mel Brooks shared his “Ten! Ten Commandments!” The comet’s coming, and Trump’s laced up his Nikes, if only to run for the exit.  

Somewhere deep in their subconscious, Trump loyalists must remember that the president was once a registered Democrat. They’re old enough to recall the failed presidential campaigns. They can think back to his criminal convictions from last year and his multiple lost civil cases. They don’t need access to photo archives to know that Trump palled around with Epstein. Still, Trump says it’s all fake, and they reshape their reality accordingly. Leon Festinger, eat your heart out.

What do you think? How many times can Republicans wipe their memories? Is there anything they aren’t willing to forget? Sound off in the comments.

Before you go …

How Trump’s MRI spurred the Epstein vote

Health rumors undermine the president’s hold on the GOP. Read more.

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