MAGA Mutiny: Trump's Epstein Reversal Triggers Base Revolt
Also: Trump's 50-day ultimatum for Putin. Kristi Noem leaves flood victims on read. Plus News That Doesn't Suck.
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I'm back from 10 days away and it was rejuvenating and essential — the kind of break that makes you remember you're a human being. It's the first time since launching News Not Noise six years ago that I didn't post or even read news on Instagram, which apparently is what it takes to remember that doom-scrolling isn't actually a personality trait. The perspective shift was real (and my brain is now functioning at levels previously thought impossible without excessive caffeine).
With my new perspective, I'm recommitting to mixing in more News that Doesn't Suck. That's not to distract from the vital news we must share about the radical changes underway in our country — because we can't ignore the dumpster fire. But research shows we are most empowered, creative, and able to rally for action and change when our brains feel awe, curiosity, and inspiration instead of just existential dread. We need that mix (and frankly so do I, before I start yelling at houseplants). More thoughts in the days to come.
But today we have news: Trump is doing an about-face on Russia and Ukraine, after Putin let him down. I had a short and substantive conversation with Elise Labott, global affairs reporter and author of the Substack Cosmopolitics, who sees this as equal parts due to Trump's ego and the strategic insight of NATO's new leader. Watch that below.
Also today: the MAGA revolt over the Epstein Files — why this is more than noise. Plus, members of Congress report on conditions at the Alligator "Alcatraz" internment camp, the Supreme Court makes a devastating ruling for the Department of Education, and why FEMA didn't return calls from so many struggling flood victims.
And, as promised, we end with News That Doesn't Suck.
Here Are Your Headlines:
Ukraine U-Turn: President Trump announced today that the US will send “billions” of dollars of new weapons to Ukraine. It is a dramatic about face in his foreign policy. Under the plan, NATO allies in Europe will purchase the weapons from the US and then forward them to Ukraine, enabling Trump to arm Ukraine and tell his base the US is profiting from the deal. Trump also threatened “very severe tariffs” of up to “100%” on Russia if Putin doesn’t agree to a ceasefire deal in 50 days. He also threatened secondary tariffs on other countries that buy energy from Russia; this would be a severe blow to the Russian economy and a step even the Biden Administration didn’t take.
Change of Heart: This is a remarkable shift for Trump. He made the announcement while hosting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, with JD Vance and Marco Rubio — the same place where, just five months ago, he and Vance berated Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for, among other things, daring to question Russia’s commitment to peace. What changed? Two things.
Putin’s Promises: Trump seems to have (finally) realized Putin is, well, not so serious about peace. “I felt we had a deal about four times,” Trump said about a possible deal with Russia. “But it just kept going on and on.” “My conversations with [Putin] are very pleasant,” he added, “and then the missiles go off at night.… He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden — he didn’t fool me.” Trump originally pledged to end the war in a single day; now, months into his second term, he seems to have finally had enough of Putin’s refusal to strike a deal. As Elise Labott observes in our interview below, Trump’s ego may be driving the policy change.
New Tune on NATO: In another remarkable shift, Trump had nothing but warm friendlies for NATO Secretary General Rutte. That’s by design. NATO allies have reportedly developed a meticulous playbook for dealing with Trump and his mercurial nature. This involves pomp, ceremony, and a sometimes comical dose of flattery. Recall Rutte, NATO’s secretary general, sent Trump a fawning private message on the eve of a NATO summit last month, which Trump promptly posted on Truth Social. “You will achieve something NO American president in decades could get done,” Rutte wrote of Trump’s attempts to make a deal with Iran. At the conference itself, he referred to Trump as “Daddy,” to the delight of team MAGA. Then, NATO allies, with the exception of Spain, agreed to more than double their defense spending target, to 5% of GDP. “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way,” Rutte promised Trump, “as they should, and it will be your win.”
Sanctions Power: Trump is also asking Congress to pass legislation giving him the power to activate (or deactivate) a host of sanctions on Russia.
What’s Next? Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Trump’s threats as “tough talk”, insisting the NATO weapons deal is merely a continuation of US policy, ignoring the three times the US paused weapons shipments under Trump.
Interview: Elise Labott on Trump’s About-Face
Fault Lines: MAGA is meltdown! The rebellion is over Jeffrey Epstein and the Trump administration’s announcement that it won’t pursue any investigations or release additional material into the deceased sex offender/Trump associate. After promising in February to release Epstein’s client list — “it’s on my desk right now,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said — Trump’s Justice Department now argues there is no client list at all, nor is there any “credible evidence that found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.” This has enraged some of Trump’s most devoted followers who claim they feel “betrayed” or are concerned the “deep state” has infiltrated the Trump administration.
MAGA Mutiny: Remember, Trump’s base has spent the last six years insisting Epstein did not kill himself, and was instead murdered in his prison cell in 2019 to protect the rich and powerful who feared being exposed for their association with him. Many in MAGA world are taking the DOJ’s position as an outright betrayal. “THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) complained online. Other powerful figures in the MAGA-verse, including Megyn Kelly, Laura Ingraham, and Charlie Kirk, have also spoken out. They riled up a group of young conservatives at an event over the weekend, with Kelly calling Bondi a liar and predicting her “days are numbered as a member of the Trump administration.” Laura Loomer is calling for an investigation into Bondi. Megyn Kelly said on X that either Trump is protecting a loyalist or there’s a cover up and “it’s at his direction.” Fighting words.
Never Work For Your Heroes: Amazingly, the MAGA drama is centered on former-conspiracy-podcaster-turned-FBI-deputy-director Dan Bongino, who is reportedly so distraught that he threatened to quit the FBI if Bondi isn’t fired over the Epstein issue. For two days now reporters have been chasing the question: did Bongino show up for work? (Reportedly he didn’t go to work on Friday and told people he was considering resigning; he went to work today, but apparently hasn’t spoken to anyone within the DOJ’s leadership since Wednesday.)
On the Other Hand: Trump publicly defended both Bongino and Bondi from MAGA attacks over the weekend, calling on his supporters to please just forget about the whole Epstein thing. “We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump posted on Sunday. Charlie Kirk, the face of MAGA-youth, is taking Trump’s side (after Trump called him).
Video Footage: Adding more fuel to the fire was the revelation that supposedly “raw” surveillance footage from a camera near Epstein’s cell, which the DOJ released last week, had actually been edited — and had a whole minute missing. Bondi claimed the missing minute was due to a technical wrinkle in how the prison resets its surveillance footage, which results in “a minute [being] missing every night,” but that did not appease the conspiracy-minded in MAGA.
Getting Involved: House Democrats want lawmakers to vote to force Bondi to release all records related to Epstein. These attempts are likely to be quashed by Republicans controlling relevant committees before they even make it to a floor vote — but could make lawmakers publicly choose between the Trump administration and the significant proportion of MAGA demanding more transparency.
The Truth Teller’s Dilemma: Why does this matter? Because the Epstein story unites many strains of the far-right Qanon conspiracy theories that enliven the MAGA base: pedophilia, a deep state covering up for deviant global elites, antisemitism, all connecting to Wall Street and elite universities. They see Trump as the “Truth Teller” who will fearlessly expose what they believe to be networks of elite deviants pedophiles. This ignores the fact that Trump dodged questions about whether he’d release files related to Epstein. Of course we know Epstein and Trump were friends; by some accounts close friends. Author Michael Wolff, for example, last year released audio tapes in which Epstein discusses “his longstanding, deep relationship with Donald Trump,” whom he called his “closest friend.” Trump insists the two fell out 15 years before Epstein’s 2008 conviction for prostitution solicitation; in 2002, though, he called Epstein a “terrific guy” who preferred women “on the young side.” If Trump fails to reveal more about Epstein and the men who traveled with him, he risks losing some of the fanatical devotion that is the source of his political power. Some supporters are giving him a pass, but for those who feel betrayed, this could drain the intensity of support that makes Trump's movement feel unstoppable.
Here We Go Again: Trump this weekend shocked key allies (and plenty of other nations) by announcing a slate of new tariffs, to go into effect August 1. Some national leaders and negotiators reportedly only found out about these tariffs from Trump’s social media post — in some cases discovering their country’s tariff rate was unchanged from the figure Trump proposed back in April, despite months of negotiations.
Brutal: Most important among Trump’s latest tariff threats is a 30% levy on the EU and Mexico. The EU warned this could effectively end trade between it and the US and vowed to reach a deal before Trump’s end-of-July deadline.
What It Means For You: So far Trump’s tariffs have increased prices by over 2%, the equivalent of the average household losing $2,800 in income. You can read more about the effects of tariffs, including the new proposed ones, here. For a list of all tariffs, both proposed and enacted, see here.
Fear and Flooding in Texas: After a disastrous week of flooding that killed at least 132 people, central Texas is bracing itself for another round of heavy rainfall today and tomorrow.
What’s Coming: A flood watch remains in effect for central Texas, including Uvalde, Brady, and Austin. Find a detailed map of flood warnings across the state here.
Long Road to Recovery: Renewed heavy rains have hampered (and in some cases stopped) ongoing search and recovery efforts. Thousands of volunteers and officials are looking for the 160-plus people believed to be missing, a slog that could take months to complete. No survivors have been found since July 4.
What Went Wrong: Failures from the top down — from the administration to local officials — appear to have made the flooding far deadlier than it might have been.
Cost of Cuts: Trump and his Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, repeatedly called for eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency; their cost-cutting efforts resulted in thousands of workers leaving — 20% of permanent staff — including senior leaders. On July 5, as flood waters were at their peak, call centers working for FEMA answered 99.7% of the 3,027 calls received. But their contracts expired that night and Noem did not renew them for five days. In the meantime, thousands of calls for help to the agency went unanswered: on July 6, FEMA answered just 35.8% of calls; on July 7, it responded to only 15.9% of 16,419 calls. Ironically, at the same time, Noem publicly called for FEMA to be “eliminated as it exists today and remade into a responsive agency.” Noem also waited 72 hours from the start of flooding to approve the deployment of search-and-rescue teams; the agency reportedly created a task force specifically to speed up the process of getting Noem’s approval.
Deadly Grievance: Lawmakers in Kerr County, where at least 36 children died from the floods, are under fire for their decision in 2021 to reject one million of dollars of federal funds to build out flood warning systems — because the money was coming from Biden’s administration. The county did approve federal funding for giving the sheriff’s employees raises, though, among other things. And when flood waters began to surge, county officials failed to activate a system that would have sent alarms to all local cellphones; they activated the alerts two days after flood waters reached their peak.
How to Help: Team Rubicon, a humanitarian organization, has a short guide on how you can help recovery efforts in Texas, here. As it notes, make sure you verify charitable organizations before donating.
But Also, Astonishing Bravery: Scott Ruskan, a rescue swimmer with the Coast Guard, was sent to Texas on his very first mission. Despite his inexperience, and the fact he was the only triage coordinator on the scene, he managed to rescue an astonishing 165 people single-handedly, many of them kids at a campsite. And if you missed it, here’s an astonishing story about Ainslie Bashara, a 19 year old camp counselor who saved her 16 campers — she calls them “littles” — all aged 8-10.
Unfit for Alligators:
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