Today in Politics, Bulletin 80. 2/27/25.

… Today was supposed to be MAGA’s Superbowl - the release of the secret Jeffrey Epstein files. This was the day that many prominent Democrats and half of Hollywood were going to be hauled off in handcuffs to prison after we learned about their Epstein associations. MAGA has believed for years that Deep State actors had Epstein killed in prison to cover up their crimes.

… Of course, the fact that their hero Donald Trump was a well-documented Epstein pal is irrelevant to them since Trump told them they only discussed business. Also, the fact that Epstein died in a prison while Trump was president would make it a lot easier for him to be involved in an Epstein murder than anyone else.

… They insisted during the campaign that Trump promise to release the files on Epstein, the JFK assassination, UFOs, and a host of other conspiracies. And Trump promised them he would. But last night, on the eve of the release to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s investigative committee, DOJ said it will not release the files yet but might do so soon.

… They all went nuts.

… Then, hours later, AG Pam Bondi reversed that and announced they would release “some of the files.” MAGA wasn’t thrilled about that, and seemed to smell a rat.

… So they waited today, and waited some more. And what happened? A motley crew of right-wing social media influencers emerged with a small binder in hand. So only a small amount of the files were released, and they were released only to a few MAGA influencers. The limited files were released by DOJ to ‘Libs of TikTok’s Chaya Raichik, Collin Rugg, Rogan O’Handly, Jack Posobiec, Chad Prather, Mike Cernovich. In other words, a bunch of professional liars and propagandists.

… Don’t worry, MAGA. Chad Prather is now on the case:

… Rep. Luna wasn’t happy: “Neither I nor the task force were given or reviewed the Epstein documents being released today. A NY Post story just revealed that the documents will simply be Epstein's phonebook. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE OR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ASKED FOR and a complete disappointment. GET US THE INFORMATION WE ASKED FOR!”

… They even lost Laura Loomer: “So when can I expect these big shot brilliant social media influencers to research and release their ‘exclusive binders’ full of the first batch of Epstein files? I guess we will be waiting here all week because something tells me some of the people who were invited don’t have the brain power to do original research. Thank God I worked so hard during the election season and ran cover for so many people’s intellectual deficiencies.”

… MAGA actor Kevin Sorbo at 6:55 AM: “The pedos in Hollywood are shaking right about now.”

… MAGA actor Kevin Sorbo at 3:30 PM: “So, nothing new was released today. So much for government transparency.”

… Rep. Eric Swalwell did a little MAGA trolling on it:

… Meanwhile, after a lobbying effort from the Trump Admin, Romania lifted the travel restrictions on Andrew Tate to allow him to fly to the US. He arrived in Florida today on a private jet. Tate has a huge US right-wing social media following and is a big Trump supporter.

… Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba told Tate on Benny Johnson’s podcast a few weeks ago that she was “a big fan” of his. Tate is charged with human trafficking, sexual abuse, money laundering, and the case is still pending. Tate is charged with trafficking girls and women from multiple countries to himself, his brother and friends where they were abused and sexually assaulted.

… Ron DeSantis was fuming at Trump after learning that Tate was in FL: "Florida is not a place where you're welcome with that type of conduct. Our AG, James Uthmeier, is looking into what state hooks and jurisdictions we have to deal with this. I don't know how it came to this. We were not involved. We were not notified. I found out through the media."

… Barstool Sports founder and Trump supporter Dave Portnoy: “If I’m gonna be fair these questions need to be asked today: Why is the release of the Epstein list always a shit show? What’s the point of booting out illegals and criminals while somehow becoming a safe haven for the Tate brothers? Why is Crypto in the toilet if Trump is crypto king? How far does Tesla stock have to crash before Elon goes back to work?”

… Trump told the media that the US could bring in $50 trillion dollars on his Trump Gold Cards if they can sign up 10 million people to put up the $5 million price for US citizenship.

… Sen. Tommy Tuberville to Fox Business on the Trump Gold Card: “I played golf with Trump before. He comes up with a hundred ideas in 18 holes of golf. He’s always thinking about something to make things better. He’s a business guy!”

… David Horowitz, Editor of the right-wing publication The Blaze: “Trump Gold Card? This is worse than anything Mitt Romney and that era of globalists ever proposed. I'm hoping this is just a joke.”

… Mike Johnson is already trying to cook the books on his budget, which explodes the deficit so Republicans can give a massive tax cut to corporations and the highest earners. Johnson told Bloomberg after meeting with Trump that the “fraud” that Musk uncovers, Trump’s tariffs, and his now Trump Gold Visas selling citizenship for $5 million will take care of everything.

… Tuberville said there needs to be deeper cuts in the Pentagon budget: “We have to start in the Pentagon. We need to make a trigon, three sides instead of five sides in the Pentagon.”

… I think they call that a triangle.

… The coordinated right-wing social media influencer brigade blasted out to millions of followers their latest talking point lie that Democrats voted against tax-free tips and overtime in the House budget proposal. Neither of those Trump campaign promises is going to happen and they aren’t in the bill. It was such an obvious lie that they couldn’t even get the usual suspects in Congress to run with it.

… But Lauren Boebert did: “No Tax On Tips has passed the House! Promises Made. Promises Kept. That’s how MAGA works!”

… And Anna Paulina Luna ran with the lie also, although she deleted her post after she was called out on it and got Community Noted on X. Boebert stuck by hers though - still up.

… Fox host Laura Ingraham said the House budget deal is a fiasco: “Apparently there is a majority of Republicans who are determined to have a budget deficit of $2 trillion/year until the markets shut them down. If the voters conclude that a Republican majority means that the budget deficit gets bigger every year, it’s catastrophic for the GOP.”

… “How do Republicans claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility when you’re passing a budget that racks up so much new debt? Congressional Republicans and Democrats are spending addicts. Big challenges ahead. Musk said budget deficit has to get down to about 3% of GDP. It’s about double that now. This is why the debt is exploding. Unconscionable.”

… Mike Johnson told CNN that the people yelling at his members in their districts are just paid operatives: “The videos you saw of the town halls were for paid protesters. They had Democrats come and fill the seats.”

… MAGA supporters were also dismayed about this new Trump statement: “I see so many things saying we don’t want China in this country, that’s not right. We want them to invest. We’ll invest in China.” So much for America First.

… Alina Habba got a bit snippy with Fox host Laura Ingraham about it. Ingraham: “A little murmuring in MAGA land about the comments on China today. Did MAGA vote for China to be able to buy up more American real estate or companies?” Habba: “Is that really the question? Is that what we’re doing here now? The spin?”

… Trump announced this morning on Truth Social that his 30 day tariff “pause” expires next week and they are going into effect. That means 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Trump also said he was increasing tariffs on China to 20% instead of 10% like he said previously.

… Trump: “The proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled. China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date. Thank you for your attention to this matter. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”

… So where are we at? Trump will allow these huge tariffs to take effect, the stock market will tumble, prices and inflation will go up, people will lose their jobs, boycotts will ensue, and those countries will impose huge retaliatory tariffs on us. OR Trump will back down and do another pause, which makes him look a fool rattling his saber and making hollow threats.

… If I was to bet, I would say the trade war will be starting next week.

There was no Bulletin yesterday because of my podcast Uncovered, where I take a deep dive into the Top 10 stories of the week. If you want to check it out, it is here.

… The Editor of WaPo’s Opinion Page resigned in protest along with several writers after Jeff Bezos’s latest edict that he will decide the topics that are written about. Sen. Bernie Sanders: “This is what Oligarch ownership of the media looks like: The second-richest guy in the world, Bezos, owns WaPo. He has now declared that the editorial page of that paper is going Trump right-wing. Surprise, Mr. Musk agrees. We must support independent media.”

… Bloomberg reports that Canadians have had enough of the abuse and are boycotting American products. Canada purchased $349.4 billion in US goods in 2024 - almost as much as the entire EU. Canada sends more tourists to the US than any other country, who spent $20.5 billion in the US last year. But that is all over now - thanks to Trump.

… A survey of 3,310 Canadians by a Vancouver-based research firm found that 85% of people plan to replace US products with alternatives. Nearly half who planned to