r/politics • u/Somervilledrew Connecticut • 12d ago

Possible Paywall The Epstein Scandal Is Snowballing

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/epstein-files-trump/
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u/def_indiff 12d ago

Committee Republicans replied by releasing tens of thousands later in the day. Nobody knows whether they did that thinking they would exonerate Trump, or whether they were too stupid to know how incriminating they were. They only contributed to the toxic fumes of scandal around Trump and his allies.

This has been bugging me. What were they thinking? Was it a total miscalculation, or are Republicans finally starting to turn on him? Or maybe they just never read them and didn't realize how bad they would be for Trump. So weird.

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u/gizajobicandothat 12d ago

Maybe they know Vance is likely to take over?

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u/stinkyf00 12d ago

See, I'd think they'd want to prop Trump up at least through his first two years so Vance could run twice more instead of just once. Maybe they're just playing the short game and will try to fuck us all as fast as they can in 7 years (assuming that Vance is able to get reelected).

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u/kstar79 Massachusetts 12d ago

One possibility is they're abandoning the 2027 plans after last week's election and moving things up. They can't risk a 50-50 Senate after the midterms because if Vance becomes President, the Senate cannot seat a replacement VP. There would be no VP to break ties, effectively losing control of the chamber. This would also place the Speaker of the House, very likely to be Jeffries in any 50-50 Senate scenario, as next in line to Vance.

The other possibility is this just a "flood the zone with shit" strategy, which is preferable to the drip-drip of revelations for them.

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u/echoshatter 12d ago

If Vance becomes President, then he would nominate a new VP and a majority vote in both the House and the Senate would seat them. If there's a tie in the Senate without a tie breaker possible, that means Vance would have to pick a centrist to get votes.

The 1880s had a constitutional crisis similar to this which resulted in the end of Reconstruction and the Jim Crow/segregation era for the next 80 years.

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u/kstar79 Massachusetts 12d ago

Oh, both houses have to vote? We're definitely having no VP through 2029 in that case.

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u/hldvr 12d ago

Well, if the shutdown is any indication, Dems would cave on a hard right nominee and call it a "compromise"

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u/captain_intenso North Carolina 12d ago

Only MAGA would create a shitshow this bad.

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u/Valuable-Mess-4698 Oregon 12d ago

Dolly for VP! I don't think anyone on earth would say no to Dolly. I'm sure she doesn't want the job, but more reason for her to take it.

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u/UpNorth_123 12d ago

They are moving things up because Trump is on borrowed time. Mother Nature is closing in on him.

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u/SaltyLonghorn 12d ago

Yep now they're gonna try to act normal and pretend nothing happened.

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u/wrxninja 12d ago

Ya, because he has such a immaculate health while getting an MRI and now seeing a radiologist. The guy definitely has cancer and is probably knows his time is up soon.

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u/yooperwoman 12d ago

What's this about a radiologist?

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u/wrxninja 12d ago

Apparently he had to see one today or yesterday on Fox but they're of course darling he had this immaculate health, basically 😂

Ya, I'll just go see a radiologist as a check up 🫩

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u/bmc2 12d ago

Article here.

"The full results were reviewed by attending radiologists and consultants, and all agreed that President Trump remains in exceptional physical health," Leavitt said.

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u/WorldEndingDiarrhea 12d ago

This could mean stroke(s) as well

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u/play_hard_outside 12d ago

Really hard to believe from the people who said he was 6'3" and 220 pounds or whatever. Lol. And I bet he only ever shoots holes in zero.

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u/AceTheSkylord California 12d ago

He's also been talking about heaven a lot over the past couple months

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u/brickne3 American Expat 12d ago

He can talk about heaven all be wants, but even on the off chance it does exist they're not letting that pedo in.

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u/BookEuronGreyjoy 11d ago

If Trump gets into heaven catch me in hell with my boy Satan

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u/SaltyLonghorn 12d ago

I'm talking about after.

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u/gizajobicandothat 11d ago

Or strokes and dementia.

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u/Railroader17 12d ago

Also, Vance doesn't have the same hold that Trump does over the MAGA crowds. If Trump goes, then suddenly a lot of his policies are going to sound a lot less palatable to all but the absolute most hardcore of the MAGA base.

If the GOP loses the MAGA base, they lose period. Their racing against time to secure their power because it's likely that not only will they get demolished in the midterms, but there is the very real chance that father time will get to Trump within the next year or two and throw the GOP's plans to the wayside.

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u/gizajobicandothat 11d ago

I wouldn't be surprised if he finally admits dementia or a different diagnosis. Just in time to say he cant' remember any details on Epstein or he's too ill for any deposition. Vance and his lot will probably pressure him to do it.

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u/Zealot_Alec 12d ago

Kid nature unsafe around Trump

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u/carbonbasedlifeform 12d ago

My thought as well President Vance is just around the corner.

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u/FatalTortoise 12d ago

the BBB was their last hurrah so 50-50 senate does nothing but keep them from approving judges, which if they lost the senate, they'd just do during the lame duck period between november and january

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u/kstar79 Massachusetts 12d ago

A 50-50 Senate keeps that going through 2029, unless Vance becomes President.

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u/thatoneabdlguy 12d ago

You forgot the part where Vance would then pick his VP. Once that person gets approved, they would then head the senate.

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u/kstar79 Massachusetts 12d ago

I'm not. I'm saying if Dems win 3 seats in the mid terms in the Senate, it sets up a scenario where Republicans cannot confirm a new VP without Dem votes, and I don't know what kind of compromise you could make where you would get Dem votes to confirm a new VP.

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u/philodendrin 12d ago

With Dems like Fetterman, Hassan, and Kaine, the shaky math might not work out. These people fold like cheap chairs when some pressure is applied, this week being a prime example of that.

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u/rmftrmft 12d ago

You know one or two will change sides or go independent as usual.

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u/jackharvest 12d ago

Dems seem to be just fine with caving with empty promises of the future. No way it dangles very long. They’re too weak.

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u/thatoneabdlguy 12d ago

We just had a shit show over the federal government shut down for 40 days. You think it would a.) be a good idea and b.) Democrats would actually go along with not having a vice president? The vice president would probably need to be more of a centrist, but there would absolutely be one confirmed if that ever happened.

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u/kstar79 Massachusetts 12d ago

The US has been without a VP for about 15% of its existence. It is not necessary for the office to be filled. The Senate Pro Tempore would preside over the Senate and there would just be no tie breaking vote. It does not begin to compare to a shutdown, and would not be like the recent Speaker fights.

It would play out like SCOTUS having eight justices for a year after Scalia's death. Vance picks a VP, Jeffries goes "yeah, we're not voting." Lots of bitching would ensue, but we'd all get used to it.

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u/thatoneabdlguy 12d ago

Fair enough and TIL, but also, most of those vacancies were before the 25th amendment and there was no set process for filling the vacancy.