‘Trump Botched the Epstein Files’: Analyst Decodes MAGA Fire
Trump and Epstein! (Image X.com)
In a blistering GZERO monologue, Bremmer says Trump only backed releasing the Epstein files after losing GOP support — and warns the new DOJ probe could delay or block disclosures for months.
By TRH Foreign Affairs Desk
New Delhi, November 18, 2025 — Political analyst Ian Bremmer delivered a sharply critical assessment of Donald Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, arguing in his GZERO monologue that the U.S. president “could absolutely have handled it worse — and nearly did.”
Bremmer said Trump’s abrupt U-turn on Sunday night, when he suddenly backed the release of the Epstein documents after days of resisting, came only after he began “hemorrhaging Republican votes in the House.” What Trump did, Bremmer added, was classic political survival: “When they’re running you out of town, get in front of the crowd and make it look like you’re leading the parade.”
With Trump’s flip, House Republicans are now expected to vote overwhelmingly to declassify the Epstein files, “to the extent they are legally capable.” But Bremmer warned this may not lead to full transparency.
Trump has instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to open new investigations tied to the files — including into high-profile Democrats and philanthropists appearing repeatedly in them, such as Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, and Bill Clinton. Bremmer said the move gives the Justice Department ample cover to delay releases, citing “ongoing investigations” and redaction requirements.
“It’s going to feel a lot like the Trump tax returns,” he said. “He promises and promises, and then it’s always someone else’s fault that they can’t be released.”
Bremmer believes the files may not implicate Trump in criminal behaviour — noting the Biden administration likely would have pursued charges if hard evidence existed. But he predicts the contents will be “embarrassing”, exposing contradictions and falsehoods Trump has told about Epstein for years.
The analyst also warned of heightened risk around leaks: “There are dozens of agents involved. Many know what Trump doesn’t want public. And leaking is dangerous — this administration goes after leakers.”
Bremmer argued the Epstein debacle caps three bad weeks for Trump, pointing to Republican losses in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and California, slumping economic approval numbers, and Trump’s public fights with even loyalists such as Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Still, Bremmer stressed this is not the collapse of Trump’s dominance over the MAGA movement — though it marks one of the most precarious stretches of his political comeback bid.
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