This morning, many of us awoke to a jarring juxtaposition of headlines: The Wall Street Journal published a column revealing that Jeffrey Epstein received a birthday album filled with bawdy letters—including one from President Donald Trump. And shortly thereafter, news broke that Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the release of grand jury transcripts related to Epstein, citing mounting political pressure and intensifying public scrutiny.
Late last night, Trump took to Truth Social, posting that he had requested Bondi release “any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,” framing the controversy as a “SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats.”
This strategic move came after years of speculation among Trump’s most ardent supporters about the Epstein case. Many in MAGA have propagated conspiracy theories suggesting Epstein was murdered in jail, not that he died by suicide. A distrust of government institutions has fed rumors of a secret client list buried by the Department of Justice, painted as evidence of a vast “deep state” cover-up.
With the Journal’s publication of Trump’s letter and growing demands from MAGA loyalists, Trump’s call to release the transcripts isn’t just reactive—it’s a calculated pivot.
To understand why, we need only revisit a similarly critical moment in 2016.
Just one month before Election Day, the infamous Access Hollywood tape surfaced: Trump, caught on a hot mic, made vulgar remarks about women and boasted of sexually aggressive behavior. Many believed it would be his political undoing. Yet after making an apology, Trump went on the offensive—calling his remarks “locker room banter,” invoking Bill Clinton’s alleged indiscretions, and positioning himself as the victim of a media hit job.
It was Trump’s masterful example of narrative control.
And today he’s doing it again.
As the Epstein discourse spirals out of control, Trump is attempting to seize control of the narrative.. On July 16th, he posted on Truth Social:
“The Jeffrey Epstein Hoax... My PAST supporters have bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker... Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work... I don’t want their support anymore!”
As Trump so often does, he reframed the scandal as yet another “Radical Left Democrat scam”—equating it to past controversies like the Steele Dossier, Hunter Biden’s laptop, and the Russia investigation. Speaking to reporters, he reiterated:
“It was a hoax. It’s all been a big hoax. It’s perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans...”
This is the standard Trump strategy: deflect, reframe, and dominate the narrative. By casting himself as the target of a partisan witch hunt, using the scandal to reinforce MAGA loyalty and their perception of him not merely as a survivor, but as a fighter against corruption and the deep state.
As grand jury transcripts are released, the media will undoubtedly spotlight prominent names connected to Epstein. This will give Trump the perfect opportunity to switch from defense to offense. He’ll be in control, focusing on what suits his narrative, ignoring what doesn’t, and channeling the chaos into an all too familiar pattern: blaming the media, vilifying the Democrats, and claiming victimhood.
The strategy is not without risk, but when backed into a corner, Trump had little choice. However, as proven so often in the past, Trump's ability to dominate the news cycle, even amid chaos, has proven to be a winning strategy.
Seems implausible? Stay tuned.
David Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.