General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFor the record, I'm really bad at predictions . . .
but last night I had what I might almost call a vision of how this whole Epstein thing could play out. I have a pretty vivid imagination, which is probably all this is, but I thought Id post about it and let everybody shoot it down, if theyre so inclined.
It came to me that Trump could well be out of office by the end of the year, possibly sooner.
(Spoiler: it's not a happy ending. I know, I know, merry Fitzmas!)
First Ill describe what that process will look like to us, the public. Then Ill go into the motives and power plays operating behind the scenes to make that happen.
Over the coming weeks Trump will begin to disappear from public view. At first just a day or two at a time, then for 3 or 4 days. There will be chatter in the news cycle about whats going on, with some speculating that hes avoiding the Epstein scandal, but there will also be questions about his health. Then it will be announced that hes been flown to Walter Reed, and this will be followed by a more prolonged absence from the White House and media, possibly for 8 or 10 days. At last Vance will make a public statement that Trump is resigning from the presidency due to health issues. Vance will then give us ten minutes of unctuous hyperbole about what a great president Trump has been, yada yada. Within hours news will come out that Trumps last official act as president was to sign a pardon for Ghislane Maxwell, and possibly a blanket pardon for anyone on the so-called Epstein List. As soon as Vance is sworn in he pulls a Ford and announces a blanket pardon for Trump because: Evil Democrats and their Trump Derangement Syndrome.
In terms of White House policy, things will appear to modestly improve. Stephen Miller will be kicked out and immigration policy will look more humane. ICE raids will decline and fall out of the news. The tariffs will be called off and the economy will start to stabilize. The administration will back off from harassing Harvard and Columbia and universities in general. In short, Republicans will try to moderate their image and improve the economy before the mid-terms.
After the mid-terms things will take a turn for the worse as the new administration turns the American political economy into a libertarian nightmare. The entire system will be overhauled to maximize the transfer of wealth to the oligarchy. Voter suppression laws and Musk/Starlink will solidify a permanent Republican majority.
How this happens: The billionaire power players behind the scene are fucking done with Trump -- Rupert Murdock, Elon Musk, Charles Koch, Harlan Crow, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, etc. Trumps erratic behavior is ruining the economy and threatening the stock market, and hes a gargantuan liability for the mid-terms. They talk behind the scenes and make a deal with Trump: You resign, and well have your back all the way. You pardon Maxwell and she immediately leaves the country for Israel where she cant be subpoenaed, and Mossad can keep tabs on her. Vance gives you a pardon, and your lawyers will be coached on how to move any threats from state prosecutions to the Supreme Court, where they will be thrown out. You get to keep your money and you can go off into the sunset playing golf at your estates. BUT, if you refuse to resign, well let Maxwell testify in Congress, your poll numbers which are already in the toilet will continue to drop, well primary enough Republicans to ensure the Democrats take back the House, and youll spend the rest of your term pleading the fifth and your filthy life will be front page news for years. Your legacy in the history books will be shit, and there will be zero bailouts when you finally leave office. We'll throw you under the bus to save the movement.
Maga Mike and the Republicans are already moving to subpoena Maxwell to put the pressure on. The PTB in the military and the intelligence community want Trump out because of the IC connection to Epstein/Maxwell, and because of his administrations utter incompetence on handling classified secrets. His right-wing influencers are turning on him, and he will no longer have Fox News (sic) covering his back.
After he resigns hell be out of the limelight and in about a year he will die of natural causes and that will be the end of Trump.
His days are numbered.
Of course, it could play out completely differently. The Epstein buzz could die down on its own. Trump could wag the dog and start a new distraction that works. He could keel over and die in the oval office next week. Who knows?

EarthAbides
(334 posts)Put all of the fascist pig's enemies on the Epstein list.
Trump could literally write names on a White House napkin and release it while calling it the official court verified Epstein client list and the media would run with it,. saying, "Whoa, FDR is on this list, he was an Epstein client, and also, Time Travel exists! Tune in for our 16 part special on Primetime titled Democratic Party Time traveling Pedophiles in American History."
Phoenix61
(18,507 posts)Hes if I cant have it, nobody can type. If the Repuke party tries to kick him to the curb he will burn them to the ground.
Metaphorical
(2,484 posts)The Republican party got what it wanted from Trump with the Big Billious Bill. Trump is now superfluous to requirements.
dweller
(26,878 posts)
✌🏻
Bluestocking
(198 posts)then he would have to face all the State trials for his wrong doing. He is President to stay out of prison.
Metaphorical
(2,484 posts)Trump has been running a con for a long time, but he now knows it's over. He knows that things will only get worse from here, that there are too many people who are now calling in their chits, and it's time to get out. If he doesn't, then Vance will 25/4 him, and it will happen with him having even less control over the process. I do not think it was accidental that Vance met with Murdoch, nor that it was made public. This was Murdoch sending a strong signal to Trump that he could not count on support from Fox News anymore, which means that the entire propaganda wing supporting Trump collapses. Epstein is not suddenly a Cause Celebre that appeared out of nowhere - it's the spearhead of a movement to get Trump out of office before he brings the entire edifice down with him.
Trump is going (voluntarily or otherwise) to take a plane in the next six months to a country without an extradition treaty, or he's going to be carried out in a faux gold-plated pine box. The state charges don't really matter at this stage - it's someone else's mess to deal with. Trump just received a $2 Billion dollar bitcoin payoff. This was not accidental - it is payment for services rendered and Trump knows that if he stays on for too long, he won't be leaving the White House alive.
My expectation: soon-to-be President Vance is going to rebuild the cabinet from scratch. It'll still be conservative, but it won't be the neo-Nazi conspiracy nut sycophants, idiots and ne'er-do-wells that are in there now. Much of the more controversial funding will be restored, quietly, and the tariffs will be dismantled, except where they may provide leverage.
Vance is not going to be a beacon of liberalism, and yes, Democracy is still very much under threat, but Trump will be gone. After that, it's a different battle, but it's one we're used to fighting.
SheilaAnn
(10,471 posts)Phoenix61
(18,507 posts)I dont see that happening. On the outside chance it did, hed appeal to the Supreme Court and I dont see them abandoning him either. I am looking forward to them eating their own.