Trump doubles down on ‘Epstein hoax’ and says Republicans pursuing it are ‘stupid people’

The president then was asked what evidence he might have seen to change his stance on the Epstein case, which this morning he called a “hoax”.

Trump doubled down on his claim that it’s a “big hoax,” but did not provide evidence to support this claim. He also claimed the Epstein case was “started by the Democrats,” but again cited no evidence (though he did mention the Steele Dossier, a report on Trump’s 2016 campaign that alleged cooperation with Russia?).

“Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net and try to do the Democrats’s work,” Trump said.

“They’re stupid people,” he continued to say about Republicans who believe there is more to be revealed about the Epstein case.

Donald Trump, who reportedly consumes a dozen Diet Cokes every day, just announced that he has convinced Coca-Cola to return to using sugar in its drinks.

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“I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so”, Trump posted on his social media network. “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”

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Coca-Cola currently sweetens its drinks with high-fructose corn syrup, in large part because a previous Republican president, Ronald Reagan, imposed tariffs on imported sugar in 1981, dramatically raising prices.

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Those tariffs and quotas had the effect of incentivizing domestic corn syrup production and consumption in the United States. Trump’s initiative could have the unintended effect of lowering the demand for corn, the domestic production of which is heavily subsidized by the federal government.

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If enough Americans agree with the president that Coca-Cola sweetened with sugar is better tasting, that could also cut against the efforts of his health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, to make Americans healthier by getting them to consume less sweet, carbonated beverages.

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Kennedy has supported efforts to prevent Americans from spending food-aid benefits on sugary, carbonated beverages.

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High-fructose corn syrup isn’t necessarily worse for us than table sugar, Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2012, but it is also healthier to avoid both.

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Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology, told the daly that the two sweeteners are chemically quite similar. High-fructose corn syrup, made from corn, is about 55% fructose and 40% glucose. Table sugar, or sucrose, is made from sugar cane or beets and is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. While high-fructose corn syrup often gets blamed for the nation’s obesity epidemic, Hu said, “we should worry about sugar in general”.

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In 2020, the NBC News affiliate in Seattle spoke to experts who confirmed that Coca-Cola made in Mexico, where it is sweetened with sugar, is not healthier than Coca-Cola produced with corn syrup.

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In keeping with the frantic pace of posting maintained by their boss, Donald Trump, the White House press office has a hyperactive social media feed on X, @RapidResponse47, that is very frequently updated with clips of the president’s statements, hour after hour.

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The account has posted 49 times already on Wednesday, and featured seven video clips of Trump’s comments on a range of issues during his meeting with Bahrain’s prime minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. But the aides who run the account seem to be studiously avoiding one subject: Trump’s claim that the uproar over his administration’s decision not to release files from the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender he knew well, is ‘a hoax’.

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None of what Trump said about Epstein on Wednesday appeared on this official White House feed. Similarly, when Trump spoke to reporters on Tuesday, the account clipped and boosted his remarks on several other subjects, but ignored his claim that the subject of Epstein’s crimes was “sordid, but boring”.

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That marks a change from February, when the president’s press team shared a clip of Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, telling Fox host Jesse Watters, that she had the Epstein files on her desk. With a siren emoji, the account showed video of Bondi saying: “I think tomorrow, Jesse, breaking news right now, you’re going to see some Epstein information being released by my office”.

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“What’s you’re going to see, hopefully tomorrow, is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information”, Bondi added. That information however has still not been released.

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🚨 @AGPamBondi: I think tomorrow, you’re going to see some Epstein information being released by my office… A lot of flight logs, a lot of names. A lot of information.” pic.twitter.com/yjQqgPlKEj

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 27, 2025

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Columbia University has agreed to adopt a controversial definition of antisemitism as it pursues an agreement with the administration aimed at restoring $400m in federal government grants frozen over its alleged failure to protect Jewish students.

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In a letter to students and staff, the university’s acting president, Claire Shipman, said it would incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism into its anti-discrimination policies as part of a broad overhaul.

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It is the latest in a string of concessions Columbia has made following criticisms – mainly from pro-Israel groups and Republican members of Congress – that university authorities had tolerated the expression of antisemitic attitudes in pro-Palestinian campus protests following the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza in 2023.

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“Columbia is committed to taking all possible steps to combat antisemitism and the University remains dedicated to ensuring that complaints of discrimination and harassment of all types, including complaints based on Jewish and Israeli identity, are treated in the same manner,” wrote Shipman.

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“Formally adding the consideration of the IHRA definition into our existing anti-discrimination policies strengthens our approach to combating antisemitism.”

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The definition, which describes antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews”, has been adopted by the US state department and several European government and EU groups.

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However, critics have say it is designed to shield Israel by punishing legitimate criticism of the country. They also complain that it conflates antisemitism with anti-Zionism.

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Among the examples of criticisms accompanying the definition are “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor”, “applying double standards by requiring of [Israel] a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nations” and “accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel … than to the interests of their own nations”.

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Vice-president JD Vance earlier made the administration’s first big pitch to sell the public on Donald Trump’s sweeping budget-and-policy package in the swing political turf of northeastern Pennsylvania.

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Vance, whose tie-breaking vote got the bill through the Senate, touted the legislation’s tax breaks and cast Democrats as opponents of the cutting taxes because of their unanimous opposition to the legislation.

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Democrats, who’ve decried the bill’s deep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, along with other provisions, are expected to try to use it against Republicans in closely contested congressional campaigns next year that will determine control of Congress.

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The GOP plans to use it to make their case as well, something the vice-president asked the crowd in working-class West Pittston to help with.

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“Go and talk to your neighbors, go and talk to your friends, about what this bill does for America’s citizens. Because we don’t want to wake up in a year and a half and give the Democrats power back,” he said.

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Speaking at at an industrial machine shop, the Vance was also quick to highlight the bill’s new tax deductions on overtime.

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“You earned that money,” Vance said. “You ought to keep it in your pocket.”

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He also promoted the legislation’s creation of a new children’s savings program, called Trump Accounts, with a potential $1,000 deposit from the treasury department.

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Recognizing the significance of the coal and gas industry in Pennsylvania, he also talked up the ways the law seeks to promote energy extraction, such as allowing increased leasing for drilling, mining and logging on public lands, speeding up government approvals and cutting royalty rates paid by extraction companies.

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“We are finally going to drill, baby drill and invest in American energy,” Vance said. “And I know you all love that.”

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The historic legislation, which Trump signed into law earlier this month with near unanimous Republican support, includes key campaign pledges like no tax on tips but also cuts Medicaid and food stamps by a staggering $1.2tn.

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Democrats recently held a town hall in House speaker Mike Johnson’s home state of Louisiana to denounce the legislation as a “reverse Robin Hood — stealing from the poor to give to the rich”.

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Vance’s office declined to elaborate to the Associated Press on plans for other public events around the US to promote the bill. After his remarks, he visited a nearby diner where he picked up food and spoke to some of the patrons.

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Donald Trump backed away from suggestions he was moving to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, following media reports that he had privately indicated to a meeting of GOP lawmakers last night that he would do so. After the bombshell reports rocked Wall Street this morning, the president pulled back, saying it was “highly unlikely” that he’ll fire Powell. “We’re not planning on doing anything,” Trump told reporters, unless Powell “has to leave” because of “fraud”, referring to the controversy over renovations to the Fed’s historic headquarters in Washington.

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Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on X: “Nobody is fooled by President Trump and Republicans’ sudden interest in building renovations — it’s clear pretext to fire Fed Chair Powell.” Trump indicated that he’d probably wait to replace Powell until his term ends next year. The president does not have the power to fire the Fed chair without cause.

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It has failed to distract from the growing furore from Trump’s usually ardently loyal Maga base over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. His base is in uproar over the justice department’s recent decision to halt further disclosures related to Epstein, including the alleged client list, as well as its finding that he died by suicide. That reached new altitudes today when Trump branded the case a hoax and lashed out at his supporters-turned-critics, calling them “weaklings” and “stupid people” for buying into the conspiracy theories, which he blamed on (checks notes) Democrats. He is conveniently forgetting that both he himself and members of his administration have long stoked those same theories. He is also conveniently not acknowledging that prominent allies of his have joined the calls for the files to be released, including House speaker Mike Johnson, and influential Maga figures like far-right activist Laura Loomer.

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Trump also once again back Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein case and said: “Whatever’s credible she can release. If a document’s there that is credible, she can release [it], I think it’s good.”

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Secretary of state Marco Rubio, asked about Israeli strikes on Syria on Wednesday, said the United States was “very concerned”, adding that he had just spoken to the relevant parties over the phone. “We’re going to be working on that issue as we speak. I just got off the phone with the relevant parties. We’re very concerned about it, and hopefully we’ll have some updates later today. But we’re very concerned about it,” Rubio said. He added that the US wants fighting to stop as clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters broke out hours after a ceasefire agreement.

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Zohran Mamdani told New York business leaders yesterday he will not use the phrase “globalize the intifada” and discourage others from doing so. The mayoral frontrunner explained at the meeting that many use “globalize the intifada” as an expression of support for the Palestinian people and, for him, the phrase means protest against the Israeli occupation of Gaza, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mamdani also said he is willing to discourage the specific language, but not the idea behind it.

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A flight carrying immigrants deported from the US landed in Eswatini, the homeland security department announced, in a move that follows the supreme court lifting limits on deporting migrants to third countries.

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A group of 20 mostly Democrat-led US states filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from terminating a multibillion-dollar grant program that funds infrastructure upgrades to protect against natural disasters.

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Robert F Kennedy Jr abruptly fired two of his top aides – chief of staff Heather Flick Melanson and deputy chief of staff for policy Hannah Anderson – CNN reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

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House speaker Mike Johnson has said he believes it would be beneficial to have new leadership at the Federal Reserve, although he added that he’s not sure the president has the authority to fire chair Jerome Powell, according to media reports.

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“I do I believe new leadership would be helpful at the Fed,” a Wall Street Journal reporter on X has quoted Johnson as saying.

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Punchbowl News, in a separate X post, reported Johnson said he’s “really not sure” if the president can fire Powell.

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US senator Elizabeth Warren has said that Donald Trump’s interest in renovations of Federal Reserve’s headquarters is “clear pretext” to fire chairman Jerome Powell.

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Last week, the White House intensified its criticism of how the Fed is being run when the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, sent Powell a letter saying Trump was “extremely troubled” by cost overruns in the $2.5bn renovation of its historic headquarters in Washington.

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Earlier today, following bombshell news reports that Trump was planning to fire Powell which rattled financial markets, the president pulled back in the Oval Office. Though he confirmed that the conversation with GOP lawmakers about whether he should fire the central bank leader took place, the president said it’s “highly unlikely” that he’ll fire Powell.

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“We’re not planning on doing anything,” Trump told reporters, unless Powell “has to leave” because of “fraud”, referring to the controversy over the renovations. The president indicated that he’d probably wait to replace Powell until his term ends next year.

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“Nobody is fooled by President Trump and Republicans’ sudden interest in building renovations — it’s clear pretext to fire Fed Chair Powell,” Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate banking committee, which oversees the Fed, said in a post on X.

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As we’ve fact-checked, the president doesn’t have the power to fire Powell over a monetary dispute and today he backed away from the idea, saying instead that “we get to make a change in eight months” (when Powell’s tenure expires).

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US senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina has said that firing the Federal Reserve chair because “political people” don’t agree with his economic decision-making would undermine US credibility, adding that it would be a “huge mistake” to end the Fed’s independence.

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“You’re going to see a pretty immediate response and we’ve got to avoid that,” Tillis, a Republican member of the Senate banking committee, said on the floor of the chamber earlier.

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Trump has today backed away from the idea of firing Jerome Powell, saying instead that “we get to make a change in eight months” (when Powell’s tenure expires).

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The president does not have the power to fire the Federal Reserve chair. But reports today said that Trump had asked Republican lawmakers if he should fire Powell, and several people in the room indicated he will do it.

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Trump again supported his attorney general, Pam Bondi, who has been under fire for her handling of the Epstein case.

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“I think she’s doing a great job.”

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The president was asked whether he would allow US attorney general Pam Bondi to release more information on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

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“Whatever’s credible she can release,” Trump said. “If a document’s there that is credible, she can release [it], I think it’s good.”

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But then he goes after Republicans again: “All it is is that certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats and they’re following the Democrat playbook. It’s no different than ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ and all the other hoaxes.”

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Donald Trump said the US will probably “live by the letter” with Japan and maybe have another deal coming up with India.

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“We have some pretty good deals to announce,” he said. “The big one really is going to be on the 150 countries that we’re really not negotiating with, and they’re smaller – we don’t do much business with.”

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The president then was asked what evidence he might have seen to change his stance on the Epstein case, which this morning he called a “hoax”.

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“Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net and try to do the Democrats’s work,” Trump said.

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“They’re stupid people,” he continued to say about Republicans who believe there is more to be revealed about the Epstein case.

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Trump was asked about his alleged plans to fire Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman, that have been reported by US media.

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“He’s always been too late, hence his nickname ‘Too Late’,” Trump said. “He should’ve cut interest rates a long time ago.”

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He accuses Powell of only cutting interest rates to benefit Democrats in the 2024 election. (It’s worth remembering here that Powell first assumed this role under Trump in 2017.)

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“I think he does a terrible job, he’s costing us lots of money,” Trump said.

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He also mentions that he was surprised Powell was appointed (…) but then goes on to say that Biden should not have extended him.

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However, he does back away from the idea of firing Powell, saying instead that “we get to make a change in eight months.”

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The president does not have the power to fire the Federal Reserve chair. But reports said on Tuesday, Trump asked Republican lawmakers if he should fire Powell, and several people in the room indicated he will do it.

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Donald Trump has long been feuding with Jerome Powell over what he perceives as a mishandling of the Federal Reserve, particularly when it comes to interest rates.

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As media outlets report Trump’s plan to fire Powell, it is important to note that the US president does not have the power to do so over a monetary policy dispute. A recent US supreme court decision agreed that Trump cannot remove Fed officials at will.

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Powell, who Trump nominated in 2017 and then re-nominated by Joe Biden, has said he intends to serve out his term as Fed chair, which ends on 15 May 2026.

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Donald Trump on Tuesday asked Republican lawmakers if he should fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, and several people in the room indicated he will do it, CBS News is reporting, citing multiple sources with direct knowledge.

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The meeting with members of the House of Representatives took place at the Oval Office. Per CBS’s report:

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n

The idea of a president removing a Fed chair is legally untested — federal law says the chair can only be fired “for cause”. The action could have serious negative effects on financial markets.

n

Sources inside the administration told CBS News the president has been socializing the possibility of a for-cause firing in public and private remarks, but the White House has not yet formally built a legal predicate.

n

The Trump administration has tried to increase the pressure on Powell, with some administration officials publicly accusing the Fed of mismanaging a multibillion-dollar project to renovate its Washington headquarters — an allegation Powell has pushed back on.

n

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Trump has relentlessly attacked Powell in recent months over his view that the Fed is not acting quickly enough to lower interest rates and called on him to resign.

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Powell has said that the Fed would’ve cut interest rates by now had it not been for Trump’s tariff policy, and has maintained many times that the Fed takes independent economic decisions.

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In a lengthy Truth Social post earlier, Donald Trump has dismissed the furious Maga backlash over the Jeffrey Epstein case as a “scam” perpetuated by Democrats and accused his so-called “past supporters” – who have called for more transparency around documents related to the case – of “doing the Democrats’ work” by buying into the “hoax”.

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Trump appears to have conveniently forgotten that those very conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein have long been stoked by himself and members of his administration. His base is now in uproar over the justice department’s recent decision to halt further disclosures related to Epstein, including the alleged client list, as well as its finding that he died by suicide.

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“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote. “They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.”

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However, it is very much his current – and prominent – supporters who are leading the calls for the so-called Epstein files to be released, including members of Congress like key Trump ally House speaker Mike Johnson, and influential Maga figures like far-right activist Laura Loomer.

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Trump then went on to suggest that his supporters questioning the administration’s handling of the case were “weaklings” and he didn’t want their support any more:

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n

I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country’s history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.

n

Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!

n

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The president has appeared exasperated by the controversy in recent days which has dramatically fractured his usually solid Maga base, and has tried to make the story go away, calling Epstein “somebody that nobody cares about”, describing the case as “pretty boring stuff” and saying it’s of interest only to “bad people”.

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A group of 20 mostly Democrat-led US states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block the Trump administration from terminating a multibillion-dollar grant program that funds infrastructure upgrades to protect against natural disasters.

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The lawsuit filed in Boston federal court claims that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) lacked the power to cancel the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program in April after it was approved and funded by Congress.

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Fema, part of the US Department of Homeland Security, has come under scrutiny for its response to deadly floods in Texas earlier this month, which has put renewed focus on the Trump administration’s moves to shrink or abolish the agency.

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Secretary of state Marco Rubio, asked about Israeli strikes on Syria on Wednesday, said the United States was “very concerned”, adding that he had just spoken to the relevant parties over the phone.

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“We’re going to be working on that issue as we speak. I just got off the phone with the relevant parties. We’re very concerned about it, and hopefully we’ll have some updates later today. But we’re very concerned about it,” Rubio said.

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He added that the US wants fighting to stop as clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters broke out hours after a ceasefire agreement.

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Separately, my colleague Edward Helmore reports that Zohran Mamdani told New York business leaders yesterday he will not use the phrase “globalize the intifada” and discourage others from doing so.

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He had previously cautiously defended and declined to condemn the phrase – for some it represents a call for violence against Jewish people, while for others it is a rallying cry for Palestinian resistance and liberation – and Mamdani had been under pressure to clarify his position.

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Indeed he explained at the meeting that many use “globalize the intifada” as an expression of support for the Palestinian people and, for him, the phrase means protest against the Israeli occupation of Gaza, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mamdani also said he is willing to discourage the specific language, but not the idea behind it.

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New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani is in Washington DC this morning to attend a breakfast event hosted by representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. While he’s in DC Mamdani will also meet with Bernie Sanders.

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It comes at a time of soul-searching for Democrats across the country as the party struggles to decide between a more progressive or moderate approach as the best way for it to evolve and appeal to voters in the Trump era. Mamdani, a young, democratic socialist who set off a political earthquake with his stunning win of the Democratic nomination last month, finds himself and his brand of politics at the forefront of that existential question for the party.

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This is exemplified by the fact that key New York Democrats including House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and governor Kathy Hochul, have all stopped short of endorsing Mamdani for November’s election. His much-anticipated meeting with Jeffries will take place at the end of this week back in New York. He will also reportedly meet with Schumer in New York.

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“I think a lot of people just need to get to know folks before they issue an endorsement. I hope that this conversation can be constructive to bring the party together and rally behind our nominee,” said AOC, per Fox News.

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The secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has abruptly fired two of his top aides – chief of staff Heather Flick Melanson and deputy chief of staff for policy Hannah Anderson – CNN is reporting, citing two people familiar with the matter.

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The decision came after Kennedy lost confidence in the two aides as part of his leadership team, one of the people familiar with the matter told CNN, although it was unclear whether there was a single triggering event that prompted the firings.

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In a statement provided to CNN, an HHS spokesperson confirmed the moves and said the department’s White House liaison, Matt Buckham, would serve as acting chief of staff.

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n

He brings valuable experience in personnel strategy and organizational management to this new role. Secretary Kennedy thanks the outgoing leadership for their service and looks forward to working closely with Mr. Buckham as the Department continues advancing its mission to Make America Healthy Again.

n

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Kennedy has not yet decided on permanent replacements for Flick and Anderson, the people familiar with the matter told CNN.

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Donald Trump has dismissed a secretive inquiry into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as “boring” and of interest only to “bad people”, but said he backed the release of any “credible” files, as he sought to stamp out a conspiracy-fuelled uproar among his supporters.

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The US president is facing a political crisis within his usually loyal Republican “Make America great again” (Maga) base over suspicion that the administration is hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect the rich elite he associated with, which included Trump.

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One of the most dramatic theories circulating among supporters is that Epstein – who killed himself in 2019 while in federal custody – was murdered by powerful figures to cover up their roles in his sex crimes against children.

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“I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday night when asked why his supporters are so interested in the case. “It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring, and I don’t understand why it keeps going.

n “I think really only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going,” he added. “But credible information, let them give it. Anything that is credible, I would say, let them have it.”

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President Donald Trump will meet with Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Wednesday to discuss negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire deal, Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted on X.

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Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since 6 July, discussing a US-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire that envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the conflict.

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Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said on Sunday that he was “hopeful” on the ceasefire negotiations underway in Qatar, a key mediator between the two sides.

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US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been working to secure an agreement, however, Israel and Hamas are divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave.

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Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical products and semiconductors as soon as 1 August, the latest deadline for the introduction of his “reciprocal” levies on individual countries.

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The US president told reporters late on Tuesday the taxes on drug imports could be announced “probably at the end of the month, and we’re going to start off with a low tariff and give the pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build, and then we’re going to make it a very high tariff”.

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He added he had a similar timeline for imposing levies on semiconductors, as he believed it was “less complicated” to implement tariffs on the chips required by all electronic devices, but did not provide further details.

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Earlier in the month, Trump told a meeting of his cabinet that he expected to raise tariffs on pharmaceuticals as high as 200%, once he had given drug companies a year to a year and a half to bring their manufacturing to the US. He also threatened a 50% tariff on imported copper in an effort to increase US production of the metal.

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The Trump administration began investigations in April into imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors into the US under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as part of an attempt to impose tariffs on both sectors on national security grounds.

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A flight carrying immigrants deported from the US has landed in Eswatini, the homeland security department announced, in a move that follows the supreme court lifting limits on deporting migrants to third countries.

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In a post online, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin named five deportees from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen and said they were convicted of crimes ranging from child rape to murder.

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“A safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed. This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,” McLaughlin said late on Tuesday.

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In late June, the US supreme court cleared the way for president Donald Trump’s administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own without offering them a chance to show the harms they could face. The decision handed the government a win in its aggressive pursuit of mass deportations.

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On 4 July, the US completed deportation of eight other migrants to conflict-plagued South Sudan. The men had been put on a flight in May bound for South Sudan, which was diverted to a base in Djibouti, where they had been held in a converted shipping container.

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Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics as the furor over the Epstein files continues to grip the country with the unusual public spectacle of normally-loyal House speaker Mike Johnson breaking with Donald Trump with his calls to make the files public.

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It was a rare moment of friction between Trump and the speaker, a top ally on Capitol Hill, and came as the president faces growing backlash from conservatives who had expected him to make public everything known about Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while in federal custody as he faced sex-trafficking charges.

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Read the full story here:

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The president has continued with his efforts to move from the issue, last night attempting to both downplay it and deflect it on to his opponents.

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“I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.

n He also said there were credibility issues with the documents, suggesting without citing evidence they were “made up” by former FBI director James Comey and former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

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Stay with us for all today’s developments. In other news:

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n
Vice-president JD Vance on Wednesday will head to the swing political turf of northeastern Pennsylvania to begin selling president Donald Trump’s sweeping budget-and-policy package in a working-class district that could see a ferocious congressional campaign next year.

n
Adelita Grijalva won the Democratic House primary in Arizona to succeed her father, beating a young social media activist in a closely watched election seen as a test of the party’s generational divide. Businessman Daniel Butierez has secured the Republican nomination.

n
The Trump administration decided to withdraw half of the 4,000 national guard troops it dispatched to Los Angeles chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed to the Guardian.

n
A flight carrying immigrants deported from the US has landed in Eswatini, the homeland security department announced, in a move that follows the supreme court lifting limits on deporting migrants to third countries.

n
In a rambling set of remarks at an AI and energy investment summit, Trump veered wildly off-topic to praise two partisan, conservative reporters in attendance and made false claims about China having just one wind farm and about his uncle having once taught Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber.

n
Mike Waltz, who was ousted as national security adviser after mistakenly adding a journalist to a group chat on Signal about strikes on Yemen, had his confirmation hearing to become UN ambassador.

n
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, asked Israel to “aggressively” investigate the murder of a Palestinian American citizen who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

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Key events

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Trump says he convinced Coca-Cola to use sugar instead of corn syrup

Donald Trump, who reportedly consumes a dozen Diet Cokes every day, just announced that he has convinced Coca-Cola to return to using sugar in its drinks.

Kennedy has supported efforts to prevent Americans from spending food-aid benefits on sugary, carbonated beverages.

In 2020, the NBC News affiliate in Seattle spoke to experts who confirmed that Coca-Cola made in Mexico, where it is sweetened with sugar, is not healthier than Coca-Cola produced with corn syrup.

Experts featured in a 2020 report from Seattle’s NBC News affiliate confirmed that Coca-Cola made with sugar is not healthier than Coca-Cola made with corn syrup.

On social media, White House ignores Trump’s claim that Epstein files are ‘a hoax’

“What’s you’re going to see, hopefully tomorrow, is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information”, Bondi added. That information however has still not been released.

🚨 @AGPamBondi: I think tomorrow, you’re going to see some Epstein information being released by my office… A lot of flight logs, a lot of names. A lot of information.” pic.twitter.com/yjQqgPlKEj

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 27, 2025

“}}”>

Donald Trump has said that he thinks China will begin sentencing people to death for fentanyl manufacturing and distribution.

Speaking at an event for the signing of the Halt Fentanyl Act, attended by family members of people who had died from overdoes, Trump said he imposed a tariff on China “because of fentanyl”.

“I think we’re going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country,” Trump said. “I believe that’s going to happen soon.”

Columbia adopts controversial definition of antisemitism amid federal grants freeze

Robert Tait

“Formally adding the consideration of the IHRA definition into our existing anti-discrimination policies strengthens our approach to combating antisemitism.”

However, critics have say it is designed to shield Israel by punishing legitimate criticism of the country. They also complain that it conflates antisemitism with anti-Zionism.

Vance touts tax breaks in Pennsylvania as he makes White House’s first big pitch on Trump’s megabill

The GOP plans to use it to make their case as well, something the vice-president asked the crowd in working-class West Pittston to help with.

Speaking at at an industrial machine shop, the Vance was also quick to highlight the bill’s new tax deductions on overtime.

“You earned that money,” Vance said. “You ought to keep it in your pocket.”

He also promoted the legislation’s creation of a new children’s savings program, called Trump Accounts, with a potential $1,000 deposit from the treasury department.

“We are finally going to drill, baby drill and invest in American energy,” Vance said. “And I know you all love that.”

JD Vance promotes Trump’s signature tax and spending bill in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

Here’s my colleague Oliver Holmes’s report on Trump lashing out against his own supporters for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into the late high-profile socialite and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein:

The day so far

Donald Trump backed away from suggestions he was moving to fire Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, following media reports that he had privately indicated to a meeting of GOP lawmakers last night that he would do so. After the bombshell reports rocked Wall Street this morning, the president pulled back, saying it was “highly unlikely” that he’ll fire Powell. “We’re not planning on doing anything,” Trump told reporters, unless Powell “has to leave” because of “fraud”, referring to the controversy over renovations to the Fed’s historic headquarters in Washington.
Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on X: “Nobody is fooled by President Trump and Republicans’ sudden interest in building renovations — it’s clear pretext to fire Fed Chair Powell.” Trump indicated that he’d probably wait to replace Powell until his term ends next year. The president does not have the power to fire the Fed chair without cause.
It has failed to distract from the growing furore from Trump’s usually ardently loyal Maga base over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. His base is in uproar over the justice department’s recent decision to halt further disclosures related to Epstein, including the alleged client list, as well as its finding that he died by suicide. That reached new altitudes today when Trump branded the case a hoax and lashed out at his supporters-turned-critics, calling them “weaklings” and “stupid people” for buying into the conspiracy theories, which he blamed on (checks notes) Democrats. He is conveniently forgetting that both he himself and members of his administration have long stoked those same theories. He is also conveniently not acknowledging that prominent allies of his have joined the calls for the files to be released, including House speaker Mike Johnson, and influential Maga figures like far-right activist Laura Loomer.
Trump also once again back Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein case and said: “Whatever’s credible she can release. If a document’s there that is credible, she can release [it], I think it’s good.”
Secretary of state Marco Rubio, asked about Israeli strikes on Syria on Wednesday, said the United States was “very concerned”, adding that he had just spoken to the relevant parties over the phone. “We’re going to be working on that issue as we speak. I just got off the phone with the relevant parties. We’re very concerned about it, and hopefully we’ll have some updates later today. But we’re very concerned about it,” Rubio said. He added that the US wants fighting to stop as clashes between Syrian government troops and local Druze fighters broke out hours after a ceasefire agreement.
Zohran Mamdani told New York business leaders yesterday he will not use the phrase “globalize the intifada” and discourage others from doing so. The mayoral frontrunner explained at the meeting that many use “globalize the intifada” as an expression of support for the Palestinian people and, for him, the phrase means protest against the Israeli occupation of Gaza, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mamdani also said he is willing to discourage the specific language, but not the idea behind it.
A flight carrying immigrants deported from the US landed in Eswatini, the homeland security department announced, in a move that follows the supreme court lifting limits on deporting migrants to third countries.
A group of 20 mostly Democrat-led US states filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from terminating a multibillion-dollar grant program that funds infrastructure upgrades to protect against natural disasters.
Robert F Kennedy Jr abruptly fired two of his top aides – chief of staff Heather Flick Melanson and deputy chief of staff for policy Hannah Anderson – CNN reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

“Many Republicans I’ve been talking to over the past few days have predicted that Trump would do something dramatic to distract from Epstein,” a Puck reporter wrote on X regarding today’s will he, won’t regarding sacking Jerome Powell.

And as Politico notes, “though Trump appears to be holding off on Powell, a groundswell of backlash from both base and swing voters – over the Epstein files and the GOP megabill – continues to dominate headlines”.

New leadership at Fed would be helpful, House speaker says

“I do I believe new leadership would be helpful at the Fed,” a Wall Street Journal reporter on X has quoted Johnson as saying.

Punchbowl News, in a separate X post, reported Johnson said he’s “really not sure” if the president can fire Powell.

Trump’s interest in Fed building renovations ‘clear pretext’ to fire Powell, Warren says

US senator Elizabeth Warren has said that Donald Trump’s interest in renovations of Federal Reserve’s headquarters is “clear pretext” to fire chairman Jerome Powell.

Ending Fed’s independence would be a mistake, Republican senator says

“You’re going to see a pretty immediate response and we’ve got to avoid that,” Tillis, a Republican member of the Senate banking committee, said on the floor of the chamber earlier.

Trump has today backed away from the idea of firing Jerome Powell, saying instead that “we get to make a change in eight months” (when Powell’s tenure expires).

Well, that more or less captures everything Donald Trump said in the oval office just now alongside Bahrain crown prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The crown prince of Bahrain listens Donald Trump speaks to reporters. Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Bondi ‘doing a great job’, Trump says

Trump again supported his attorney general, Pam Bondi, who has been under fire for her handling of the Epstein case.

“I think she’s doing a great job.”

Trump: Bondi can release ‘whatever’s credible’ on Epstein case

The president was asked whether he would allow US attorney general Pam Bondi to release more information on the Jeffrey Epstein case.

“Whatever’s credible she can release,” Trump said. “If a document’s there that is credible, she can release [it], I think it’s good.”

Trump tries to pivot to the Biden-autopen investigation that Republicans are leading against his predecessor. It has been widely seen as a partisan move to discredit the former Democratic president.

“That’s the scandal they should be talking about, not Jeffrey Epstein,” he said. “I think it’s the biggest scandal – one of them – in American history.”

Trump tries to move on amid Epstein files backlash as

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