Trump Melts Down in Fact-Free Rant 48 Hours Before Release of Epstein Files

Live from the White House, the president crashed out on the nation on Wednesday night—by which I mean Trump delivered a surprise primetime address where he spent about 20 manic minutes hollering about how good he is at his job; blaming Biden for the “mess” he “inherited”; bragging about figures that made no mathematical sense; wishing us a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year; and interrupting the season finale of Survivor. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was panicking… maybe because of his dismal approval numbers, maybe because unemployment reached a four-year high in November, or maybe, just maybe, because a huge chunk of the Epstein files are set to be released on Friday.

Trump first announced the speech on Truth Social on Tuesday, writing, “THE BEST IS YET TO COME!” No one seemed to know what it was about (or how long it would be), but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters it was “going to be a really good speech.” Spoiler: It wasn’t!

For most of the speech, Trump tooted his own trumpet, saying that he “slashed prices on drugs and pharmaceuticals by as much as 400, 500, and 600 per cent” (literally impossible) and saying “there are more people working today than at any time in American history” (incorrect). He called the “Democrat inflation disaster” the “worst in the history of our country,” and said Republicans are still cleaning up what Dems left. New York Times reporter Katie Rogers wrote that it was “an 18-minute speech that will keep fact checkers busy for hours.”

“And it’s not done yet, but boy, are we making progress. Nobody can believe what’s going on.” It’s actually true no one believes what’s going on… but not for the reason Trump thinks.

Speaking about the Affordable Care Act—a top-of-mind focus of the GOP lately—Trump said, “It was bad health care at much too high a cost, and you see that now in the steep increase in premiums being demanded by the Democrats. And they are demanding those increases and it’s their fault. It is not the Republicans’ fault. It’s the Democrats’ fault. It’s the unaffordable care act, and everybody knew it.” There’s truly no need for the partisan griping here when the GOP has a literal trifecta in government.

And the reality is that the ACA subsidies that the GOP is refusing to extend would mean nearly 20 million Americans losing their health care coverage—a position that’s become so unpopular that it led House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to lose control of his own chamber on Wednesday.

But panic certainly seems to energize our 79-year-old president, who reportedly spoke two times faster than his normal talking speed.

Notably, on Friday, the Justice Department is required to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, with no thanks to Johnson, who tried his best to block Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) from adding her tipping-point signature to a discharge petition that maneuvered the bill into Congress. Much to his chagrin, Trump signed it into law in November, and now the DOJ is to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials.” And given he’s never responded well to any of the previous documents (some of which were already released by the House Oversight Committee) that have raised questions about his ties to the deceased pedophile financier, his bizarre speech feels like a desperate attempt to gain control of the news cycle.

There’s still no clear reason why Trump delivered the address-that-could-have-been-a-Truth-Social-post—and presidential primetime addresses, normally, are reserved for grave news, like a crisis, a war, or a new policy. After the speech, he was overheard telling journalists that Susie Wiles made him do it because of the ongoing fallout she “accidentally” caused with her recent Vanity Fair interview—but if that were the case, he only further confirmed he has what Wiles called an “alcoholic’s personality,” since he rambled at the top of his lungs with a bunch of drunk-sounding nonsense. We still have a full day before the Epstein files come out, though, so I just hope whatever he freaks out about next, it just doesn’t interrupt more television.

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