It’s not day by day you see a former president behind the wheel of a white Ford Bronco —until, in fact, you’re scrolling President Donald Trump’s Reality Social feed.
In his newest try and hijack the headlines, Trump posted a doctored meme of Barack Obama as O.J. Simpson within the notorious slow-speed chase, with himself and a cartoonishly edited JD Vance in sizzling pursuit. Predictably, the web erupted.
Whereas lots of Trump’s supporters discovered the meme amusing, these exterior MAGA noticed it as offensive, infantile, and an try and deflect from the troublesome questions rising about him and Jeffrey Epstein. Critics shortly condemned the submit, which bore the watermark of a pro-Trump account, @grandoldmemes.
“Completely disgusting, deranged, and perverted psycho Trump shares faux picture of President Obama, portraying him as double-murderer O.J. Simpson fleeing justice,” one consumer mentioned.
“Very Presidential, Sir (clown),” one other particular person added.
“I like that he used the meme model of JD Vance, however… Launch the recordsdata, Donald,” another person chimed in, accusing the president of yet one more deflection.
The submit landed amid the persevering with firestorm over final week’s Wall Avenue Journal report disclosing that Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi privately knowledgeable Trump in Might that his title seems quite a few occasions within the sealed Epstein recordsdata.
Days earlier than that revelation, the identical outlet reported that Trump had as soon as despatched Jeffrey Epstein a fiftieth birthday greeting — full with a drawing of a unadorned girl for his birthday guide. Trump vehemently denied issuing the letter and filed a large defamation swimsuit towards Journal proprietor Rupert Murdoch the subsequent day. Since then, Trump’s title surfaced on a contributor’s listing for the guide, whereas not less than one supply claims to have a replica obtainable at hand over to federal investigators if known as for.
Trump continues to disclaim his authorship and has flooded the zone with recent assaults on Obama, calling him a “traitor” and “felony,” whereas falsely claiming that Obama tried to launch a coup towards him. That is although Obama graciously accepted Trump’s victory and even welcomed Trump to the White Home with open arms earlier than his time period started to honor the transition of energy.
Authorized specialists say Trump’s efforts to now paint Obama as a felony are groundless. A current Supreme Courtroom ruling granted presidents broad immunity for official acts taken whereas in workplace—a safety that additionally extends to former presidents. Any suggestion that Obama could possibly be charged with treason, they are saying, holds no authorized weight.
Nonetheless, Trump leaned into the tactic for greater than every week, reviving what critics name his signature type: utilizing manufactured controversies to crowd out scandals of his personal.
This previous week, Trump’s political dilemma ensnared Director of Nationwide Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who stood at a podium and accused Obama of orchestrating a “treasonous conspiracy,” claiming the previous president used phony intelligence on Russia to undermine Trump’s 2016 election win.
In response, the Justice Division established a brand new “Strike Power” tasked with digging into Gabbard’s revelations and weighing what authorized strikes — if any — may come subsequent.
Nonetheless, Gabbard’s claims had been nearly instantly debunked as “deceptive,” in keeping with FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that displays the factual accuracy of statements made by politicians, bureaucrats, and special-interest teams.
An in depth evaluation of the paperwork discovered Gabbard’s evaluation hinged on elementary misreadings of the intelligence studies, resulting in the conclusion she had conflated the findings of two separate intelligence assessments. One report centered on Russia’s failure to compromise vote-counting infrastructure, and the opposite documented a well-established affect marketing campaign by Russia geared toward swaying public opinion in Trump’s favor.
A number of investigations — together with these led by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, Particular Counsel Robert Mueller, and even Trump-appointed Particular Counsel John Durham — have constantly affirmed the 2017 intelligence group’s evaluation of Russian interference, whereas discovering no proof of vote manipulation or Obama-era misconduct.
Regardless of Gabbard’s daring assertions and her name for prosecutions, there isn’t a credible proof that the intelligence assessments contradict any of the sooner findings on the matter. Consultants agree that whereas the Steele file — an opposition analysis doc ready by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele in 2016 — was flawed and the FBI made missteps in its early investigation, the broader conclusion — that Russia interfered to profit Trump — stays intact and well-documented.
In current days, as Gabbard’s allegations struggled to achieve traction within the press, Trump shifted gears and located a brand new narrative — this time utilizing the Supreme Courtroom’s immunity ruling as cowl for Obama’s “crimes.” Trump claims the choice, which was handed down in a case involving his personal alleged makes an attempt to overturn the 2020 election, now shields Obama from prosecution.
“He owes me, Obama owes me massive,” Trump mentioned Friday whereas talking to reporters exterior the White Home earlier than departing on a visit to Scotland.
In Trump’s telling, the ruling handed Obama a authorized lifeline: “It most likely helps him rather a lot, most likely helps him rather a lot the immunity ruling.” Although he accused Obama of committing “felony acts,” Trump added that “he has immunity,” suggesting that the very precedent set to profit him had additionally spared one in every of his political enemies — not less than for now.
In the meantime, the nation’s capital has turn out to be a digital corridor of mirrors amid Trump’s schemes. One minute, the president is posting memes of Obama as O.J. Simpson. The following, he’s waving off questions on Epstein whereas suggesting the true story is former President Invoice Clinton’s relationship to Epstein.
The equipment of presidency now appears to run on conspiracy theories, with coverage taking a backseat to plot twists. Summer season recess wasn’t nearly beating the warmth; Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the gavel early final week to dodge a vote on the Epstein recordsdata.
And with the present president launching bogus accusations towards him, Obama, usually a ghost within the political discourse, needed to rouse himself simply to swat away Trump’s newest fever dream.
“Out of respect for the workplace of the presidency, our workplace doesn’t usually dignify the fixed nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White Home with a response,” the July 22 assertion mentioned. “However these claims are outrageous sufficient to advantage one. These weird allegations are ridiculous and a weak try at distraction.”
In the identical assertion, Obama’s workplace identified that then-Sen. Marco Rubio, now in Trump’s cupboard as Secretary of State, accepted the conclusions of the Russia investigation again in 2020.
“Nothing within the doc issued final week undercuts the broadly accepted conclusion that Russia labored to affect the 2016 presidential election however didn’t efficiently manipulate any votes,” Obama’s workplace mentioned in a press release. “These findings had been affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio.”
Former veteran CIA officer Susan Miller additionally known as out Gabbard and the White Home for “mendacity once more.”
In the meantime, Trump’s connection to Epstein, which has lengthy drawn scrutiny, is as soon as once more on the focus — particularly as Trump has but to launch FBI information tied to the deceased financier.
Trump and Epstein had been shut associates all through the Nineties and early 2000s, usually seen mingling at events in Palm Seaside and Manhattan. Trump as soon as described Epstein as a “terrific man” who appreciated ladies “on the youthful aspect.” Regardless of distancing himself from Epstein after a supposed 2004 falling-out, flight information present Trump traveled not less than as soon as on Epstein’s personal jet.
The demand for transparency has grown louder, notably inside Trump’s personal base. Critics have identified that Trump has the authority to declassify and launch the Epstein recordsdata at any time, however hasn’t.
Epstein, who pleaded responsible in 2008 to state fees involving underage ladies, served simply 13 months in jail as a part of a lenient plea deal. His case resurfaced in 2019 with federal fees of intercourse trafficking, however he died by suicide in jail whereas awaiting trial. Regardless of the gravity of Epstein’s crimes and Trump’s lengthy friendship with him, Trump has largely skated round public accountability.
Six months into his second time period, the Epstein situation continues to loom giant. Analysts say Trump’s meme spree is simply his newest try and steer the nationwide dialog away from a matter that retains gaining traction.
Whether or not the meme distracts anybody lengthy sufficient stays to be seen. However with every new outburst and every unanswered query, strain continues to mount on Trump to return clear — and cease hiding behind the wheel of one other deflection.
