Friday Afternoon News Updates - 12/26/25

By Ben Meiselas

It has been a catastrophic Friday morning for Donald Trump, and not because of anything unexpected. It is catastrophic because his usual playbook is no longer working. Trump believed that launching military strikes in Nigeria would distract the public from covering up the full scope of the Epstein files. That distraction failed immediately. The American people are not confused. They are not looking away. They know a whole lot is being hidden.

Before I dive deeper, I want to give you a huge shoutout. You are too smart for Trump’s feeble-minded distraction attempts. You have stayed laser focused on the most important issues. And truly, that’s Trump’s biggest fear.

The Trump administration has admitted, implicitly and explicitly, that there may be millions of additional Epstein-related documents that were never disclosed, despite a legal requirement that they be released. The Epstein Files Transparency Act mandated full disclosure by December 19. That deadline passed. Now the administration claims it is “finding” massive quantities of new material. Sure.

Instead of complying with the law, Trump responded by posting an image of former President Bill Clinton and claimed that the push for Epstein transparency “boomeranged” on Democrats. That framing is cynical and dishonest, per usual. This is not about Republicans or Democrats. This is about releasing the files, all of them, as required by law. This is not about a political party. This is not a “hoax.” This is about justice for the survivors, and I promise that our reporting will always put survivors first.

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People are not asking for spin. They are asking for documents. They are asking why a president who claims innocence would be fighting disclosure so aggressively. Everyone can draw their own conclusions about motive, but the existence of a cover-up is no longer in dispute. It appears even many of the most die-hard MAGA supporters are taking note.

Trump’s spent years socializing with Jeffrey Epstein. There are photos, videos, and contemporaneous statements. He once described Epstein as a “terrific guy” who liked women “on the younger side.” Trump has since been found civilly liable for sexual assault. Mar-a-Lago itself was identified as a location where sex trafficking occurred. Virginia Giuffre, who later died by suicide, was trafficked from Mar-a-Lago by Ghislaine Maxwell. Those are facts.

Yet even as the Epstein scandal deepens, Trump’s posts spiral outward into a broader authoritarian tantrum. On the same morning, he bragged about sanctioning European officials for enforcing basic digital consumer protection laws. The European Union’s regulations are designed to limit fraud, bots, and disinformation. Instead of supporting democratic guardrails, the Trump administration is attacking Europe while simultaneously easing pressure on Russia. Remember my warnings a few weeks back about Trump’s plot to destabilize Europe? Well, we are seeing that in full effect right now.

The hypocrisy is worth pointing out. The United States is not sanctioning Saudi Arabia, where free speech does not exist. It is not sanctioning China. It is sanctioning Europe for attempting to protect democratic discourse. That is not a coincidence. It aligns perfectly with Vladimir Putin’s talking points, even as Russia bans platforms like X (formerly Twitter) outright.

This foreign policy inversion is happening alongside domestic collapse. Trump’s approval rating is in the 30s, the lowest of any president at this stage. Democrats are leading generic congressional and Senate ballots. Democratic Senate candidates are outraising Republicans by tens of millions of dollars. The public is rejecting what it is seeing.

Trump’s response has been to escalate disinformation. He continues to repost conspiracy theories about the 2020 election he lost decisively. He is still tortured by the fact that Joe Biden “beat him like a drum.” He posts images depicting senators as zombies while railing against the filibuster. It all reeks of desperation and weakness.

Perhaps the most revealing brag of all came when Trump celebrated the reduction of federal employment, boasting that hundreds of thousands of jobs have been eliminated since he took office. These were not “deep state” positions. These were skilled civil service jobs that support emergency management, data collection, manufacturing planning, and public health. Those workers are now gone, unemployment has risen, and national debt has exploded by $2.2 trillion in less than a year. Jobs down. Spending up. Debt soaring. Heckuva job, Donald!

The consequences of Trump’s sabotage are showing up in the justice system as well. In the failed prosecution of James Comey, the case collapsed under the weight of unlawful conduct. A key witness’s attorney-client communications were improperly seized by the government. A federal judge ruled that the search was unlawful and ordered the materials returned. The Department of Justice missed the deadline and filed an emergency motion for more time, citing staffing shortages over the holidays.

Who signed that filing? The same U.S. attorney who had already been disqualified from the case. Lindsey Halligan.

Incompetence. Corruption. Grievance politics. It’s just another day in Trump’s America.

Trump can post all he wants. He can launch distractions. He can smear and deflect. But the truth is catching up to him. The Epstein files are not going away. The courts are pushing back. The public is paying attention. And no amount of chaos can hide the truth.

Just like Russia thought it would take Kyiv in 24 hours, Trump thought the American people would give into his authoritarian regime fast. But it’s communities like this one that have proved Trump wrong. You held the line. And now, Trump is more desperate than ever.

Watch my report above, and let’s all continue to hold the line as we head into 2026. I am so grateful for your support.