“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough on Friday said President Trump’s new battle with the Wall Street Journal is the “perfect offramp” for pro-MAGA commentators and influencers to stop focusing on the Jeffrey Epstein case — at least for a few days.
“We’ve been talking about these MAGA influencers who have said, ‘You promised to release the [Epstein] files, you haven’t released the files. We’re going to stay on this until you release the files. Oh, look, look what the big, bad Wall Street Journal did to Donald Trump. He’s once again a victim of the lame-stream media.’”
Scarborough added the Trump vs. WSJ story now allows his supporters to “attack” the mainstream media for the next several days.
But Epstein is also at the center of the WSJ report that Scarborough is referring to. On Thursday evening, the paper published a story saying the president had contributed a tawdry entry in a leather-bound compilation of birthday messages for then-50-year-old “pal” Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
Less than an hour later, Trump said would be suing Rupert Murdoch, NewsCorp and the Wall Street over the report.
“The Wall Street Journal, and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Mr. Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so.”
“Morning Joe” has been covering the frustration from pro-Trump influencers who are upset with his Administration over Epstein, after the Justice Department and FBI last week said there was no incriminating Epstein client list to release or proof Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals.
On Thursday, MSNBC political commentator and former Democratic senator Claire McCaskill said the president was “in denial” over many of his supporters being upset with him over Epstein.
To point to a few notable examples, Tucker Carlson has called out Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying “you’re not going to shout me down” for asking “pretty reasonable questions.” And The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh has also said he will not drop the issue, even though the president would like conservative commentators to do so.
“I want to make this very clear to those on the right, including the President himself, who are telling us to just drop the subject and move on. We can’t drop it,” Walsh said on his podcast.
On Thursday night, President Trump said he had ordered Attorney General Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.” He added “This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”
