Trump is running out of places to hide

Just after noon today, at 12:08 PM, while hidden away somewhere in the White House, the President of the United States shared a racist and deeply troubling post on his own social media app, Truth Social. Instead of treating the presidency like the responsibility it is, and working for the American people to end this partial government shutdown, he instead chose to attack two sitting members of Congress and two actors. This is what he posted:

This was posted in the middle of the day, where he was once again nowhere to be seen. His official schedule listed four so-called engagements, all behind closed doors, and all closed to the press. A meeting with the Secretary of Transportation, two internal policy briefings, and something called “participation in executive time.” Every single one of these carefully staged entries was with loyalists who would cover for him if he wasn’t physically or cognitively able to actually participate. And after the marathon performance he attempted at the State of the Union address last night, I’d imagine that could very well be the case. He is most likely sequestered away in the White House, hunched over in a leather chair, with the television blaring in the background while aides tiptoe around him and strategists panic. If these “meetings” actually happened, I can’t imagine they were at all substantive. Especially in the state he was in yesterday.

And while he might have been hiding from the public eye, in true Trump fashion, he made sure we didn’t forget him by posting that unhinged post. Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to Trump. But I am still shocked daily that this is the President of the United States, a position that used to command dignity and carried the weight of national conscience. And this post is just as depressing as it is dangerous. Because it shows how unstable the person who holds this office is, and it is yet another reminder of how fragile the entire world becomes when that instability goes unchecked.

For the President of the United States to say that two sitting members of Congress, both women of color, should be “sent back from where they came.” To call them “LUNATICS” who should be “institutionalized.” It’s not just racist, it’s lazy and dangerous. Because he doesn’t even bother to understand who he’s talking about. He just sees two women of color and grabs for the first, easiest insult that comes to mind. That’s what makes this so revealing. It’s not just that he’s a racist. It’s that he’s not even a competent one. There’s no thought behind it. Just a morally corrupt man reacting to the color of their skin with the kind of language that gets people hurt.

And this is the President of the United States. What he says matters. His words carry weight, and when he talks like this, it gives a green light to the worst people in this country. It tells them it’s okay to dehumanize, to escalate, and to act. And that’s not just a threat here at home. It ripples out. It encourages others across the world, especially the ones who want to be like him, to say the quiet part louder. To fulfill the prophecy he’s setting into motion.

Because let’s be clear: Rashida Tlaib was born in Detroit. She’s already exactly where she came from. And Ilhan Omar was elected to Congress by the people of Minnesota. These are American women doing their jobs, serving in office, holding power. They’re not going anywhere. And even though he didn’t directly threaten them, there are people who believe what he says, who will take him seriously when he says they’re crazy, dangerous, or criminal and act on it.

There used to be a level of respect among lawmakers. Even when they completely disagreed, even on the biggest issues, there was still a basic understanding of what the office meant. Of what it meant to serve. And there were rules, decorum, and a shared sense of responsibility toward each other and toward the country. That’s gone now. And it’s not just sad, it’s dangerous. Because once that becomes normal, everything starts to come apart.

And then there’s what he said about De Niro and Rosie O’Donnell. It wasn’t just odd, it was revealing. They both get under his skin. Because what he can’t stand, what actually rattles him, is when people say the one thing he’s most afraid to hear: you’re not smart. That threatens everything he’s built around himself. That’s the wound he’s still trying to patch.

And that’s why we need more people like them. More Rosies, De Niros, and politicians who will stand up and say it plainly. Who will refuse to back down from this kind of authoritarian garbage. It’s the only way we get through this. It’s no longer just about fighting back. It’s about refusing to perform obedience at all in any way. It’s about looking this regime in the face and saying, I’m not afraid of you.

That Truth Social post was about rage and racism, but it was also a response. A deflection meant to redirect attention from what Rashida Tlaib shouted at him from the House floor last night during his speech, in front of the entire country, while Epstein survivors sat in the gallery above her.

“How about those Epstein files?” That’s what set him off. That’s what he woke up to in a panic about this morning. Those six words. Because he knows the Epstein files are catching up to him, and this is what he does when he’s cornered. He tries to destroy the person asking the question and hopes the rest of us focus on the destruction instead of the question.

But that’s not going to work on us. Because we know exactly why he’s so panicked in this moment. It wasn’t just the question. It was the timing. Because the day before he walked into that chamber, NPR published the results of an investigation that alone would have brought this country to a complete standstill if it involved any other president. Their investigation found that the Department of Justice has withheld and removed Epstein files directly connected to allegations that Donald Trump sexually abused a child.

According to NPR, this is what our Justice Department is hiding from us. NPR reviewed multiple sets of unique serial numbers stamped onto documents in the Epstein files database, cross-referencing them with FBI case records, emails, and discovery logs. What they found was that dozens of pages appear to have been catalogued by the Justice Department, but never released to the public. And they’re not random pages. They’re specifically tied to allegations involving Donald Trump.

Warning: What follows is difficult to read, but necessary. Here’s what they contain: A woman told the FBI that around 1983, when she was approximately 13 years old, Jeffrey Epstein introduced her to Donald Trump. She alleged that Trump forced her head down onto his exposed genitals, and when she resisted, he punched her in the head and threw her out. She was thirteen.

The FBI took this seriously. They interviewed her four times. But when the DOJ released its massive Epstein file database, only one of those four interviews was made public. No handwritten notes were included. NPR traced the serial numbers and found a more than 50-page gap, pages that are referenced, indexed, and appear to exist, but were never published.

And there was a second accuser as well. In the first of six FBI interviews between 2019 and 2021, a woman described how Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell began abusing her around age 13 while she was attending Interlochen Center for the Arts. She said Epstein later took her to Mar-a-Lago to meet Donald Trump. The FBI summary includes this line: “Epstein told Trump, ‘This is a good one, huh.’” She was a child. And the men in the room were talking about her like she was merchandise.

That interview was quietly removed from the DOJ’s public database after it was first published on January 30. It was only restored nearly three weeks later, on February 19. Other related documents are still missing, including an interview with the woman’s mother, who recalled hearing that “a prince and Donald Trump visited Epstein’s house,” and thought, “if they are there, then it must be okay.”

Multiple FBI interviews reference this same woman and her meeting with Trump as a minor while being abused by Epstein. One of those interviews was also removed, then restored. The one with her mother remains hidden. Elsewhere in the files, an FBI official wrote in July 2025 that Trump’s name appeared in the case materials and that “one identified victim claimed abuse by Trump but ultimately refused to cooperate.”

On Monday, Representative Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, personally reviewed the unredacted evidence logs. His statement was damning:

“For the last few weeks, Oversight Democrats have been investigating the FBI’s handling of allegations from 2019 of sexual assault on a minor made against President Donald Trump by a survivor. Yesterday, I reviewed unredacted evidence logs at the Department of Justice. Oversight Democrats can confirm that the DOJ appears to have illegally withheld FBI interviews with this survivor who accused President Trump of heinous crimes. Oversight Democrats will open a parallel investigation into this.”

A DOJ spokesperson later said any unpublished documents were “privileged,” “duplicates,” or tied to an “ongoing federal investigation.” But none of that explains why already-public documents were removed. It doesn’t explain the 50-page gap. And it doesn’t explain why the missing files all relate to the man who controls the Justice Department and is the President of the United States of America.

If Donald Trump is innocent, the path is simple: release everything. Publish every page. Let the system work. Because when the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world is caught hiding child sexual abuse allegations against the man in charge of it, the only conclusion the public can draw is this: those files contain something that would destroy his presidency, disgrace him completely, and force him out of public life for the rest of his days.

Like many of us, I grew up being told that Watergate was the line no president would ever cross again. But Nixon covered up political espionage. A crime that, by comparison, feels almost quaint. Trump’s DOJ is covering up what may turn out to be the largest child sexual abuse and blackmail operation in American history. And they’re doing it to protect him by hiding FBI interviews with the victims. There is no comparison. We are in territory this country has never entered before.

Because this wasn’t just trafficking. This was leverage. Epstein ran a blackmail machine, documenting abuse, recording powerful men, and using that material to protect the network. He didn’t just exploit children. He compromised governments.

And now we have to ask the question no one wants to ask: how much of our own government is compromised? How many men sitting in power aren’t there to serve the public, but to protect secrets? How many of the decisions being made right now are not about what helps the American people, but about what keeps those secrets buried? Because once you look at this moment through that lens, things start making a very different kind of sense. A terrifying kind of sense.

But here’s the part that matters: it’s catching up to them. This week, Harvard announced that Larry Summers, the former U.S. Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton and former president of Harvard, will step down from all remaining academic roles. He’s officially on leave and will not return to teaching or advising. This was prompted when the latest Epstein files revealed that Summers maintained closer ties to Epstein than previously known.

The associations these men had with Jeffrey Epstein are catching up to them. Not as quickly as we want. Never as quickly as we want. But they are. And there are still potentially millions of pages the Justice Department hasn’t released. That’s why we keep the pressure on. Because every new release brings more names and accountability. Every time they think they’ve buried it deep enough, another file surfaces, another connection is exposed, and another powerful person faces consequences they thought they’d escaped.

We are living through some of the darkest times this country has ever seen, as far as this government is concerned. The Justice Department hiding evidence of child sexual abuse allegations against the president. Career public servants pushed out and replaced with influencers who question life-saving vaccines for newborns. American citizens killed by federal agents, with the government lying about it every time. A president hiding behind closed doors, screaming into his phone, telling women of color to leave the country because they dared to ask about the files that are closing in on him.

But here’s what I also see. I see a powerful man like Larry Summers losing his position at Harvard because the files caught up to him. I see investigative reporters doing the work the government won’t do. I see more politicians refusing to accept any of this as normal. I see actors demanding better for our country and everyone living in it. And I see you, reading this right now, caring about the survivors of these unthinkable crimes, refusing to look away, refusing to stay quiet, refusing to let them be forgotten. That is why I still have hope for America. And you should, too.

I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather

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This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.