Good morning! It’s Thursday, July 17, 2025. In today’s newsletter:

⏱️ Estimated read time: 6 minutes, 40 seconds

TOP STORY

Trump administration fires Jeffrey Epstein prosecutor—without saying why

Donald Trump’s Justice Department has reportedly fired a prosecutor who went after Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell—without saying why.

THE DETAILS: NBC News reports the DOJ yesterday fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, but won’t say why.

  • Comey worked on the Epstein case and the Maxwell case, as well as the recent prosecution of Sean P. Diddy Combs.

But why? Is it part of the cover-up to bury the Epstein story?

ZOOM OUT: This is the story that just won’t die—and Trump has reached his breaking point. The firing of Comey comes after Trump lashed out at Republicans on Wednesday morning, dismissing the case as a "hoax" and turning on his own base.

In a screed on Truth Social and to reporters, Trump said:

  • “Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”

  • He slammed his own supporters who are still demanding answers: “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats' work… I don’t want their support anymore!”

WHY IT MATTERS: Trump built a movement around fighting a corrupt elite—and many of his followers believed Epstein’s death was part of that rot. Now Trump says they’re “stupid” for caring.

  • His about-face is especially jarring given QAnon’s roots in Epstein-related conspiracy theories. The Trump base is imploding over his refusal to deliver what he once promised.

BIG PICTURE: But despite Trump’s tantrum and Comey’s firing, this story isn’t going away. As Politico described this morning:

At the moment, [Trump] is like a magician who has locked himself in a straightjacket, only to find that he’s lost his ability to maneuver out of it, is unable to muster the misdirection and finds his audience turning on him.

Politico Playbook, 7/17/25

Even one of his most ardent supporters, the MAGA nut job Laura Loomer, says this isn’t going away—and it could consume the Trump presidency.

THE BIG PICTURE: As usual, Trump is turning on anyone who challenges him — even his most fervent supporters. The same man who once fed wild conspiracies is now calling them “bull****.”

And the MAGA base? They’re learning the hard way that Trump’s loyalty only flows one direction.

➡️ Question of the Day

Will the MAGA base fully turn on Trump?

Why or why not? Tell us after you vote

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🗞️ Making News

Senate votes to cut $9 billion from public broadcasting and foreign aid

Overnight, the Senate narrowly passed Trump’s sweeping $9 billion budget rollback, slashing funds for public broadcasting, global health, and disaster relief. Two Republicans broke ranks, warning of long-term fallout—but the bill still passed, giving Trump a major austerity win. Because the Senate made changes, it now heads back to the House for final approval. Full story from Politico.

Trump’s disapproval rating hits record for second term

A new Economist/YouGov poll shows 55% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance—his worst numbers since starting his second term. Support among Democrats and independents continues to plummet, while only MAGA-aligned Republicans maintain near-total loyalty. The shift suggests growing national fatigue, even as Trump tightens his grip on the GOP base—at least before the Epstein backlash fully hits. Full story from The Hill.

New Trump policy could evict 1.4 million of the nation’s poorest renters

A Trump administration plan to impose a two-year limit on federal housing aid could force 1.4 million of the nation’s lowest-income families out of their homes, a new NYU study finds. Framed as a fix for “waste,” the policy would gut a core part of HUD’s mission and mostly affect working families with kids—like single moms who say the change would leave them homeless. Experts warn it could upend lives, overwhelm shelters, and deter landlords from participating in voucher programs. Full story from the AP.

Mamdani huddles with Bernie and AOC after shocking primary win

NYC mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani met with progressive leaders Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in D.C. this week, fresh off his upset victory over Andrew Cuomo. While Mamdani got a warm welcome from the party’s left flank, top Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are still withholding their support—highlighting a growing rift between the party’s establishment and its insurgent socialist wing. Full story from USA Today.

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IN DEPTH

Musk’s chatbot went full Nazi. Then the Pentagon gave him $200 million.

Elon Musk didn’t spend all that money on Donald Trump for nothing. Last week, Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok went full-on Nazi—and still got a massive Pentagon contract anyway.

WHAT HAPPENED: Earlier this month, Musk, a literal fascist, told his team to make Grok “less woke”—pushing the bot further into his far-right vision for tech.

  • Grok is X’s AI chatbot, which users can interact with to fact-check tweets and have random conversations.

  • Soon after Musk ordered the change, the chatbot (somewhat predictably) began spewing fascist, racist, and antisemitic content.

  • That included calling itself “MechaHitler” (a nod to an old computer game where you fight Nazis) and accused a person with a Jewish surname of celebrating the deaths of white children during the Texas floods.

By July 10, Musk’s company, xAI, had deleted the posts and issued a vague apology. The company blamed Grok’s behavior on an internal “alter ego” feature—but failed to explain why that feature existed in the first place.

BUT THEN: Despite the meltdown, the U.S. Department of Defense announced this week that xAI had been awarded a contract worth up to $200 million to build AI tools for the military.

  • Musk’s company will now work alongside serious firms like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic — all of which have made public commitments to safety and demonstrated actual control over their AI models.

WHY IT MATTERS: This contract is less about AI and more about power.

  • Grok has repeatedly echoed white nationalist talking points—including claims of “white genocide.”

  • Still, Musk refuses to implement meaningful safeguards and sees content moderation as a leftist plot.

But thanks to his political donations, government ties, and tech empire, he’s still getting rewarded.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Elon Musk ordered Grok to drop its filters. It went Nazi. Instead of consequences, he got $200 million from the U.S. government.

  • It’s just further proof that our system is now riddled with legalized bribery.

🗳️ Yesterday’s poll results

Yesterday we asked, why aren't the Epstein files being released? You overwhelmingly believe they’re hiding something.

Accumil thinks there are legitimate concerns. “There are legitimate concerns involving the issues that haven't been released to the public. However, if Mr. President were actually on the list, then government cabinet members would be resigning and have no affiliation with him. I'm not a supporter of the Commander in Mischief, but this is a common move Republicans perform with all constituents.”

Sfaverau made a good point: “Prominent names are in the files, including Trump. If people were innocent, they'd want this known!”

Our friend Chyp put it succinctly: “There is always a reason why something is happening or not happening. If there was nothing to hide the files would already be in the public domain. They would want to do this as soon as possible to bring an end to the controversy once and for all. They want this to go away and that would make it go away quickly, but they can’t for one reason and one reason only, he’s on the list.”

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Thank you for reading! - Andrew & Anthony

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