No. of Recommendations: 7
I still think this would be way too Machiavellian of Trump. He's just not that bright. It's far more likely that he was told his name is "all over that $h!t", as Jeff Tiedrich would say, and wants to keep that painful truth under wraps for as long as possible.
We already know his name is all over the files. You can look up a bunch of documents that have his name on it on the interwebs, if you like. I have no doubt that there are some other mentions of him in the files among papers that haven't been released. What's implausible is the notion that there's anything that actually demonstrates that he himself committed any sexual assaults on minors, given that the file passed through a second Administration (and a Democratic one at that) and nothing happened. There may be lots of stuff that makes Trump look bad (and perhaps makes it more explicit that he already knew who Epstein really was before cutting him away) - but probably nothing that shows that Trump was doing anything. Something that's a political irritant, but not the sort of "smoking gun" that conspiracists like to imagine.
As for Trump, he's incredibly astute when it comes to politics and media. He knows this is a losing issue for him, and he knows that the people calling for the release of the files will never actually be satisfied with whatever's released. That's exactly the sort of thing that he can get a good read on.
Of course, there's also a simpler explanation - a baser one too, which might appeal to critics of Trump who don't think he's all that sharp. That he's just defaulting to his basic MO of always fighting everything and everyone that crosses him. He told Massie to drop this, Massie didn't listen to him, so Massie can't be allowed to win. It could be as simple as that. Trump told Massie (and Boebert and Greene and Mace) what they were supposed to do, they didn't listen - so Trump had to win. He couldn't let them win, so he had to keep fighting it all year. Massie's a traitor, an enemy, so he can't be allowed to get the better of Trump.
The initial demand could have been based on little more than not wanting anything other than his chosen issue of the day/week to dominate headlines. That's his go-to insult for people who cross him - they're "Grandstanding," trying to steal his spotlight. He wanted Bondi's statement to close things down, and Massie wouldn't let it go. That's the sort of thing that always gets Trump to dig in - he thinks the best thing to do is always to double- and triple down when that happens.
I imagine it's both things. He knows that he can't give his base what they want and that it will end up making things worse when the files are (mostly) released, and he also wants to f**king kill Massie politically for betraying his orders and making this difficult for him. Greene too, apparently.
