For the record, I'm really bad at predictions . . . [View all]

but last night I had what I might almost call a vision of how this whole Epstein thing could play out. I have a pretty vivid imagination, which is probably all this is, but I thought I’d post about it and let everybody shoot it down, if they’re so inclined.

It came to me that Trump could well be out of office by the end of the year, possibly sooner.

(Spoiler: it's not a happy ending. I know, I know, merry Fitzmas!)

First I’ll describe what that process will look like to us, the public. Then I’ll go into the motives and power plays operating behind the scenes to make that happen.

Over the coming weeks Trump will begin to disappear from public view. At first just a day or two at a time, then for 3 or 4 days. There will be chatter in the news cycle about what’s going on, with some speculating that he’s avoiding the Epstein scandal, but there will also be questions about his health. Then it will be announced that he’s been flown to Walter Reed, and this will be followed by a more prolonged absence from the White House and media, possibly for 8 or 10 days. At last Vance will make a public statement that Trump is resigning from the presidency due to health issues. Vance will then give us ten minutes of unctuous hyperbole about what a great president Trump has been, yada yada. Within hours news will come out that Trump’s last official act as president was to sign a pardon for Ghislane Maxwell, and possibly a blanket pardon for anyone on the so-called “Epstein List”. As soon as Vance is sworn in he pulls a Ford and announces a blanket pardon for Trump because: Evil Democrats and their Trump Derangement Syndrome.

In terms of White House policy, things will appear to modestly improve. Stephen Miller will be kicked out and immigration policy will look more humane. ICE raids will decline and fall out of the news. The tariffs will be called off and the economy will start to stabilize. The administration will back off from harassing Harvard and Columbia and universities in general. In short, Republicans will try to moderate their image and improve the economy before the mid-terms.

After the mid-terms things will take a turn for the worse as the new administration turns the American political economy into a libertarian nightmare. The entire system will be overhauled to maximize the transfer of wealth to the oligarchy. Voter suppression laws and Musk/Starlink will solidify a permanent Republican majority.

How this happens: The billionaire power players behind the scene are fucking done with Trump -- Rupert Murdock, Elon Musk, Charles Koch, Harlan Crow, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, etc. Trump’s erratic behavior is ruining the economy and threatening the stock market, and he’s a gargantuan liability for the mid-terms. They talk behind the scenes and make a deal with Trump: “You resign, and we’ll have your back all the way. You pardon Maxwell and she immediately leaves the country for Israel where she can’t be subpoenaed, and Mossad can keep tabs on her. Vance gives you a pardon, and your lawyers will be coached on how to move any threats from state prosecutions to the Supreme Court, where they will be thrown out. You get to keep your money and you can go off into the sunset playing golf at your estates. BUT, if you refuse to resign, we’ll let Maxwell testify in Congress, your poll numbers which are already in the toilet will continue to drop, we’ll primary enough Republicans to ensure the Democrats take back the House, and you’ll spend the rest of your term pleading the fifth and your filthy life will be front page news for years. Your legacy in the history books will be shit, and there will be zero bailouts when you finally leave office. We'll throw you under the bus to save the movement.”

Maga Mike and the Republicans are already moving to subpoena Maxwell to put the pressure on. The PTB in the military and the intelligence community want Trump out because of the IC connection to Epstein/Maxwell, and because of his administration’s utter incompetence on handling classified secrets. His right-wing influencers are turning on him, and he will no longer have Fox News (sic) covering his back.

After he resigns he’ll be out of the limelight and in about a year he will die of natural causes and that will be the end of Trump.

His days are numbered.

Of course, it could play out completely differently. The Epstein buzz could die down on its own. Trump could wag the dog and start a new distraction that works. He could keel over and die in the oval office next week. Who knows?