# Why is Epstein the scandal that has stuck, and why now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 29, 2025, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460 "2025-07-29T11:47:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/201 "2025-09-09T17:44:32Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > Does anyone really think this is going to take down Trump? I mean really? No. Any hope of taking Trump down evaporated with his victory in the 2024 election. The best we can hope for is MAGA losing momentum, limiting the damage they do. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/202 "2025-09-09T18:05:27Z")
> [@Zoobi](#): > > Does anyone really think this is going to take down Trump? I mean really? I mean, _you’re_ free to cross over to the “pedos are alright” side of the line… Or, to say better, I’m sure that people will _try_ to absolve Trump - as they have done on many things over the last decade. But I think this happens to be the one untenable case where there’s simply no justification that someone can make. For as much as they try to give him the pass, there’s just no answer that anyone can give, without defending pedophilia. They either need to cross that line, or they need to lower their view of the guy. There’s no needle to thread between those two positions. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/203 "2025-09-09T18:11:24Z")
The idea that it won’t result in his removal and therefor not attacking the president for raping children is a better choice is an odd one. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/204 "2025-09-09T19:01:06Z")
NItpick (what we’re famous for): “gamine” is not just a French word; it’s also English: > **[Definition of GAMINE](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamine)** > > a girl who hangs around on the streets; a small playfully mischievous girl… See the full definition ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/205 "2025-09-09T20:17:20Z")
Also the Little Tramp’s companion in _Modern Times_. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/206 "2025-09-09T20:41:10Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > But I think this happens to be the one untenable case where there’s simply no justification that someone can make. I thought the same about January 6th. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/207 "2025-09-09T20:46:01Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > I think the focus on enigma=gamine actually reduces the impact because the general public will associate that sort of meaning-hunting with conspiracy theorists. I also think that Trump is nowhere near secure enough in his manhood to admit an attraction to boyish-looking girls. But maybe that’s why Trump surrounds himself with buxom blondes, because that is what he is expected to be attracted to. His secret shame is that he is actually attracted to underage gamines and trans women with big hands. We’ll find out eventually, one way or another. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/208 "2025-09-09T22:28:37Z")
A dreidl, wrapped in symmetry, inside a gamine. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/209 "2025-09-09T22:49:34Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > For as much as they try to give him the pass, there’s just no answer that anyone can give, without defending pedophilia. Trump’s strongest defenders are from states that until recently had an age of consent younger than most of Epstein’s victims. Any female with breasts the size of the ones in Trump’s doodle or larger are fair game, as far as they’re concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/210 "2025-09-10T01:40:15Z")
“Gamine” is just an enigma variation. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/211 "2025-09-10T02:06:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > > > But I think this happens to be the one untenable case where there’s simply no justification that someone can make. > > I thought the same about January 6th. While there’s some argument that “All’s fair when you’re battling the ultimate evil.”-style thinking going on, on the right, I suspect that the average American dislikes the idea that someone would try to subvert the election. But if you ask even the average centrist or leftist American, not even some MAGA, they would probably tell you that January 6 was a riot a group of people against Congress. The lefties will continue on to describe how Trump talked them into it. Centrists will tell you that Trump gave a pretty normal political speech and that all evidence pretty much points to the riot happening independent of him. The problem with all of that is that Trump was guilty of **the fraudulent elector scheme** , not the riot. Either through mastery of directing the popular discourse or the idiocy of the media, the public attention on the whole subject went towards the small area where Trump was 85% innocent and largely ignored the area where people were getting arrested and thrown in jail. It’s like here where the discussion isn’t about eye witness testimony of Trump observing and commenting on all the underaged girls around Epstein, the conversation is about sophistic word mysteries. I’d personally argue that there’s a certain pressure inside the skull of nigh everyone, left, right, and middle to engage only on the topics of most debate and least conclusivity when it comes to the topic of Trump. On the day that the guy actually goes down… Well, how boring does the world suddenly become? And so, they go towards the fluff and nonsense and consider even the one mention of the substance against Trump to stand as the evidence that it wasn’t a complete secret. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/212 "2025-09-10T02:10:38Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The problem with all of that is that Trump was guilty of **the fraudulent elector scheme** , not the riot. Either through mastery of directing the popular discourse or the idiocy of the media, the public attention on the whole subject went towards the small area where Trump was 85% innocent and largely ignored the area where people were getting arrested and thrown in jail. This is a fantastic, FANTASTIC post. You’re absolutely right, the real coup attempt was the conspiracy to prepare the false slates of electors; January 6 was a sideshow, a way to pressure Pence into holding up his part of the plot (which, thankfully, he did not). And, in extremely bad news on that front: > **[Michigan judge dismisses charges against 'fake' 2020 electors](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd725wd1023o)** > > The judge said the group was not "savvy or sophisticated enough to understand fully the electoral process". ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/213 "2025-09-10T02:12:16Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > They either need to cross that line, or they need to lower their view of the guy. There’s no needle to thread between those two positions. They can just ignore it as fake news. The few Trumpist I’ve spoken to over the years have demonstrated a remarkable ability to bury their heads in the sand and ignore what’s right in front of them. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/214 "2025-09-10T15:32:15Z")
I don’t think Trump raped teens. I think he is a rapist, generally, but I don’t think he would publicly comment on Epstein liking them young if he also liked them young - I think he was intentionally distancing himself. He certainly knew about it, as did a lot of people, including, apparently, JP Morgan. I think he knew and didn’t care. Which is terrible, but doesn’t set him apart from all the other people who knew and didn’t care. The real scandal I see is the age-old looking the other way while girls are victimized phenomenon, which has always existed and probably always will. I think it he had just said, “I heard rumors, we all heard rumors, but there was never any proof" the Republicans would just drop it. Instead he made a big conspiracy out of it and they can’t let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/215 "2025-09-10T15:59:42Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I think it he had just said, “I heard rumors, we all heard rumors, but there was never any proof" the Republicans would just drop it. Instead he made a big conspiracy out of it and they can’t let it go. I think there are ample examples of him shooting himself in the foot instead of taking the honest road and just admitting his errors, which would have likely killed most of the things that have become issues. But his ego won’t allow him to admit any sort of fault, let alone culpability or complicity, so everything just blows up in his face instead of dying a quiet death. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/216 "2025-09-10T16:00:44Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I think it he had just said, “I heard rumors, we all heard rumors, but there was never any proof" the Republicans would just drop it. Instead he made a big conspiracy out of it and they can’t let it go. Sure. “Look, a whole bunch of people had ordinary business or social contact with the guy; doesn’t mean everyone was in on the nasty stuff” would be a true statement. But, of course, it **had** to be some big conspiracy AND hoax, at the same time. Because _to him_ the issue was not a sex trafficking conspiracy: it was _ **a conspiracy to make Donald Trump look bad,** _ which is the biggest worstest thing there can be. His having had any funny business with Epstein is what was supposed to be the “hoax”. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/217 "2025-09-10T16:37:25Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Which is terrible, but doesn’t set him apart from all the other people who knew and didn’t care. The real scandal I see is the age-old looking the other way while girls are victimized phenomenon, which has always existed and probably always will. The President’s job is to be a person who cares, is concerned, and (among other things) ensures that people who are violating the law are tracked down and prosecuted. Imagine that you are hiring a person to be the chief of firefighters. The person that you’re interviewing was once a bystander of event where there was a house on fire with a mom and baby inside, screaming for help, and his choice of action was to go into the bodega across the street, buy some marshmallows, and have an impromptu s’mores session… That is not the man for the job. He might be a fun, exciting guy to hang around and party with, to be sure. _He’s not fit for the post_, and should be kept far away from it. Saying that Trump didn’t rape children may absolve him of legal repercussions (though there are laws about failing to report crimes), but when you see him pardoning the guy that ran a fraudulent EV startup, after a handout to his PAC for a third Presidential run that’s Constitutionally forbidden, and see that he used to spend his free time joking with his pedo pal about all the 10 year old girls he was developing for sex with at 14. Well, you know, this might not be the right guy to have running the government. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/218 "2025-09-10T16:39:04Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I don’t think Trump raped teens. I think he is a rapist, generally, but I don’t think he would publicly comment on Epstein liking them young if he also liked them young… I mean, he and Epstein _were_ hanging out with teenagers together. He once got in trouble for bringing some of them onto the casino floor. How did regulators know that they were underage? One was a tennis pro. > [@](#): > > During one visit to the Atlantic City resort in the late 80s, [Jack] O’Donnell [president of the Atlantic City Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino for four years from 1987] claimed inspectors of the state casino commission, which regulates gambling and ensures casinos comply with the law, were waiting for him in his office, after the president and disgraced financier had turned up to the venue with a group of three women. > > “Donald and Jeffrey had come into the casino in the wee hours of Sunday morning, 1:00, 1:30 in the morning,” O’Donnell told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “You know, two buddies, they had three women with them, and the commission was waiting for me because they had determined that the women that they brought down were underage to be in the casino.” > > The former casino boss said that he asked the inspectors how they knew the young woman’s age. “One of them was the number three-ranked tennis player in the world,” O’Donnell explained. “And this guy happened to be a tennis fan and he said, ‘Jack, I know she’s 19 years old\*.’” > **[‘Trump and Epstein brought teen to casino floor,’ says ex-resort boss](https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-epstein-atlantic-city-casino-b2790870.html)** > > The former Atlantic City Trump Casino executive said at one point Epstein was the president’s “best friend” So I don’t put it past Trump to have taken liberties with teenagers. Post pubescent children, but minors nonetheless. \*Gabriela Sabatini was aged 19, and ranked #3 in the world, in 1989 ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/219 "2025-09-10T16:42:43Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > He might be a fun, exciting guy to hang around and party with, to be sure. _He’s not fit for the post_, and should be kept far away from it. Well, I could have told you _that_ about Trump _long before_ the current revelations. I mean, I’m not sure he’d be fun to hang out with; he seems like he’d be a very sore loser if you beat him at FIFA. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2025, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460/220 "2025-09-10T16:58:08Z")
By the way, Trump dating Gabriela Sabatini in 1989, when she was 19 and he 42, seems to be publicly acknowledged. > [@](#): > > For a month in 1989, he dated the stunning Argentinian superstar, Gabriela Sabatini, when he was said to be on a break from his second wife, Marla Maples. [Donald Trump – The Tennis Connection | InsideTennis.com](https://www.insidetennis.com/2024/09/donald-trump-the-tennis-connection/#:~:text=For%20a%20month%20in%201989,could%20sing%2C%20dance%20and%20model). > **[U.S. Open champion that dated Donald Trump looks unrecognizable after retirement](https://www.the-express.com/sport/tennis/147949/gabriela-sabatini-donald-trump-us-open-retirement)** > > The former U.S. Open champion who dated Donald Trump when she was a teenager looks unrecognizable after retirement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-epstein-the-scandal-that-has-stuck-and-why-now/1021460.md?page=12)