Donald Trump has attempted to divert attention from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal by accusing Barack Obama of treason, but observers say his usual tactics are losing their effectiveness. Asked about the justice department's hunt for evidence related to the sex offender Epstein, the president called it a 'witch-hunt' before pivoting to allege a plot by Obama to rig the 2016 election.
The distraction strategy, which served him well during the 2016 campaign and subsequent crises, appears to be faltering because the Epstein saga cuts into Trump's core political identity as a foe of the 'deep state'. His support base has been in open revolt over his failure to release files relating to Epstein and a rumoured list of elite clients.
In recent days, Trump has deployed a series of diversions: threatening to revoke Rosie O'Donnell's citizenship, claiming Coca-Cola would use real cane sugar, releasing details of his own health, and posting bizarre social media clips. He also made baseless claims that Obama officials fabricated intelligence reports and shared an AI-generated video depicting Obama in prison.
On Monday, the Trump administration released more than 6,000 documents related to the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, totalling nearly a quarter of a million pages. The move appeared to be another attempt to shift the narrative, but analysts say the distraction machine is 'breaking down' as the Epstein story refuses to fade.
