Coffee Break: TACO MIGA Breaks With MAGA Over the Epstein Files

TACO MIGA: Two acronyms that sum up the current state of the Trump 2.0 administration. TACO means Trump Always Chickens Out and MIGA stands for Make Israel Great Again.

The MAGA civil war I posted about earlier this month has now spread from pundits like Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro to U.S. Congressional campaigns, and once again Israel is the rock splitting the coalition.

Trump Always Chickens Out (Again)

And once again, Trump has chickened out and called for Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote FOR the release of the Epstein files.

From Truth social:

As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat “Shutdown.” The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on “Epstein,” are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!

Politico has some analysis of Trump’s big fold:

Trump’s reversal after a months-long pressure campaign came as dozens of Republicans — perhaps as many as 100 — were already poised to break with him in a vote Tuesday. As Meredith Lee Hill and Mia report, even close allies of GOP leadership were weighing whether to defect from the president.

I had to add the above after I wrote most of the post, so let’s look at how we got here and why Trump folding is such an epic self-own.

Trump’s War on Massie

POTUS Trump has openly broken with two of MAGA’s most nationally-known Congressional reps: Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

The split with Massie has been out in the open for a while and it’s no secret that Trump’s #1 zionist donor is behind the campaign against Massie.

Massie voted against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and has been the ringleader pushing for a congressional vote to release the Epstein files.

In retaliation, Trump has been backing an anti-Massie Super PAC funded by (among others) “three billionaire supporters of Trump and Israel”: Miriam Adelson, Paul Singer, and John Paulson. The trio’s PAC is expected to drop $20 million against Massie in support of Massie’s challenger, Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.

Massie has been vocal in calling out the money and ideology behind his opponent:

Israeli citizen Miriam Adelson bought the Dallas Mavericks for $3.5 billion; now she’s buying politicians. She’s spending millions in Kentucky to buy Ed Gallrein, my primary opponent, a Congressional seat in Kentucky. Why? Because I won’t vote to send your tax dollars overseas. pic.twitter.com/jfAgjgnB2K

— Thomas Massie for Congress (@MassieforKY) November 9, 2025

This Bloomberg opinion column from Mary Ellen Klas shows how the Trump-Massie feud is going for Trump, the TACO MIGA:

President Donald Trump’s months-long effort to find a primary challenger to Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie, a fellow Republican and MAGA devotee, is the latest proof that Republicans in Washington were never truly intent on achieving the agenda they sold to voters last year.

If they were, they would be endorsing Massie as exactly the kind of anti-establishment conservative they’d want to see more of in Congress.

…when Trump started to pivot away from his own promises on inflation, foreign affairs and Epstein, Massie tried to use his leverage — House Republicans can only afford to lose two votes on every vote in the House — to pull him back.

Trump’s latest attack on Massie is a low blow that is drawing considerable backlash on X.com. Glenn Greenwald sums it up well:

Also, Trump's mocking Massie for re-marrying "quick" after his wife of many decades passed away is disgusting: particularly so for someone who is on his third marriage and started those affairs (and many others) while still married to the prior wife, at home with his young kids. pic.twitter.com/JJWXxfGfB1

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 15, 2025

In October, Tucker Carlson discussed why he thinks Massie is so threatening to the D.C. establishment:

Sincerity is by far the most dangerous quality in Washington. Someone who really means it is an actual threat. Thomas Massie isn’t a threat because he won’t accept AIPAC money. Thomas Massey’s a threat because he won’t accept AIPAC money on principle.

Not because he hates Jews or hates Israel. He doesn’t. But because he doesn’t think American politicians should be bought by foreign countries. That’s against his principles.

And because he really means it. He can’t be bought. So of course he must be destroyed.

Carlson connects Massie to the other MAGA rebel, Marjorie Taylor Greene:

And now Marjorie Taylor Green who of all 435 members of the House of Representatives embodies most purely those principles and she has cleaved to those principles. She has stuck to them through the years and for that is now being written out of the movement by MAGA stalwarts like Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham and Mark Levin. None of whom agree with a single word Trump says and all of whom hate him.

Naturally, Trump is now breaking with MTG.

Trump vs. MTG

The other MAGA apostate fighting TACO MIGA Trump is Georgia Congressional Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG).

Bloomberg’s Klas summed up the reasons for MTG’s split from Trump:

(MTG) wants Congress to end the government shutdown by agreeing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. She has demanded the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, called for a pathway to citizenship for immigrants, blasted the White House’s funding of wars in Ukraine and Israel and, most recently, torched the administration’s economic bailout of Argentina.

On Friday Trump had had enough and posted the following on Truth social:

“I am withdrawing my support and Endorsement of “Congresswoman” Marjorie Taylor Greene, of the Great State of Georgia. Over the past few weeks, despite my creating Record Achievements for our Country including, a Total and Complete Victory on the Shutdown, Closed Borders, Low Taxes, No Men in Women’s Sports or Transgender for Everyone, ending DEI, stopping Biden’s Record Setting Inflation, Biggest Regulation Cuts in History, stopping EIGHT WARS, rebuilding our Military, being RESPECTED by every Country in the World (as opposed to being the laughingstock that we were just 12 months ago!), having Trillions of Dollars (Record Setting!) INVESTED in the U.S.A., and having created the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World from being a DEAD Country just 12 months ago (and so much more!), all I see “Wacky” Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!

It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn’t have a chance (unless, of course, she had my Endorsement — which she wasn’t about to get!). She has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore, but with 219 Congressmen/women, 53 U.S. Senators, 24 Cabinet Members, almost 200 Countries, and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day. I understand that wonderful, Conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her District of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my Complete and Unyielding Support. She has gone Far Left, even doing The View, with their Low IQ Republican hating Anchors. Thank you for your attention to this matter. “

Greene responded on X.com, saying (among other things):

he’s coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next weeks vote to release the Epstein files.

It’s astonishing really how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level.

But really most Americans wish he would fight this hard to help the forgotten men and women of America who are fed up with foreign wars and foreign causes, are going broke trying to feed their families, and are losing hope of ever achieving the American dream.
…
I have supported President Trump with too much of my precious time, too much of my own money, and fought harder for him even when almost all other Republicans turned their back and denounced him.

But I don’t worship or serve Donald Trump.

I worship God, Jesus is my savior, and I serve my district GA14 and the American people.

Greene has also tweeted that she fears for her safety because of Trump’s rhetoric.

I believe MTG is correct that her support of Massie’s discharge petition to release the Epstein files (along with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and late-comer Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC)) is what caused the final, open break with Trump.

And how is the contest being scored? Well according to X.com users, advantage MTG:

> Trump un-endorses MTG
>> 32,200 likes

> MTG Responds
>> 179,000 likes pic.twitter.com/wnmlhXfnIM

— Polling USA (@USA_Polling) November 15, 2025

And while we’re talking about Jeffrey Epstein, there are a couple angles to that story I haven’t seen too many outlets putting together.

What the Dems & the NYT Leave Out of Their Epstein Narrative

I agree with MAGA analyst Robert Barnes who identified Trump’s open refusal to release the Epstein files as the moment his Trump 2.0 honeymoon ended.

It was too flagrant a reversal on an issue that has assumed deep significance in the American political dialectic because it brings together elite impunity, elite depravity, and Israeli influence over the American Deep State into one simple and deeply repulsive story.

Also the Trump administration’s flagrant bait-and-switch on this issue is impossible to forget.

NewsNation plays a compilation of JD Vance, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino all calling for the release of the Epstein Files.

What changed guys? pic.twitter.com/vizbSCqGsq

— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) November 14, 2025

The Democratic party and The New York Times have both attempted to control the Epstein narrative, aiming to use it as a bludgeon against Trump.

And there’s plenty there as this survey of NYT headlines shows:

• Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct
• After Trump Split, Epstein Said He Could ‘Take Him Down’

But one thing the Times has doggedly refused to report on is the mounting evidence that Jeffrey Epstein was deeply involved with Isreal.

Drop Site News has done excellent work on the topic, which is now beyond dispute:

• Israeli Spy Stayed for Weeks at a Time With Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan
• Jeffrey Epstein Helped Israel Sell a Surveillance State to Côte d’Ivoire
• Jeffrey Epstein and the Mossad: How The Sex-Trafficker Helped Israel Build a Backchannel to Russia Amid Syrian Civil War

Even worse for the Times is the revelation that one of their former reporters “appeared to enjoy a close relationship” with Epstein.

This Miami Herald piece describes the alliance between Epstein, Trump biographer Michael Wolff, and Times reporter Landon Thomas, Jr.

The messages between the serial sex abuser and the two reporters provide insight into how Epstein was able to maintain relationships with some of the most powerful people in the world, even after he had been convicted of sex crimes.

In the messages, Epstein is a consummate gossip and matchmaker, trading tidbits on politics and finance with the reporters, and opening up his now infamous Rolodex to connect the two reporters with sources.

In exchange, they provided him advice and gave him warnings about reporting that could mention him, particularly in regard to his relationship with Trump.
…
Thomas wrote to Epstein in June 2016 that he kept getting calls from John Connolly, who co-wrote with James Patterson the 2016 book “Filthy Rich” about Epstein. “I told him you were a hell of a guy:),” Thomas wrote. But the messages didn’t stop with just notifications of upcoming coverage.
…
In 2019, Thomas was fired from the Times after revealing that he had solicited a $30,000 donation from Epstein for a preschool in Harlem.

At least they fired the guy.

The Unfortunately Named Virgin Islands

One other angle on the Epstein files that the Democrats and the NYT have been reluctant to push involves a Democrat Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, a non-voting member of Congress.

The Washington Post is happy to cover Plaskett’s close ties to Epstein:

The newly released documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate show that the convicted sex offender texted with a Democratic member of Congress, Del. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, during a congressional hearing with Michael Cohen, and that those text messages may have influenced the congresswoman’s questions of Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer.

Julie K. Brown has been covering Epstein’s relationship with Plaskett and other Virgin Islands officials for a long time.

This piece, which documents how the Islands’ government looked the other way when Epstein trafficked women and girls through the Islands but is now profiting massively from lawsuits against the Epstein estates and other entities who did business with him is especially appalling.

No One Is Protecting Larry Summers Anymore

One loathsome establishment figure the NY Times is not protecting is infamous former Obama advisor Larry Summers, despite the emails being released by Congressional Republicans:

Jeffrey Epstein and Lawrence H. Summers, the former Treasury secretary, corresponded regularly, with Mr. Epstein at times offering advice about Mr. Summers’s relationship with a woman, emails released on Wednesday show.

The correspondence, which took place in 2017, 2018 and 2019, suggests a far cozier and more intimate relationship between the two men than was previously known. The emails, some sent multiple times a day, were released by House Republicans along with more than 20,000 pages of documents.

Matt Stoller has some thoughts about the significance of Summers’ being outed as a close Epstein ally and why it didn’t happen under Joe Biden:

Trump’s relationship with Epstein is a significant political problem and is getting most of the headlines. But this scandal is also having an important effect inside the pro-monopoly faction of the Democratic Party.

The single most important neoliberal thinker of the last forty years – economist Larry Summers – had an extensive and deep political and personal relationship with Epstein. He was reportedly on Jeff Epstein’s plane, nicknamed the “Lolita Express,” when young girls were present, and he often discussed his personal and political problems with Epstein.

…it isn’t merely a tabloid story. It is also an important illustration of how our economic order functions. The Courier created a searchable database of the so-far released files, and if you go through some of it, it becomes clear that this elite network was as likely to be organizing African politics, the U.S. Treasury Secretary slot, or ideas around monopolies in the information economy as discussing sexual adventures. The Epstein files serve as a sort of sex offender registry list for the powerful, but more than that, a dramatic illustration of the two-tiered system of justice we despise.

…it’s Summers who really brings it home just how powerful these guys are, and how they orchestrated their cover-up in plain site.
…
For a few months, I’ve been wondering why Joe Biden didn’t release more information about Epstein. Yes there are legal constraints, but the real answer, which seems pretty obvious, is that he wanted to protect Bill Clinton and Larry Summers.

The Democrats’ vulnerability on the Epstein front is driving Trump’s latest tactic on the issue, asking the Department of Justice to investigates Summers, Clinton, mega-donor Reid Hoffman and several banks. Per the BBC:

In addition to Clinton, Trump said he asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate banks JP Morgan and Chase, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who is also a prominent Democratic donor.

“Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem!” he wrote on social media.

“They all know about him, don’t waste your time with Trump. I have a Country to run!”

The bipartisan Congressional effort to bury the Epstein scandal along with its chief perpetrator has failed, but Bondi “re-opening” the case might actually just be another attempt to slow or stop the revelations because information related to an ongoing investigation is usually withheld from the public.

That’s what Rep. Massie is saying anyhow, via Politico:

“If they have ongoing investigations in certain areas, those documents can’t be released,” Massie told ABC’s Jonathan Karl on “This Week” on Sunday. “So, this might be a big smokescreen, these investigations, to open a bunch of them to, as a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files.”

But wait, that’s not all. Bondi and Trump have another bit of f**kery up their sleeves:

Thank you, Mr. President. SDNY U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country, and I’ve asked him to take the lead. As with all matters, the Department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American… pic.twitter.com/5zlybVu44U

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) November 14, 2025

And who is Jay Clayton? Per Whitney Webb:

The Clayton appointment is so unreal.

Geoffrey Berman was pressured to step down by the first Trump admin roughly a year after prosecuting Epstein in 2019 (as I recall it was around the time when Berman was targeting Steve Bannon). Bill Barr tried to have Clayton replace him in 2020, but was unsuccessful.

Clayton spent the time waiting to be ushered into that position by Trump earlier this year at Epstein associate Leon Black’s Apollo Global in a board position they seemingly made JUST FOR HIM.

In other words, Clayton is the guy the 1st Trump administration and Bill Barr specifically wanted in to replace the people who had Epstein (and later Maxwell) arrested and when they couldn’t do it, a super rich Epstein associate gave him tons of money and now he has been installed in that position to “investigate” Epstein.

How stupid do they think people are?

The House is expected to vote on Massie’s legislation on Tuesday.

But here’s the kicker, per Politico, the “matter” likely won’t get past the Senate:

Trump’s edict is just about the House, two White House officials tell Meredith. It amounts to a face-saving move ahead of a vote he was going to lose, and at this point it’s still likely the matter dies in the Senate.

One senior Republican marveled at Trump’s “erratic” and unsettling attempt last week to kill the effort, including pulling Rep. Lauren Boebert into the White House Situation Room. That preceded a dramatic break over the weekend when he withdrew his endorsement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Massive own goal by Trump.

Time will tell how the battles to weaponize the Epstein files turns out, but the fight between the TACO MIGA GOP establishment that now runs the Trump 2.0 administration and Thomas Massie and MTG will be one to watch closely.