Last week, when I wrote my column, it was the first day I had the flu. Because I was sick and had less energy and focus than usual, I changed the topic I had originally planned and instead wrote about the Turning Point conference. It seemed to be the right choice, since it made the front page, which was unusual.

A week later, I am at the tail end of the flu and had to decide what to write about for the last column of 2025. Instead of preparing a list of events from the year, I wanted to focus on one issue that encapsulates what is wrong with the country and where Trump did not expect pushback. That issue is the Epstein files.

While running for president, Trump knew that his MAGA base wanted the files released. He figured that promising to release them if he became president would help motivate his base to vote. His argument was that the Biden administration was refusing to release the files to protect Democrats. At the time, this was just one of many issues Trump raised on the campaign trail.

I do not believe Trump ever intended to release the files because he knew of his relationship with Epstein and what might be contained in them. He likely assumed that once he became president and focused on other issues important to MAGA, the issue would fade away. Since becoming president, Trump has done many things that pleased his base, such as pardoning January 6 criminals and attacking DEI. He has issued executive order after executive order and has tried repeatedly to steer the MAGA base away from the topic of releasing the Epstein files.

Trump fought the disclosure of the files tenaciously, and only when it became clear that Congress would go against him did he relent and allow a proposed bill requiring the Department of Justice (DOJ) to disclose the files to move forward. Even after the law was enacted, Trump’s DOJ continued to stonewall the release. Does anyone seriously believe that the DOJ suddenly “found” millions of documents contained in the files of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York—the very office that brought the case against Epstein, which was pending when Epstein killed himself?

Trump still does not understand why the release of the files is so important to MAGA. Republicans in Congress did not understand the depth of the issue either until they returned home and heard directly from their constituents. Even the media seems surprised.

What they all fail to understand is what the files symbolize. We live in a country where many people believe there are two standards of justice: one for those who are rich, powerful, or well educated, and another for everyone else.

The men named in the files who were in Epstein’s orbit may have been liberals or conservatives, Republicans or Democrats. What they shared in common was wealth, power, and social respectability. Their attitude was, “I can do whatever I want.” As names are mentioned in the released files, I expect these individuals to claim they knew nothing nefarious was going on. Trump is one of them, and he knows it.

The girls—many from the same socioeconomic background as MAGA—were the victims of these powerful men, just as MAGA feels it is the victim of a society run by elites. MAGA sees the DOJ’s behavior—first promising to produce a list, then walking it back, stalling, and finally producing heavily redacted documents—as the powerful protecting the powerful. They also view Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s softball questioning, along with Ghislaine Maxwell’s transfer to a low-security prison, as efforts to keep her quiet and protect Trump and possibly others. In contrast, when Maxwell was asked to appear before Congress, she refused, invoking her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

The same dynamic applies to the economy. Trump, like Biden, points to government statistics and the stock market and claims the economy is doing well. That may be true if you have a 401(k) or significant investments, but for most people, life is not going well. Biden and Trump are part of the same elitist class and have little understanding of what the average person experiences. That is why both are out of touch and cannot understand why polls do not give them credit for a “good economy.” They also forget that many people do not trust anything coming out of Washington, so statistics showing GDP growth or declining inflation are meaningless to them.

The media is no better. It is run by the mega-wealthy, and its reporters and commentators are highly educated people who rarely mingle in the circles of average Americans.

This disconnect between the highly educated and those without college degrees is nothing new. During the Vietnam War, those sent to fight were resentful of college students and others who had connections to avoid the draft. What angered them most was when those privileged students criticized the war and the soldiers who fought it. A prime example was the Hard Hat Riot in New York in May 1970, when construction workers attacked antiwar protesters in downtown Manhattan while police stood by.

The bottom line is that powerful people believe they can do whatever they want. There may come a time when the chickens come home to roost. Forcing the Epstein files to be produced represents a chance for those who believe they have been taken advantage of for far too long to turn the tables. This issue is not going away.