Today is Friday, August 22, 2025. As anyone can now readily attest, new discontent with the Orange Ogre is on the rise since he took office more than seven months ago. This all stems from the dumb bastard’s handling of the Epstein scandal, the sexual deviant who died mysteriously in prison in 2019. In an online Conversation article, the basis for voter discontent over the Epstein affair is explored in detail in “Trump’s Epstein problem is real: New poll shows many in his base disapprove of his handling of the files, and some supporters are having second thoughts about electing him,” and it’s by Tatishe Ntela, UMass Amherst; Adam Eichen, UMass Amherst; Alexander Theodoridis, UMass Amherst; Jesse Rhodes, UMass Amherst; and Raymond La Raja, UMass Amherst. Yes, the article was written by a galaxy of journalists here.

A number of journalists have now pointed to recent public opinion polls in which the scandal has irretrievably hurt the pedophile in chief. Whereas others have argued that the public has largely moved on, and that the Epstein controversy no longer presents a political liability for Dump. I don’t think this is true at all!

With the recent University of Massachusetts Amherst national poll, cited here, the pollsters have definitely found this issue has done SIGNIFICANT [my caps] damage to his standing, particularly among his core supporters.

“Americans are paying close attention to the prolonged Epstein controversy. Our polling finds that 3 in 4 respondents have heard, read or seen ‘a lot’ or ‘some’ about Epstein.”

Here is a direct quote from this article: “Moreover, most believe that Trump is fumbling the matter.”

Another statistic showing trouble for this fucking administration: “Seven in 10 Americans believe that Trump is handling the matter ‘not well.'” This includes pluralities of Dump’s most loyal acolytes, 43 percent of Republicans, 43 percent of conservatives, and 47 percent of those who voted for him in 2024. This represents almost half of the respondents who voted for the jerk.

Even among the previously resilient MAGA base, 28 percent now disapprove of Dump as president.

Even more significantly, the pollsters find that among 2024 Chump voters, negative views of Demented Don’s handling of the Epstein files are associated with an increased desire to make a different choice if the 2024 election could be rerun. But, sadly, it can’t.

All I can say it is clear from this poll and other reporting that the Epstein scandal has hurt Dump among his base of voters. I love it, but we as Democrats must push for the actual release of the Epstein files when Congress comes back from this too-long recess and pounce this cruel administration with the story over and over again until it NEVER goes away. And if this bastard ever pardons Ghislaine Maxwell for any fucking reason, I predict it will end his presidency for the long term. It will set off such a firestorm of criticism that he will not be able to lie his way through the backlash.

Now that the tainted Justice Department has released audio and other data pertaining to the interview conducted with Maxwell by Dump’s own personal attorney which clearly smacks of corruption, there is no need to either believe any of the data or even Maxwell herself who would easily lie to get favorable treatment from this fascistic administration that is clearly trying to hide evidence detailing Dump’s name in those infamous Epstein files. No one will be fooled by this stunt.

On a more personal level, today I got my second shingles vaccination. I almost forgot my 2:30 appointment at a Queens Boulevard CVS since it was not something I would generally do. But as Elliot and I were driving back from having breakfast at Jax Inn Diner, I got a text reminding me about my upcoming appointment, and that was after 1. So when we got back, I puttered around the house and walked out by 1:50 or so. The pharmacy is less than 10 minutes away; I thought I would get some coffee along the way, but I was distracted by a call that I got from another pharmacy providing me an update on a dermatological prescription. It seems that the resident physician at the dermatologist that I went to on Wednesday prescribed this lotion for my skin eruptions. I hope that these are not precancerous lesions. But who really knows? A good neighbor/friend of ours, “Diane,” whom we are seeing tomorrow for an early dinner says that as we age, we seem to get more barnacles attached to us. Boy, is she ever right. You have to be so careful these days about sun exposure that it’s not even funny.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

And so it went!