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WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

Donald Trump’s Epstein Files Reversal

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

42.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Donald Trump changes his mind on the Epstein files, saying all of them should be released. What does his new stance mean for the votes coming to Congress? Plus, cracks in the MAGA coalition begin to show as Trump intensifies a feud with Marjorie Taylor Greene and defends Tucker Carlson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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Based on average new for sale and rental listings July 24 through June 2025 number one trusted based on August 2025 proprietary survey among

0:28.5

real estate professionals from the opinion pages of the wall street journal this is potomac watch

0:41.1

Donald Trump changes his mind on the Jeffrey Epstein files and now says release them all. Why did he change his mind? And what does

0:48.4

it mean for the votes to come in Congress? Plus, cracks start to show in the Republican Party's mega coalition

0:57.0

as Trump feuds with Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Green and comes down on the side

1:03.1

of Tucker Carlson, the podcast host, and interviewing Nazi fanboy Nick Fuentes. Welcome. I'm Paul Giego with the Wall Street Journal,

1:14.5

and this is Potomac Watch, our daily podcast, and I'm here with Kim Strassel and Kyle Peterson.

1:20.6

So let's first take up the president's Epstein Files reversal after months of saying that the file should not be released, and in fact, arm-twisting

1:28.9

Republicans in the House not to vote for a discharge petition that would allow a vote in the

1:36.2

House on releasing the files. Trump over the weekend changed his mind and says, he's got nothing to

1:41.6

hide and let it all hang out. He's happy to see that happen.

1:46.0

And by the way, he says Democrats will bear the brunt of these disclosures. So, Kim, my own judgment here about why he changed his mind is that the president saw that he was going to lose that discharge petition vote in the House. Even if he was going to win in the Senate,

2:01.7

that wasn't going to look good. And this would continue to royal politics for days, if not weeks.

2:07.8

And he just decided, all right, let's just make a virtue out of political necessity.

2:14.4

Oh, I completely agree. And this is very much Donald Trump. He does not like to be on the

2:19.4

wrong side of a fight, like the losing side of a fight. And you can just see that in all his years of

2:25.0

endorsements. He'll, you know, hang out and wait until he's certain someone's going to win,

...

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