The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Epstein’s Ghost Comes Back to Haunt the Democrats

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

Jeffrey Epstein died over six years ago, yet his shadow still looms large.  The Left spent years insisting incriminating evidence on President Donald Trump was hiding in the Epstein documents, but now that the files are finally being released, a very different picture is emerging. Victor Davis Hanson breaks down the facts—why 90% of Epstein’s political donations went to Democrats, why the Biden DOJ sat on the trove for years, and how the rush to implicate Trump may have backfired spectacularly—on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “There is even a fourth- or fifth-dimensional chess explanation. And I'll throw it out there. In other words, Donald Trump knew that he was not in those files. But he had heard…that 90% of the references of fundraising and money and associates, to the degree they were political, involved Democrats. He also knew that, unlike himself, who had ostracized Jeffrey Epstein before he was convicted of trafficking and sexual crimes—that is, before he was a de facto pedophile—he had distanced himself and others had not.  “The Democrats would overreach and say, ‘Get it out. Get it out. Get it out.’ And he thought: Ah, they didn't get it out because they are incriminated. And now they've leaked all they can about me. And unlike me, a lot of these people were involved after Jeffrey Epstein was convicted of a sexual crime. And I'm just gonna let them demand and clamor, until an opportune moment, I will release it.” (0:00) Introduction (1:02) The Epstein Files Explained (3:09) Trump and the Epstein Files (4:34) Speculations and Theories (7:58) Democratic Involvement (9:31) Conclusion 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest short videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1⁠  👉Want more VDH? Watch Victor’s weekly, hour-long podcast, “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” now! Subscribe to his YouTube channel, and enabling notifications:  ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273?sub_confirmation=1⁠  👉More exclusive content is available on Victor’s website: ⁠https://victorhanson.com⁠   👉The Daily Signal cannot continue to tell stories, like this one, without the support of our viewers: ⁠https://secured.dailysignal.com/⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile, died over six years ago, yet his ghost seems to haunt the political atmosphere. I would say at the outset, 90% of the monies Jeffrey Epstein gave that had a political affiliation were Democratic and left, not Republican. Get that straight right now. But here's the problem. Everybody says, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, we're going to get Donald Trump. He doesn't want to release it. He doesn't want to release it. Donald Trump then just let this sit, like hot water on a kettle.

And so then the Democrats would overreach. And I'm just going to let them demand and clamor until an opportune moment. Lo and behold, they're starting to release the Epstein files. Donald Trump put a big noose out there. The Democrats unwisely put their head in it, screamed and yelled that Donald Trump was guilty, and then he pulled the lever, so to speak,

and they've hung themselves. Hello, this is Victor Davis-Hansson for the Daily Signal. I'm tired of the Epstein files, as you are. Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted pedophile, died over six years ago in 2019, yet his ghost seems to haunt the political atmosphere today. So what are these so-called Epstein files? Well, there's no Manila envelope that says, or manila folder that says Epstein. Rather, that term loosely refers to a corpus of hundreds, if not thousands of text messages, emails, phone records between Jeffrey Epstein and hundreds of

people. And because that he was a spider-like person that had a web of entrapment and gave lavishly, and I would say at the outset, 90% of the monies that Jeffrey Epstein gave to that had a political affiliation were Democratic and left, not Republican. Get that straight right now. So he was everywhere trying to buy influence, and one of the ways he bought influence was apparently in his various domains. He had underage, attractive girls that he trafficked and manipulated, and his modus operandi was to get powerful figures to come in under the auspices of discussing statecraft, politics, great donations he would go to, and then they would succumb to these temptations of pedophilia, supposedly, unlawfully so, and he would have cameras and document

that, and then the subtext was they would be bribed, and he would offer to manage their financial affairs or for a small donation to him, then he would keep that secret. And he used that to gain influence and money. And at his death, he was probably worth a half a billion dollars. And so now people want to find out who was included in those communications. But here's the problem. Everybody says, Donald Trump, Donald Trump, we're going to get Donald Trump. He doesn't want to release it. He doesn't want to release it. But it doesn't quite make sense because the trove was under the jurisdiction of the Joe Biden Department of Justice under Merrick Garland.

They had them for four years. Do you really believe that if they had something on Donald Trump, who admittedly knew Jeffrey Epstein as a 1980s, 1990s celebrity in Manhattan, everybody seemed to know him, but if they had something incriminating, they leaked almost everything about Donald Trump. Trump. Remember, they rated his home to get what? Get no frills delivered. Shop the same in-store prices online and enjoy unlimited delivery with PC Express Pass. Get your first year for $2.50 a month. Learn more at pceexpress.ca.

Just a few classified documents, 102 out of 14,000 papers. They rated an expert. They tried, 25 states tried to get him off the ballot. He was the object of 91 felony charges in five different jurisdictions, civil and criminal. You think if they're going to go to impeach twice during the first term, if they're going to go to that effort, and they had incriminating evidence and they wouldn't have leaked it. So they kept it quiet. And then when Donald Trump became president, he had it under lock and key. and there were rumors that Pam Bondi or Cash Patel were going to release it, and he didn't. And there's two schools of thought why he didn't.

The first is that he thought that it was a distraction from his economic, and it is. I mean, he had a better economic record than Joe Biden. He didn't have 5.2 percent on average every single year, but people were talking about the Epstein files. And so he just wanted to get it out of mind and not visit it. had the opposite effect by suppressing it, people became more curious. And of course, there was the charge from the left that he suppressed it because he would be incriminated. There would be a direct reference that he was involved. But we have just the opposite. What files or communications that have leaked out suggests that even some of the young

girls knew that Donald Trump was not engaging in the type of activity that others were. So what was the other reason? Why didn't he release it then? He was innocent. He didn't, if it wasn't a matter of distracting from his economic, was there another reason? Probably maybe the same reason that Joe Biden didn't leak it, that there were prominent donors or officials that were either Republican or Democrat who just didn't want to be embarrassed. How would that function? Somebody might call up President Trump? This is Mr. Smith.

Jeffrey Epstein came over to my home twice. I visited his home. We were discussing a large gift I was going to give to Harvard University. But my name came up, and without context, if my name was released, I will be incriminated because he is toxic. That could happen. So there's all sorts of explanation. There is even a fourth or fifth dimensional change. explanation. I'll throw it out there. In other words, Donald Trump knew that he was not in those

files, but he had heard before he became present for a second time during his first term, or he had seen in the first months of his office that 90% of the references of fundraising and money and associates to the degree they were political involved Democrats. He also knew that unlike himself who had ostracized Jeffrey Epstein before he was convicted of trafficking and sexual crimes, that is, before he was a de facto pedophile, he had distanced himself and others had not. So in this kind of strange explanation or exegesis, Donald Trump then just let this sit like hot water on a kettle and simmer and simmer and simmer. So then the Democrats would overreach and say, get it out, get it out, get it out. And he thought, ah, they didn't get it out because they are incriminated.

And now they've leaked all they can about me. And unlike me, a lot of these people were involved after Jeffrey Epstein was convicted. of a sexual crime, and I'm just going to let them demand and clamor until an opportune moment I will release. I'm not sure I believe this exegesis, but that is what has been commonly alleged more recently. And lo and behold, they're starting to release the Epstein files and Democratic luminaries like Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury, former President of Harvard. You can't get much more elite and renowned than that. that has already distanced himself from his Harvard former employer and Democratic grandees

because he is mentioned in the Epstein Files as asking for advice how to, I guess you would call it, he says get horizontal or bed a young woman. I don't know what age. So in this case, they are going to release the files and there is going to be Democratic, names in those files and liberal names in those files and their names will occur in context not before private citizen Epstein was charged with anything but after they had to know that he was a convicted sex criminal and after he was convicted of that they continued these relations of some sort of nefarious activity as alleged and we're going to watch this if that were to be true

then Donald Trump put a big noose out there. The Democrats unwisely put their head in it, screamed and yelled that Donald Trump was guilty, and then he pulled the lever, so to speak, and they've hung themselves. We'll see, but it's the sorted business all the way around. Thank you very much. It's Victor Davis Hansen for the Daily Signal. Thank you for tuning in to the Daily. signal. Please like, share, and subscribe to be notified for more content like this. You can also

check out my own website at victorhansen.com and subscribe for exclusive features in addition.