Despite President Donald Trump’s delusions about the Epstein scandal, Pete Buttigieg says that his refusal to release the Epstein files poses a political risk greater than that of his Medicaid-slashing “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” 

“He made this big deal about, ‘I’m going to come in, and we’re going to release these on Day 1,’” Buttigieg said on “The People’s Cabinet” podcast Tuesday. “I think [his supporters] believed him because he said he would. And that whole worldview is based on this idea that there are powerful people who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein, and he was going to fight them. But we all know for a fact that there were powerful people who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein, and he was one of them.”

He went on to point out how Trump’s handling of the Epstein files isn’t just a sticking point with the left but also among his own supporters.

“So you add all of that together, and I think—and then his response to the response has revealed how gullible he wants to think his own base is,” Buttigieg continued. “And I think a lot of people look at that and say, ‘Wait a minute, this is not just, like, you insulting the libs,’ which, you know, some of the supporters thrill to. It’s his supporters saying, ‘Wait a minute, you’re insulting me.’ And that’s a whole different thing.”

Trump’s evasiveness combined with his bizarre and circuitous explanations regarding his relationship with Epstein, the GOP’s panicked responses, and his administration’s almost cartoonish deflection tactics have only fueled the public’s demand for transparency. 

Buttigieg’s eloquence and command of long-form media remain one of the Democratic Party’s most potent super powers. Hopefully others will take note.