The Guardian reports the Epstein scandal has thrown President Donald Trump as no scandal has before.
“Typically full of brio and swagger, the White House is scrambling this time because Trump is behaving so out of character,” reports the Guardian. “For years, he has inverted the politician’s playbook by saying the quiet part out loud and flaunting misconduct in public. When, in a 2016 presidential debate, Hillary Clinton accused him of dodging taxes, Trump retorted: ‘That makes me smart.’”
“But now, he is acting like the thing he always scorned: a typical politician,” the Guardian adds.
READ MORE: 'Is that really necessary?' Psaki gives her take on Leavitt's 'crazy' White House briefing
When faced with scandal in the past, “the Trump of old” would have done the opposite and released every page of the Epstein files, as he promised during his campaign, says the Guardian, even if the emerging facts proved personally incriminating.
“Better to brazen it out, lie about it and deploy some whataboutism than prolong the stench of secrecy," according to the Guardian. "Instead, he has berated reporters for harping on the subject. On Tuesday the man who usually has a comment on everything told NBC News: 'I don’t comment on something that’s a dead issue.'"
And the Guardian reports he’s also made “crude efforts” to clear his name, becoming the first sitting president to sue a media outlet for defamation when he targeted the Wall Street Journal for reporting the existence of the now-revealed birthday book and letter. That move could cost Trump dearly as Journal lawyers now have an opportunity to depose Trump about his relationship with Epstein.
“The flailing leaves Trump’s pugnacious team in unfamiliar territory,” reports the Guardian. When congressional Democrats published the damning 2003 birthday letter — complete with Trump’s characteristic one-word signature — White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich sprang into action, posting pictures on X of Trump’s evolving signature over the years and writing: “it’s not his signature.”
READ MORE: 'Patently obvious': Analyst reveals Epstein revelation Trump 'doesn't want to get out'
This convinced no one, said the Guardian. And when reporter Maggie Haberman asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt why is Trump in the documents if he claims he didn’t sign the birthday card or other documents released by Epstein’s estate, Leavitt fumbled.
“The president has one of the most famous signatures in the world,” said Leavitt. “The president did not write that letter. He did not sign those documents.”
“Leavitt will have to do better than that,” reports the Guardian. The implication that “a cunning time traveler … skipped back 22 years to plant Trump’s signature” in documents in hopes of blowing up his future presidency just isn’t cutting it.
READ MORE: 'One of the loudest voices on the right' hammers Trump — and WH stays quiet 'out of fear'
“Trump’s response to the scandal is very un-Trumpian," the Guardian reports. "Nothing could do more to fuel speculation that something truly devastating is contained within their pages."
Read the full Guardian report at this link.