'Delusional dim-wit' Trump is flailing to avoid his biggest enemy: analysis

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during the White House Faith Office Luncheon at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 14, 2025. REUTERS Nathan Howard

Former White House correspondent Brian Karem tells Salon he’s been working long enough to recognize the signs of ‘wag the dog’ in the Oval Office.

“Trump continues to play his usual game, hustling and ‘trying to get over’ like an aging White Super Fly — have you seen him dance?” asked Karem. “But even those who have loved Trump with the loyalty of a stray canine are now barking in disdain.”

Trump is stirring news at a frantic pace, but “nothing Trump is doing is keeping his own followers from burning their MAGA hats,” he writes. “They wanted the Epstein files released and they wanted it yesterday.”

Trump’s promise to release the files during his campaign “was just another lie,” said Karem, “like the many he’s told women, his children, his staff, Congress and everyone he knows, [including his own mirror].”

“Lost for ways to deflect from this ongoing fiasco, Trump has tried to wrestle with a variety of meme-worthy issues he hopes will go viral so people will stop talking about Epstein,” said Karem.

This includes his latest hustle to eliminate mail-in ballots. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t have the power to do so, said Karem.

“For a few days the news wasn’t about Epstein. If that doesn’t work, then how about gerrymandering? Who cares if the nation burns and every state redraws its district maps so elected officials can choose their voters rather than the other way around? Trump doesn’t care. Just don’t talk about Epstein.”

But “like an angry orangutan … in a glass cage at your local zoo, Trump has more,” said Karem. He’s also trying to revise history at the Smithsonian — but “that’s not enough to ease the spreading stain of Epstein.”

Then Trump stumbled into the war in Ukraine, says Karem, and stumbled back out of a meeting with “Russian President Vladimir Putin with nothing “except saying the war would have never started if Trump had been in charge.”

“What kind of moron sells that?” said Karem. “What kind of con artist cons the con man into thinking he believes this bile? A real good con man, that’s who. But again, Don, in his diminished mental state, is happy.”

The Ukrainian conflict continues, said Karem, and “now Trump has two big problems he doesn’t really want to talk about: Epstein and Ukraine.”

Karem laments the drain of intelligence in Trump’s circle as he flounders about, but says he is not surprised it left.

“The sense of reason has long left many who work for Trump. No sense of irony, hypocrisy or critical thinking is left,” Karem said. “How can there be when you have to pay fealty to a delusional dim-wit with the power of a president? You could ask that of Donald Trump, and he’d probably just smile.”

“After all, at least you aren’t talking about Epstein or Ukraine.”

Read the full Salon report at this link.