New York Times editorial board member Mara Gay claimed on Thursday morning that Donald Trump appears to be running scared as the Jefferey Epstein files controversy overwhelms the White House at the same time his poll numbers are slipping on a host of other issues.

Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Gay suggested that the president’s travails, including the Epstein scandal that has united both liberals and conservatives, could lead to him losing the support from members of his own party, which likely has him on edge.

Speaking with the hosts, she explained, “It is unbelievable what he has survived politically in this country for the past ten years. The fact that this is the issue that he clearly has an instinct is at the heart of something that animates his base and is potentially at the heart of the relationship he has with this base. I think he's terrified that this is going to unravel.”

“It really raises kind of the question of whether many Americans were attracted to Donald Trump because they saw him as, again, we know such an outsider, and somebody was going to clean up that swamp and make government something you could trust,” she observed. “And this issue with the Epstein files seems to be at the heart of that relationship,” she continued. “And I think he's really afraid that it's going to unravel at a moment when, you know, beyond that base, things are not looking good for him politically.”

She then suggested, “Also, there's the government shutdown that, by the way, 1 in 8 Americans rely on SNAP benefits. People can't afford to buy homes to rent homes. And this is a crisis that he can't seem to dig his way out of. And, you know, also this sign that the Republicans are sending is: they smell blood. And I think they may be ready to coalesce around maybe taking back some power and showing some independence from this White House and that has got to make Donald Trump nervous in and of itself.”

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