As pro-Trump billionaires buy up corporate media outlets, your paid subscription helps keep this independent, progressive analysis coming. Why Democrats Should Run Against the Epstein ClassAvoiding the false choices that plague Democratic messaging.
For going on nine months, the Trump Administration’s efforts to cover up the Epstein scandal have been the biggest story in American politics. Interest in this story intensified after the Department of Justice was legally compelled to dump millions of documents online for anyone to peruse. ICE is marauding through American communities, the President is engaged in an unprecedented campaign of taxpayer-funded political vengeance, America might be on the cusp of an attack on Iran, and there’s a Watergate-sized crime committed every week. Yet every political conversation turns back to the Epstein Files. This is not a bread-and-circuses moment. The Epstein controversy is vitally important. One could argue that it’s the biggest scandal in American political history. The U.S. Government, from the President on down, is trying desperately to cover up a massive child sex trafficking ring where some of the richest, most powerful people on earth were either involved or turned a blind eye. During Pam Bondi’s deranged appearance before the Senate last week, it was revealed that the Department of Justice hadn’t even interviewed the survivors. One can only assume that Bondi is too worried about whom they will implicate. For months, Democrats claimed that everything Trump did—from deploying National Guard troops to invading Venezuela—was an attempt to distract from the Epstein Files. I never really bought that argument; it presumes a level of rationality and strategic thinking that Trump has never once demonstrated in his eight decades on this planet. However, there’s an inverse of that question worth asking: Are the Epstein Files distracting Democrats from issues like affordability and immigration that might be better arguments? In other words, should the Epstein Files be part of the midterm message? And if so, how? Special Offer: If you upgrade today to become a paid subscriber to this newsletter, you get your first month free. How Voters Feel About the Epstein FilesBefore getting into the larger question about what Democrats should do, it’s important to understand how the public feels about the Epstein Files.
There’s so much noise out there about the Epstein Files that it’s important to ground any discussion of strategy and messaging with data on what is breaking through and how people are interpreting it. The False ChoiceMost Democrats view messaging as a binary choice: You either run on issue A or issue B. You have to pick one, and to be honest, much of our party has been paralyzed by that choice for a long time. This cycle the debate is whether we talk about affordability, immigration, or Epstein. Too many people believe that if you decide to talk about Epstein, you’re deciding not to talk about affordability or ICE or something else that’s important and potentially compelling. That’s an overly simplistic way of thinking about political messaging. You don’t run on an issue or a slogan. The spoils don’t go to the person who says “affordability” the most between now and election day. A political campaign is a storytelling exercise. When major events like the Epstein Files dominate the news, the goal isn't to abandon your message—it's to weave them into your larger story. Don't ping-pong between disconnected issues chasing attention. When it comes to Epstein, Democrats don’t have a choice. This is the dominant story in American politics. It has broken through the political media bubble. As a party, we struggle to get voters’ attention. We don’t have a media apparatus as powerful as the Right’s, nor do we have many politicians with the skill and stature to grab people’s attention. When a political issue is this dominant, it would be political malpractice to ignore it, even if the polls said affordability was “more important.” The Epstein Class Message WorksIt’s not a choice between the economy and Epstein. The story of the Epstein Files is the story of the American economy. There are two sets of rules: one for the elites and one for everyone else. This is why the term “Epstein Class,” coined by Ro Khanna and popularized by Jon Ossoff, is so powerful. It links the economic story that dominates people’s lives with the Epstein Files, which dominate political conversations in the media. Here’s one way to use it:
This is a story that makes sense to voters, ties into what they’re already talking about, and happens to be true. To once again build a governing majority, Democrats need to show voters that we will take on a corrupt political system to build an economy centered on working people. That’s easier said than done, but running against the “Epstein Class” is a start. Invite your friends and earn rewardsIf you enjoy The Message Box, share it with your friends and earn rewards when they subscribe.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Why Democrats Should Run Against the Epstein Class
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