MAGA IMPLODES Over Trump Epstein List Scandal & 91 Dead in Texas Flash Floods That Hit Camp Mystic
PDS Published 07/07/2025
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The Trump-Musk feud has erupted once again, this time over a new third party and the truth about Jeffrey Epstein.
Right, so let’s start with the new party.
With Elon Musk polling his followers on whether they want one, and with 1.2 million votes cast, 65% said yes. [Post]
Leading Elon to proclaim, “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.” [Post]
Now as for the party platform, the details are still foggy, but we can expect a heavy emphasis on reducing the debt, deficit and government spending.
And then beyond that, Elon confirmed that it’ll also include modernizing the military with ai/robotics, promoting tech, accelerating AI, reducing regulations across the board but especially in energy, promoting free speech, promoting pro-natalism, and pursuing “centrist policies everywhere else.” [Post]
Furthermore, when asked his position on guns, Elon said, “The Second Amendment is sacred.” [Post]
And asked whether the America Party will embrace Bitcoin, Musk replied, “Fiat is hopeless, so yes.” [Post]
But of course, the platform means nothing if you can’t seize power, and on that front, Elon has a long road ahead of him.
Right, first of all, to register as a party and get ballot access, he’ll need to jump through a web of state and federal rules, including onerous petition signature requirements.
With Elon just saying about that: “Not hard tbh.” [Post]
Then, he’ll need to recruit candidates and build support, which some are skeptical he can do because right now the party’s constituency doesn’t appear to be well-defined.
With Elon just saying it’ll represent the “80% in the middle.” [Post]
And finally, he’ll have to overcome the institutional resistance to third parties that’s baked into America’s political system.
Because unlike parliamentary systems, where small parties can start off by grabbing just a few seats and building off that, our system requires candidates to win outright majorities before taking power.
But Elon laid out his strategy on X, explaining:
“The way we’re going to crack the uniparty system is by using a variant of how Epaminondas [Pronounce 00:10] shattered the myth of Spartan invincibility at Leuctra [Pronounce 00:26]: Extremely concentrated force at a precise location on the battlefield.” [Post]
Elaborating that “One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts. Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.” [Post]
But as many have noted, that strategy could backfire.
Because if an America Party candidate runs but falls short of winning, they could act as a spoiler for the Republican.
In fact, that was the prediction of Grok when somebody in Elon’s replies asked it to respond, with it saying:
“Creating an America Party, as proposed by Musk amid his Trump feud, could splinter the GOP vote in swing states like PA, GA, AZ, WI, MI, and NV. In 2026 midterms, it might tip close House/Senate races toward Democrats by drawing disaffected conservatives (e.g., 5-10% vote share per polls). For 2028 presidential, a third-party run could spoil Electoral College outcomes, similar to Perot '92, favoring the non-Trump candidate if it pulls right-leaning independents. Success hinges on ballot access and funding.” [Post]
But of course, Elon disagrees with that, writing, “America party could soak up a lot of the existing Dem base that feel politically homeless / hate extremism.” [Post]
With him also reposting Scott Adams when he wrote:
“If you are an ‘analogy thinker,’ you compare Musk's new America Party to Ross Perot's third-party run and conclude it is bad for Republicans. But that would only be the case if Musk someday backs an American Party candidate for president, and I don't see that in his plan. If Musk only backs individual Senators and Representatives for his new party, as he has hinted, all he does is give Republicans a new way to get past politics to solutions the country wants and needs, such as deficit reduction.” [Post]
But Elon himself noted that although “the focus for the next 12 months” is on the House and Senate, “backing a candidate for president is not out of the question.” [Post]
Which is definitely not something you wanna hear if your name happens to be Donald Trump.
And so unsurprisingly, the president unloaded on Truth Social, writing:
“I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks. He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States - The System seems not designed for them. The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds! Republicans, on the other hand, are a smooth running “machine,” that just passed the biggest Bill of its kind in the History of our Country. It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time. … I have campaigned on this for two years and, quite honestly, when Elon gave me his total and unquestioned Endorsement, I asked him whether or not he knew that I was going to terminate the EV Mandate - It was in every speech I made, and in every conversation I had. He said he had no problems with that - I was very surprised!” [Post]
With Trump then going on to say that Elon asked him to appoint Jared Isaacman, a “close friend” of Elon, as NASA administrator. [Same post]
But Trump eventually pulled the nomination, claiming that he had learned Isaacman previously donated to Democrats, and adding:
“I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon’s corporate life.” [Same post]
But according to The New York Times, Trump was informed about the donations prior to nominating Isaacman, and only pulled the nomination after the feud with Musk. [Quote, find “disclosed”]
But Elon shot back with another flurry of posts, though this time about something a little different: Jeffrey Epstein.
Because Axios just reported that a two-page memo from the Justice Department concludes that there is no evidence Epstein kept a client list, blackmailed powerful elites, or was murdered in prison. [Quote, first line]
With it releasing both raw and enhanced videos purporting to show that nobody entered Epstein’s area of the prison the night of his death.
So wrapping this up, the memo states that no one else in the Epstein case will be charged, and no further disclosures are warranted. [Quote same link, find “will be charged” and “warranted”]
All of which is a sharp reversal for FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, both of whom questioned the official narrative on Epstein as political pundits before taking office.
And you know… a lot of people simply have no idea why these men would suddenly change their tune; I mean, we just have no idea who might benefit from this being put to bed. [Flood of assets]
No, of course, the big elephant in the room is the accusation that Trump’s somehow implicated in the case, and that his White House is covering it up.
Which is something many Democrats have long suspected, but then Elon Musk threw gasoline on that fire last month when he claimed Trump’s name was indeed in the files.
With him later deleting that post and expressing regret, saying he went too far. [Post]
Well now, apparently the gloves are back off, because he’s been going off with posts Like:
“What’s the time? Oh look, it’s no-one-has-been-arrested-o’clock again …” [Post]
Then reposting another user’s statement that “If the entire government is protecting pedophiles, it has officially become the government against the people.” [Post]
And then sharing a meme parroting the Trump administration, saying “We will release the Epstein list; we just need more time,” then “the Epstein list is on my desk,” then “there is no Epstein list.” [Post]
With that seemingly referring to past statements by White House officials, particularly Alina Habba [Pronounce], a counselor to President Trump.
[Clip, 00:00 - 00:15] Caption: [Interviewer:] “The DoJ may be releasing the lists of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients? Will that really happen?” [Alina Habba:] “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump. I’m reviewing that. I’m reviewing JFK files, MLK files.”
[Clip, 00:04 - 00:08] Caption: “We have flight logs. We have information, names that will come out.”
As well as that stunt a little while back where Attorney General Pam Bondi gave 15 right-wing influencers binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1,” which turned out to contain nothing but already publicly available information. [Image]
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Americans might have to say goodbye to TikTok as we know it.
Because its parent company, ByteDance, is reportedly working on a new U.S.-version of the app ahead of its expected sale.
Right, the Trump administration has been kicking the TikTok can down the road since January, and its new divest-or-face-a-ban deadline is September 17. []
And now, reports say that TikTok will launch this new U.S. version by September 5, and if users here want to use the app in the long-term, they will have to download it, because the current version of TikTok is slated to stop working here by March. []
Or, at least that is the schedule and timeline they are working with now, that may change though.
Apparently, ByteDance refers to TikTok internally as “M,” so the U.S. version of the app is currently dubbed “M2.”[]
And news of this spinoff comes as Trump has been insisting that a deal for the U.S. to acquire stateside operations of the app is “pretty much” done.
Telling reporters over the weekend that:
“We’re going to start Monday or Tuesday talking to China. We think we probably have to get it approved by China. Not definitely, but probably. I think the deal is good for China, and it’s good for us. It’s money, it’s a lot of money.”
But as for who is buying it, that remains unclear.
Right, he previously told Fox News that “it’s a group of very wealthy people,” but you know, it would have to be.
TikTok’s U.S. operations were valued at $50 billion earlier this year, so a group of average joes wasn’t going to be scooping it up.
And according to Bloomberg, sources said Trump was potentially referring to a group of investors that include Oracle and Blackstone Inc, a group that notably came very close to reaching an agreement earlier this year until China blocked it.[]
All this also comes as people are really just wondering what TikTok’s fate will be and how long this limbo period will last.
Right, because Biden signed the law last year, the Supreme Court upheld it back in January, but it is still not being enforced because Trump has delayed the deadline three times now. []
But as he issued that third extension just a few weeks ago, you had reports noting that he is working in kind of a legal gray area here, with the Associated Press explaining:
“It is not clear how many times Trump can — or will — keep extending the ban as the government continues to try to negotiate a deal for TikTok…
But also adding: “While there is no clear legal basis for the extensions, so far there have been no legal challenges to fight them.”
The report also noted that the more he does this, the less likely a ban of any kind appears.
Right, I mean how many of you forgot this was even a thing still.
So you had Jeremy Goldman, analyst at Emarketer, telling the AP that the whole thing:
“is starting to feel less like a ticking clock and more like a looped ringtone. This political Groundhog Day is starting to resemble the debt ceiling drama: a recurring threat with no real resolution.”
But, now there is more and more talks of a deal, there are reports about a new spinoff app, so change might finally be coming on this front.
Though, I’m sure many of you won’t believe it til you see it, and I would love to know if that’s what you are thinking here, or any other takes you have on this saga.
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There is utter devastation in Texas right now, with flash floods killing at least 89 people across the state.
Right, what happened, why, and could any of it have been prevented?
And of course, that number? It may yet go up.
Right, on Sunday, 41 people were unaccounted for across the state – but there could be even more we don’t know about (BROLL: 2:37-2:47, 2:55-2:58)
But we do know that most of the dead have come from Kerr County, where searchers have so far found the bodies of 75 people, including 28 children (BROLL: 0:12-0:23).
And with that, at least 27 of those killed were campers or counselors at a private Christian camp for girls – with, as of recording,11 campers and one counselor still missing
And this camp? It’s located in Kerr County right alongside the Guadalupe River – part of a bigger region in the state known as Texas Hill Country – west of San Antonio and Austin.
And notably, this area? It’s no stranger to flash flooding.
In fact, it’s the most flash-flood prone region in the country – with this being because of the river, of course, as well as the terrain, and especially, the dry, hard-packed Earth that doesn’t soak up much water.
But despite that, what happened this week? It was like nothing the region’s seen in recent years.
Right, the flooding started Friday morning with a bad storm that dropped up to 12 inches in just a few hours – roughly equivalent to three months’ worth for the area (BROLL
With that making it a weather event that, statistically speaking, and not accounting for climate change, could be expected just once in a “typical” 500-year period. []
And with all that rain, the Guadalupe River? It rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes.(BROLL: 0:05-0:22) []
With many survivors claiming afterward that they received no emergency warnings – with one telling the Associated Press he woke up in darkness to electrical sockets popping and ankle-deep water. []
But notably, there were several warnings, it just seems that not everyone saw them, and took them seriously – which has raised questions about the system.
With local and state officials coming under scrutiny for their readiness and response, but also pointing the finger at the National Weather Service for under-predicting the amount of rain.
And then, the Trump administration’s recent cuts to the weather service are also becoming a topic of conversation, not to mention the whole climate change question.
Right, so to start by going back, the National Weather Service actually issued a flood watch notice at 1:18pm on Thursday – though it only predicted between 5 to 7 inches of rain. []
But still, it sent out additional warnings in the early hours on Friday, urging people to move to higher ground and evacuate flood-prone areas.
And then, at 4:03 am, it issued a flash flood emergency – urging people in the area “TO SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!” – and saying:
“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation.”
And with that, this is the highest level of flood warning available to the Weather Service, meaning it would’ve triggered the wireless emergency alert system. setting off cellphone alarms in the region. []
But you had some residents telling CBS News they received no phone warnings before the flood hit, or that they don't pay much attention to the weather warnings they do receive.[]
And then, beyond that, it was 4am.
Right, most people were asleep, and many of those kids attending summer camp as well as their counselors may have been without cell phones.
And it was only around half an hour later, at around 4:35am, that the first reports of flash flooding started coming in from local officials, including the Kerr County Sheriff's Office. []
And as evacuations and rescues got underway, the National Weather Service issued additional flash flood warnings throughout the day on Friday and Saturday after a second wave of heavy rains.
And yesterday and today, we’ve continued to see flooding alerts for parts of central Texas.
And weather services officials and independent meteorologists have defended their forecast as timely and accurate as could be expected with the weather data available in real time.
With one meteorologist saying predicting flash flooding and extreme rain is extremely difficult, and adding:
“The forecasting was good. The warnings were good. It’s always about getting people to receive the message.”
“It appears that is one of the biggest contributors — that last mile.” []
And with that, while the weather service issued 22 warnings for Kerr County according to a CBS News analysis, the country itself didn’t send out any.
And local officials have struggled to answer questions about why they didn’t order any evacuations – especially for campers in the area along the river.
Also, things have come out like the country opting not to upgrade their flood warning system eight years ago – when they had considered putting in things like sirens and river gauges, along with other communications tools.
But ultimately, it was deemed too costly, with one commissioner at the time reportedly voting against a $50,000 engineering study for the potential project and saying:
“I think this whole thing is a little extravagant for Kerr County, with sirens and such.” []
Beyond that, questions are also being asked about whether county officials had approved development along the river bank that may have gone around rules issued by FEMA regulating where homes may be built in areas vulnerable to flooding. []
And then, state lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have established a statewide plan to improve Texas’ disaster response –
Including better alert systems, along with a grant program for counties to buy new emergency communication equipment and build new infrastructure like radio towers.[]
And finally, of course, we’ve seen people asking if this can in any way be traced back to Donald Trump – pointing to the fact that the administration laid off hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Right, we talked about this, you then had the weather service then said it was preparing for “degraded operations.”
With all of the living former directors of the Service writing a letter expressing concern over staffing levels and budget cuts –
Specifically saying that their worst nightmare would be understaffing leading to “needless loss of life.”
And with that, you did have the agency scrambling to fill key roles when it realized it had gone too far.
And just last month, despite a government hiring freeze, the Weather Service announced a plan to hire 126 people as an effort to “stabilize” the department.
Though, notably, as of this week, those jobs had not been posted in the federal government’s hiring portal. []
And with that, key roles were reportedly vacant at weather service offices covering the areas where the flooding happened.
Right, at the San Antonio office, for example, there were two key posts unfilled– and both jobs involved working with local emergency managers to plan for floods, including when and how to warn local residents and help them evacuate. []
Now with that, there were employees acting in those positions, and a union rep said they had enough meteorologists to respond to the event – []
But he also admitted he was concerned about the unfilled senior positions and lack of leadership moving forward. []
And there, you also have one prominent independent meteorologist who used to work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – and who have been critical of NWS staffing and budget cuts – saying:
“Obviously, having both of these positions vacant for a prolonged time is not optimal, and certainly could have had negative impacts at some level.”
But also saying “the actual warning services that NWS provided during the event…were solid and provided the level of warning and alerts that the public should expect to receive for an event such as this.” []
Right, Trump, for his party, has rejected the idea of even looking into whether cuts had left important positions unfilled–
And a White House spokesperson said claims that cuts had anything to do with how bad the impact of the floods have been were “disgusting.” []
You also had Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying they’re “working to upgrade the technologies that have been neglected for far too long, to make sure that families have as much advanced notice as possible.” []
Though, there notably, the Trump administration’s 2026 budget proposal seeks to eliminate all of NOAA’s weather and climate research labs along with institutes jointly run with universities around the country.[]
With CNN reporting that this would shut down research and development of new forecasting technologies –
Including computer modeling and severe weather warning scenarios, ultimately affecting the prediction of events including flash floods. []
This, of course, as cuts have also gone after research on climate change– something that has of course been linked to what’s happened in Texas.
Right, because while it’s hard to say this specific situation is a direct result of climate change, meteorologists do say climate change will make extreme rainfall events worse and more frequent.
And you have people like the director of the Texas Center for Extreme Weather at Texas A&M saying the floods are "exactly what the future is going to hold." []
With a UCLA climate scientist adding that “This kind of record-shattering rain…event is *precisely* that which is increasing the fastest in [a] warming climate.” []
And on that happy note, we’ll end it, and we’ll keep an eye on things in Texas, and hope for now that those numbers at least stop going up.
And then, hopefully, there’s more done to figure out what can be done to be ready for these events in the future.
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Trump is imposing sweeping tariffs again — kind of.
Right, Trump’s tariffs have been an absolute rollercoaster ride.
But like the kind of rollercoaster where it feels like the cart could just go flying off the rails and crumble entirely at any point.
But basically, the only catch-up you need for this latest piece of news is that, back in early April, Trump announced that he was placing a 10% baseline tariff on nearly every country — including major U.S. trading partners.
As well as imposing what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on certain nations, with the additional duties ranging as high as 50%.
But after the markets plummeted, Trump walked that back a bit, saying he would pause tariff hikes on most countries and just keep everyone at the 10% baseline for 90 days.
And, during that time, Trump repeatedly promised that the U.S. would make trade deals with other countries and negotiate more favorable terms.
With him even claiming at one point that he would make “90 deals in 90 days.”
But, according to reports, he has only made two deals in that time — one with the U.K. last month and one with Vietnam last week.
But now, that initial 90-day pause is set to come to an end on Wednesday.
So, with hardly any trade deals on the books, there was widespread confusion about what would happen next and if the rates would take effect this week or on August 1, as some administration officials had suggested.
And when asked about the approaching deadline over the holiday weekend, we saw this interaction between reporters, Trump, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick:
REPORTER: “Tariff rates — do they change on July 9th or August 1st?”
TRUMP: “No, there are going to be tariffs, the tariffs, the tariffs are going to be, the tariffs. I think we’ll have most countries done by July 9, yeah. Either a letter or a deal.”
LUTNICK: “But they go into effect on August 1st. Tariffs go into effect August 1st, but the president is setting the rates and the deals right now.” 3:39 - 4:02
Right, and regarding the letters he mentioned, administration officials have said that, starting today, countries will start receiving letters informing them that the U.S. will impose higher tariffs if they don’t reach a deal by the August 1st deadline.
With Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also later clarifying that all countries that don’t strike trade deals with the U.S. in that timeframe will see tariffs return to the rates initially announced in early April, before they were walked back.
Right, and that is significant because, as Axios explains:
“It's effectively a new deadline for the biggest U.S. trading partners to negotiate an alternative to President Trump's sweeping global tariffs — even as Bessent insists nothing had changed.”
With Bessent also telling reporters that even with the August 1st extension, he expects many countries to work out deals before the original deadline, saying:
“We are close to several deals. As always, there's a lot of foot-dragging on the other side. I would expect to see several big announcements over the next couple of days.”
And today, as promised, we saw Trump confirming on Truth Social that the so-called “tariff letters” would be going out this afternoon. []
With him also sharing another post yesterday where he specifically targeted the group of countries that compose the BRICS bloc.
Which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa — hence the name BRICS — as well as other partner states that have since joined those original members.
Right, and yesterday, the group of nations issued a declaration condemning the U.S. increase in tariffs and the strikes on Iran.
Though they notably didn’t mention Trump by name.
With the declaration raising “serious concerns” with the tariffs, arguing that they are “inconsistent with WTO rules” and threaten to “reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty.”
And further claiming that the U.S. strikes on Iran “constitute a violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations” while calling on the UN to investigate the matter.
But apparently, that rebuke made Trump so mad that he is now retaliating by imposing even deeper trade restrictions, writing in a post on Truth Social:
“Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy.” []
But beyond that, we also saw Trump sharing two very similar tariff letters his administration sent to Japan and South Korea today, informing both countries they would be subject to blanket 25% tariffs on all goods starting August 1.[][]
But noting that they will be separate from the additional sector-specific duties imposed on certain trade categories.
And adding that if the countries agree to trade policies that the Trump administration views as favorable, the U.S. would “perhaps consider an adjustment.”
Though both letters also noted that the tariffs could be either decreased OR increased “depending on our relationship with your country.”
And further adding that if Japan or Korea put new tariffs on the U.S. in response, the administration will just increase the baseline duties beyond 25%.
Now, with all that said, if the past is any indication, this whole situation is VERY fluid.
Right, Trump has gone back and forth so many goddamn times on his tariffs my neck hurts from the whiplash.
And then, of course, there is also a strong possibility that some major trade partners will strike some kind of deal with the administration, or that Trump will just push back the deadlines even further as backlash inevitably grows.
Right, many economists have warned that Trump’s various tariffs will bring VERY serious economic consequences.
And experts say that U.S. businesses will be the ones that will pay the costs of these tariffs upfront, with those prices inevitably being passed on to consumers.
So for now, we’ll just have to wait and see how this situation develops, and if Trump will actually stand by his deadline this time around, or if pressure from the public, the business sector, and the market continues to sway his decision-making.
