What Happened Today - 20 Nov 2025
What Happened Today – 20 November 2025
Epstein Drama
Approval Ratings and last night’s Truth Social posts
Cheney Family…no invite to Trump and gang to funeral
Proposal to gut the Endangered Species Act
MAGA Meltdown….
Full Authoritarian…
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Epstein Drama
Let’s get into the mess that is Trump’s Epstein file drama, because it’s pure chaos and panic behind the scenes right now. Trump was dragged kicking and screaming into signing this bill after months of playing defense. He kept saying he’d release the files, but every time the House or media pushed for it, his people stalled and tried to water it all down. This week, the wheels came off—between mounting pressure from Congress, a base losing patience, and even some MAGA representatives revolting, Trump finally reversed course and signed off, hoping to flip the script and make Democrats the main target. He went full victim on Truth Social, whining about “another Democrat witch hunt,” but no one’s fooled because he spent more time dodging than facing the music.
Now, the ball is in the Justice Department’s court, with Attorney General Pam Bondi racing against the clock to organize a release in 30 days. Here’s the catch: the law gives Bondi wiggle room to redact all kinds of personal info and anything tied to ongoing investigations, so there’s real doubt the public will actually get everything. Trump and his handlers are banking on that, while still spinning up new investigations meant to spotlight Democrats. The word is Capitol Hill’s got bipartisan outrage, and a ton of MAGA insiders are sweating bullets, making phone calls, and lawyering up. Everyone’s watching to see who gets named or implicated.
And here’s where things get juicy: rumblings in DC say a handful of lesser aides and second-tier officials are reconsidering their spots in Trump World, quietly distancing themselves, or even prepping to bail if their names show up in any Epstein-related emails. No high-profile resignations just yet—everyone’s laying low, but the concern is real. Meanwhile, Bondi’s team is mired in internal drama, juggling both a Trump-ordered probe into Democrats and the deadline for file release. The tension is so thick that even GOP lawmakers have warned Trump and Bondi not to play games or withhold documents—if they do, it’ll just make the political bomb go off even harder.
So yeah, Trump’s “win” here looks more like a frantic retreat and setup for weeks of panic, denial, and blame games. No one in his orbit feels safe, everyone’s bracing for exposure, and the political carnage from these files might just be starting.
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Approval Ratings and last night’s Truth Social posts
Trump’s approval numbers are in uncharted territory—the steady drumbeat of bad news has him plunging to a brutal 41% in some national polls, and even lower in others. Poll after poll shows that prices for groceries, utilities, and healthcare have everyone ticked off, and it’s not just Democrats or independents who are sick of it. Fox News, of all places, highlighted a historic drop among Republicans. Once, more than 90% of self-identified Republicans gave Trump a pass—now that number's crashed to the high 60s, and right-wing voter focus groups are venting about betrayal, blaming him for price hikes and a stalled-out economic recovery. Meanwhile, his numbers with independents and non-college whites—his traditional sweet spot—have collapsed. Even his die-hard base is grumbling, feeling the pain from empty wallets and that government shutdown chaos.
But that’s not stopping Trump from acting like everything’s peachy. He’s been up all night on Truth Social, blasting out ripped-from-the-void posts that hit every note of desperation and denial. The moment the story broke about the Epstein files being forced into daylight, Trump jumped online to rant about “radical left lunatics,” ranting that he was always for transparency—never mind the very public months of stalling. He spent half of his posts tossing blame at Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, and calling various Republican defectors “traitors” and “irrelevant RINOs.” In an especially wild turn, he switched back to old habits—attacking Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers for mocking him about the Epstein mess on late night TV, calling them “talentless bums” and demanding they be booted off the air. He also posted a rambling midnight note threatening to sue The Wall Street Journal for connecting his name to Epstein, claiming, “It’s all fake, I barely knew the guy!”—even though old emails released this week had Epstein joking about Trump “spending hours at my house.”
So, in true Trump fashion, it’s social-media chaos: insults flying from every direction, scapegoating, demands for fealty, and zero acknowledgment that the numbers, the prices, and his own party’s loyalty are all tanking. He’s gone fully off the rails, and nobody’s buying the spin.
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Cheney Family…no invite to Trump and gang to funeral
Let’s get real about the vibe inside Trump’s camp after Dick Cheney’s death—the distance couldn’t be more obvious or intentional. Vice President JD Vance has been working overtime on right-wing TV, talking up his condolences for the Cheney family, but he’s quick to underline that he and the Cheney’s agree on nearly nothing, especially when it comes to Trump. Vance’s move was all about optics and party unity, but MAGA diehards are still fuming because the Cheney’s have been leading the anti-Trump charge for years.
And here’s the kicker: neither Trump nor Vance (or anyone from Trump’s orbit, for that matter) were invited to Cheney’s funeral. This wasn’t just a snub—it was a statement. The Cheney family intentionally left the entire Trump crew off the guest list, after Trump repeatedly trashed both Dick and Liz Cheney for their roles in the January 6 investigation and Liz’s work to impeach Trump. The bad blood runs so deep that the family didn’t want ANY association with Trump’s White House. MAGA world responded exactly how you’d expect—Trump didn’t say a single word publicly about Cheney’s death, didn’t send condolences, didn’t issue a proclamation, and basically acted like it never happened.
Meanwhile, the funeral itself was a straight-up gathering of old-school political heavyweights—the invite list included all living former presidents except Trump, and all four living former vice presidents. Joe Biden and George W. Bush were front and center, and Bush delivered the big tribute. Cheney’s daughter Liz gave a powerful memorial, clearly drawing lines against MAGA extremism without naming names. A few other family members and Pete Williams, the longtime NBC News justice correspondent, spoke too. The dean of the National Cathedral wrapped up with the homily.
The Cheney family wanted nothing to do with Trump or his allies, every living ex-president except Trump was there, and the eulogies went to Bush, Liz Cheney, and trusted family favorites. Trump’s absence—by invitation and by attitude—was the loudest statement of the day.
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Proposal to gut the Endangered Species Act
Trump is doubling down on his anti-environment agenda, and this week he rolled out a new set of proposed rules that aim to gut the Endangered Species Act. He’s pitching it as a way to “streamline regulations” so businesses and land developers don’t get held up by pesky wildlife protections. In reality, it’s a full-scale attack on the safeguards for threatened animals and their habitats, and environmental groups are going ballistic.
The changes would make it way easier for oil, gas, and mining operations to bulldoze land even if it’s home to endangered species. Protections for newly listed animals would get slashed; critical habitat rules would be watered down; and federal agencies, for the first time in years, would get more leeway to ignore the science around conservation. MAGA supporters are loving it—big donors and industry bosses are patting Trump on the back. But environmentalists, scientists, and most conservation orgs are ripping him apart, warning this move could fast-track extinctions and unleash even more lawsuits.
Basically, Trump’s message to anyone who cares about conservation? “Get over it.” It’s a brazen favor for industry, and environmental critics are gearing up for a fight.
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MAGA Meltdown….
The MAGA influencer ecosystem is in total chaos after the past day of Trump drama. Plenty of loyalists and right-wing podcasters are tying themselves in knots trying to excuse, explain, or ignore Trump’s frantic pivot on the Epstein files. You’ve got the usual die-hards circling the wagons, parroting Trump’s “it’s a Democrat witch hunt” spin and muttering that the files are either fake or “nothingburgers.” Jon Herold on Badlands Media rolled out the line that none of the Epstein revelations matter unless they tie to Democrats, calling the document dump “a distraction and a hoax.” Brian Lupo (same podcaster crew) is already peddling a conspiratorial take that actually Trump was “informing” on Epstein all along—so, same old mental gymnastics to keep the flock loyal.
But the cracks are showing. Some of the base’s big voices on X and on podcasts are genuinely rattled by how publicly Trump’s been called out—especially after months of promising “justice” then stalling until the blowback got too hot. Liz Wheeler, who’s been solidly pro-Trump for years, admitted on her show that the base feels let down and “wants transparency—even if it hurts.” Steve Bannon tried to rally the troops by claiming “we’re finally on offense,” but his language makes it clear there’s panic and pressure from all sides. Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene—fresh off getting booted from the inner Trump circle for pushing the file release—aired her doubts about whether the movement is being hijacked by grifters and foreign interests.
On the economic front, MAGA podcasts and meme accounts are screaming about “Bidenflation,” but even they’re admitting listener feedback is all about pain at the grocery store and lost jobs. There’s a growing split on Trump’s recent bear-hug for the Saudi Crown Prince and his billion-dollar deals: hardcore nationalists are fuming that he’s focused on Riyadh’s cash while America’s own “East Palestine” (meaning small-town, blue-collar problems) gets lip service at best.
All said, a bunch of MAGA influencers are itching to change the subject, or praying for a crisis to distract the base. But between the Epstein disaster, loud economic complaints, and a whiff of foreign sellout, more cracks are appearing in MAGA world than at any point in the last five years. The defensive “this is all fake” routine still plays, but it’s not quite working like it used to.
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Full Authoritarian…
Trump went full authoritarian on Truth Social, openly flirting with state violence against his political enemies. He singled out six Democratic lawmakers who put out a video reminding the military and intel community that they are legally bound to refuse illegal orders and uphold the Constitution—not blindly serve whoever is sitting in the Oval. In response, Trump branded them “traitors,” accused them of “seditious behavior,” and said they should be arrested and put on trial, then escalated to claiming their supposed “sedition” is “punishable by DEATH.” He even boosted a supporter’s post calling to “hang them” like some twisted George Washington cosplay, which means the current president isn’t just smearing opponents—he’s normalizing the idea that telling troops to follow the law is a capital offense. This is straight-up authoritarian conditioning: redefine loyalty to the Constitution as treason against Trump, attach it to the death penalty, and let the base marinate in fantasies of executing named Democratic officials for doing exactly what their oaths require.
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I feel like the next 48-72 hours will be nuts…and things will continue to get nuts the closer we get to the release of the files….stay plugged in….but step away when you need to.
Speak Truth! Keep speaking TRUTH!
Go Cause Good Trouble, with Your Elbows Up!
These are facts that I researched and verified – AI helped put together some sentence structure, but the words and tone are mine. These are my views based upon facts, research and thoughtful consideration using logic. I own the copyright to any images used. I’m comfortable to stand alone to uphold truth. Feel free to check me, but do not attack me. I am only causing good trouble.