The Daily Dean Newsletter – July 18, 2025
“Secret Birthday Notes, Billion‑Dollar Skeletons, Populist Cracks, Swollen Cankles & Burning MAGA Hats: The Week Democracy Pushed Back.”
July 18, 2025
Good morning, patriots and paranoids! Here are the top five stories democracy lovers need to know today!
1. Trump’s Epstein Birthday Card Revealed
The Wall Street Journal got hold of a 2003 “birthday card” Donald Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein. It’s not exactly Hallmark material: the letter features the outline of a nude woman and ends with the line, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret”. According to reporting reviewed by People, the note includes a fictional conversation in which Trump tells Epstein “We have certain things in common, Jeffrey,” to which Epstein replies, “Yes, we do, come to think of it”. Trump’s squiggly signature appears as pubic hair. The future president denies writing the letter, calling it “false, malicious, and defamatory”; he has threatened to sue the Wall Street Journal for publishing it. Nevertheless, the card has become Exhibit A for critics who’ve long argued that Trump’s relationship with Epstein was more than casual. Happy birthday indeed:
“Happy Birthday, And May Every Day Be Another Wonderful Secret”: Trump, Epstein, and the WSJ Letter That Shatters His Lies
Let’s get this out of the way first.
2. “Follow the Money”: The $1.5 Billion Epstein File
If you thought the Epstein saga ended when he died in his cell, think again. Senator Ron Wyden, chair of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, announced that investigators reviewed a secret Treasury file detailing 4,725 wire transfers worth nearly $1.1 billion flowing through a single Epstein bank account, with hundreds of millions more through other accounts. These transactions included payments routed through Russian banks to women from Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Wyden says these “suspicious activity reports” are being withheld by the Trump administration, despite the president’s campaign promise to “expose the Epstein files.” A Futurism summary of the New York Times reporting notes that the total money trail could reach $1.5 billion. As Wyden puts it, “We felt from the beginning this was a follow‑the‑money case”. Yet Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi suddenly insist there is “nothing to investigate,” provoking bipartisan calls for a special prosecutor. If there’s smoke and $1.5 billion, there’s fire:
🧨 The Walls Epstein Built From the Grave Are Closing in on Trump
Remember when Donald Trump told his base he was going to drain the swamp? Yeah, about that. Turns out the Epstein swamp wasn’t drained—it was deep, well-funded, and allegedly protected by the very institutions Trump now hides behind. *July Flash Sale: ALL new subscribers get 50% off your annual subscription (for life) and unlimited access to exclusive c…
3. Why Populist Movements Always Collapse
You can almost hear the sound of a balloon losing air. History tells us that authoritarian populists inevitably implode, and political scientists have names for why: populists divide society into the “pure people” and the “corrupt elite,” claim to uniquely represent “the people,” and invoke conspiracy theories whenever reality doesn’t match their promises. Their movements are “thin ideologies” that rely on constant grievance. Trump’s own MAGA brand is showing stress fractures as conspiracy‑fuelled promises about Epstein’s “client list” turn to dust. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 69 percent of Americans believe facts about Epstein’s clients are being concealed. When the very base that swallows your conspiracies starts demanding the truth, the collapse is only a matter of time. From Mussolini to modern strongmen, populist egos can’t outrun accountability forever. The science is simply human nature:
The Collapse Is Inevitable: The Science Behind the Impending Trump Collapse, and Populist Egos
Every fake strongman eventually meets a real one. And that’s when it all falls apart. *July Flash Sale: Get 50% off your annual subscription (for life) and unlimited access to exclusive content, until July 21!
4. Trump’s Health Lie: Trump’s “Chronic Venous Insufficiency” Looks More Like Congestive Heart Failure
The White House insists Donald Trump is “in excellent health,” but press‑pool photos of swollen ankles tell a different story. After speculation ran wild, White House physician Sean Barbabella issued a memo diagnosing the president with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI)—a benign but common vein condition in which leg veins fail to return blood to the heart. CVI occurs when vein valves are damaged; symptoms include swelling, heaviness, and varicose veins. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it usually affects people over 50 and often stems from obesity, lack of exercise, or long periods of sitting. According to most medical professionals, Trump is more likely to have Congestive Heart Failure. Shocker - he’s lying and (probably) dying:
BREAKING: Donald Trump Is (Probably) Dying
Donald Trump’s “medical team” just diagnosed him with “chronic venous insufficiency.” *July Flash Sale: Get 50% off your annual subscription (for life) and unlimited access to exclusive content, until July 21!
5. MAGA Meltdown: Supporters Burn Their Hats
As Trump dismisses interest in the Epstein files as a “hoax,” his base is losing its collective mind. MAGA loyalists have posted videos of themselves burning their own red hats. Former vice‑president Mike Pence and House Speaker Mike Johnson have joined calls for the full release of Epstein documents. Laura Loomer, once a diehard Trump defender, wants a special counsel. Inside the White House, officials are reportedly debating whether to unseal documents or appoint a special prosecutor to stem the bleeding. The rebellion comes as House Republicans twice voted to block Democratic attempts to force a public release. A Reuters piece notes that Trump and aides have urged influencers to “dial down their criticism”, but the damage is done. When you’ve convinced your supporters that all your opponents are pedophiles, discovering that your guy is hiding pedophile records creates quite the existential dilemma.
Today’s Quote
“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”
— Thomas Jefferson
Democracy doesn’t survive on autopilot. It requires citizens who ask uncomfortable questions, demand transparency, and hold leaders accountable. Whether it’s a billionaire’s banker or a swelling presidential cankle, sunlight is still the best disinfectant.
Blundel we all die!
The central reason all this has become so dangerous to Trump is that he is acting as if he is guilty, almost comically so, lying and clearly doing everything he can to prevent the release of material he clearly believes will be harmful to him. He has reason to be worried. Epstein was arrested, charged and died on his watch in 2019. Two law enforcement officials from Florida who had the opportunity to end Epstein’s sex trafficking and child rape ring and failed to do so have ended up in Trump’s cabinet. One is his current Attorney General who is also lying and covering up these terrible, terrible crimes. Trump’s name appears on the flight logs of Epstein’s private plane. There is extensive video, photo and written evidence of their close friendship - “a pal is a wonderful thing” after all. Elon has repeatedly told MAGA world Trump is on Epstein’s client list.
In particular, filings by four big banks flagged more than $1.5 billion in transactions — including thousands of wire transfers for the purchase and sale of artwork for rich friends, fees paid to Mr. Epstein by wealthy individuals, and payments to numerous women, the senator’s office found. The filings came after Mr. Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges.
Large money transfers to individuals, foreign countries or obscure companies are the kind of things banks are supposed to be examining as potentially suspicious. Some of the Epstein money transfers disclosed in a report from JPMorgan Chase involved accounts at two Russian banks before those institutions were subject to U.S. sanctions. A few transactions red-flagged were for as much as $100 million.
Mr. Wyden said his investigation into Mr. Epstein’s finances had taken on new urgency now that the Trump administration was balking at releasing any of the information seized by the F.B.I. from Mr. Epstein’s homes or information collected from the nation’s banks. Like many Republicans on the far right, Mr. Wyden and a growing number of Democrats believe there are more details about Mr. Epstein that the federal government needs to reveal.
We’re still waiting to see if this time will be different or if it will be like every other time Lucy has pulled the football away from Charlie Brown just when we thought he’d be able to kick it this time. We’ve been here before.
Now we watch it all play out with Trump and the lawyer who has forgotten she is supposed to represent the people, not the president, at his side. Donald Trump lives in a world where people take his orders. Pam Bondi certainly does. But it looks like MAGA isn’t. If people like Nick Fuentes are giving the base permission to abandon Donald Trump, who knows how far this could go?
Tell MAGA to take their hats off before they start the fire because…well you know. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦