This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week,click here.
When it comes to history, consider Donald Trump, the second time around, the distraction president. As a start, out of the blue he suddenly released a vast swath of documents, tens of thousands of pages, about President John F. Kennedy that, while they taught us little or nothing new about his assassination, did tell us something about how deeply and widely the Central Intelligence Agency acted in that now ancient world of his. I mean, who knew that 14 Cuban diplomats yes, diplomats were actually CIA agents? Or, as the New York Times reported, how well that spy agency had penetrated the Egyptian governments communications, or the depth of its contacts in France, or how many phones it had then wiretapped in Mexico City, or that nearly half of the political officers in American embassies around the world were working for the C.I.A., or for that matter the names of all the C.I.A. agents involved in the plot against the autocratic ruler of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo?
The American Cold War era was definitely a strange and surprising distraction to suddenly revisit, thanks to Donald Trump, and more recently, faced with endless demands that he release the Epstein files, he responded by yes, how logical of him! releasing a vast tranche of documents on well, why not? Martin Luther King Jr. I mean, how logical, right? Why should any of us be paying attention to the mayhem hes causing in our present world, or even the mayhem he caused in past American worlds, when we can distract ourselves with John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert, or King? Anything but the truth about Donald J. Trump! And with that in mind, let TomDispatch regular Clarence Lusane put the release of those King documents and what he so aptly calls the presidents Epstein Distraction Campaign in context.
Possibly well find out more about that when Trump releases documents on his father Fred Trump. Oh, sorry, thats just my fantasy. Tom
A Presidential Wrecking Ball
Trump Is Spitting on the Grave of Martin Luther King Jr.
On January 20th, Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office with at least in his mind an aura of invincibility. A fully compliant Congress was controlled by Republicans who were, in turn, controlled by him. Conservative justices, three of whom he had appointed, dominated the Supreme Court. The defeated opposition, the Democratic Party, seemed distinctly befuddled and weak.
Trump then smashed and bullied his way through his first 100 days, ruling via dictator-like decrees executive orders and carrying out retribution at every turn. Democracys redlines were crossed daily and his MAGA base remained passionately loyal even as the rest of the nation soured watching him do little to make the country better.
However, his realignment was never faintly as broad or as solid as he pretended it was. For example, while he made gains with Black voters in the 2024 election, rising from 8% in 2020 to 15%, the last six months have seen a dramatic change in that support. In January 2025, according to a YouGov poll, Black Americans disapproval of Trump was at about 69%. By June, it had risen to about 85%. Through it all, however, his support among Republicans continued to hover between 88% and 95%.
Then, of course, came the Jeffrey Epstein crisis. Trump himself seeded conspiracies surrounding the dead pedophile and his accomplices at rallies and in social media postings. He minimized his 20-year friendship with both Epstein and his girlfriend (and convicted child trafficker) Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for her part in their horrific crimes. Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel each claimed at some point to have evidence that would expose a deep state cover-up in the case, while bizarre stories of global pedophile rings led by Democrats animated MAGA as much as Trumps build the wall dreams.
The MAGA faithful were waiting for the deliverable. Trump, however, found himself trapped, knowing that hes part of whatever materials exist and that he will not look good (whether he did anything illegal or not) if the Epstein files are actually released. His constantly changing excuses have spread dissent among his own worshipers and led a panicked Trump to throw out any shiny objects he could think of to change the subject.
Pay Attention to the Shiny Object Over There
On July 21st, as part of his Epstein Distraction Campaign, Trump released more than 230,000 pages of FBI and government files related to Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination on April 4, 1968. The more than 6,000 files include FBI documents related to the killing, most of which are not new, according to experts who have reviewed them. They do not, however, include the agencys nefarious wiretaps of King that are scheduled for release in 2027. There was, of course, neither rhyme nor reason to Trumps dispersal of those files at that moment.
The presidents claim was that he was keeping a promise he had made when he returned to the White House in January. Within a few days of being in office, on January 23rd, Trump issued Executive Order 14176 with instructions for the declassification and release of files related to the assassinations of King, John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy. It was a feint at transparency meant to feed the anti-federalist conspiracists in his base. For decades, a cadre of Americans has believed that there was a government-backed coverup of those killings. In the modern era, the deep state adherents of MAGA world and online extremists have indeed kept those fantasies circulating.
Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, the surviving King children, were advised of the release and opposed it. They then issued a statement that read in part, While we support transparency and historical accountability, we object to any attacks on our fathers legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods. We strongly condemn any attempts to misuse these documents in ways intended to undermine our fathers legacy and the significant achievements of the movement. Bernice would later post on social media, Now, do the Epstein files, making it clear that she was not fooled by Trumps flaccid bait-and-switch game. Of course, privacy concerns and an ideological assault on their father and his legacy have little meaning for Trump as he tries to escape his Epstein crisis by any means necessary.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
