The 'Epstein class' and the crisis of Trumpism

The biggest crisis of Trump’s second term is unfolding over the Epstein files. Having initially promised to release the trove of documents detailing Epstein’s crimes and his rich and powerful customers, Trump – one of those customers – quickly changed his tune once in power. However, this opened a rift within the MAGA movement and woke many up to the fact that Trump, far from “draining the swamp”, is part and parcel of it. Now he’s U-turned again and is expected to finally publish the files. But this threatens to shine a light on depravity, debauchery and unaccountability of the ruling class. Meanwhile, the regime in Ukraine is facing a crisis on the frontlines as well as within the regime. City after city is being taken by the Russian army, while a corruption scandal is implicating more and more of Zelensky’s inner circle. In this week’s episode of Against the Stream, Josh Holroyd and Hamid Alizadeh sit down to discuss all this and more. Against the Stream is the Marxist current affairs podcast of the Revolutionary Communist International. It airs weekly on YouTube on Thursdays at 6 p.m. GMT.📖 RECOMENDED READING 📖🔗 https://communistusa.org/maga-mutiny-over-epstein-forces-trump-u-turn/🔗 https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/dangerous-ideas/201910/psychology-s-dark-triad-and-the-billionaire-class🔗 https://www.axios.com/2025/11/19/trump-ukraine-peace-plan-russia-donbas🔗 https://www.axios.com/2025/11/19/ukraine-peace-plan-trump-russia-witkoff🌐 LINKS 🌐✊ Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443 📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/