Trump's Epstein Ties Under Scrutiny; Inflation and CPI Rise as Trump Tariffs Take Hold

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by Sarah Jones, the Editor-in-Chief of PoliticusUSA. The two discuss the Wall Street Journal Report that, in 2003, Trump sent Jeffrey Epstein, his then close friend, a graphic birthday card with a self-drawn picture of a naked woman, with the message, "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret." Then, Brad is joined by Dr. Robert Shapiro, Chairman of Sonecon, an economic advisory firm and a Senior Fellow of the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. The pair examines the new economic data showing that both inflation, and the consumer price index (CPI) rose in June. This shows that the Trump tariffs are raising both inflation, and prices for goods that the American people purchase regularly. Brad also talks with Dr. Shapiro about his new piece for Washington Monthly, titled, "Trump's Budget Could Break the Economy." (Link: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2025/07/20/trumps-deficits-could-break-the-economy/) Sarah Jones' handle on BlueSky is @politicussarah.bsky.social‬ and the website for PoliticusUSA is www.PoliticusUSA.com. Dr. Shapiro's website is www.sonecon.com, where you can find his latest blog posts as well. Brad writes a political column every Sunday for 'The Hill.' He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles. You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His handle on BlueSky is @bradbannon.bsky.social.