Trump Turns on Critics Amid Epstein Files and Obama Coup Claims
President Donald Trump has announced that he is no longer the target but the aggressor. Marking half a year in his second term, Trump made a statement on X asserting, "I was the hunted, now I am the hunter." The White House reverberated the message with an official statement reading, "They came after the wrong man."
The statement arrives as Trump has been increasingly under pressure over his association with Jeffrey Epstein, increasing dissatisfaction among his MAGA base, and new intelligence dossiers aimed at Barack Obama's administration. In a shocking turn of events, Trump also posted an AI-made video featuring former President Obama being arrested, which made headlines and attracted criticism.
Trump's new message marks a change in strategy. For months, the president was under fire both externally and from within his own MAGA base. Self-inflicted wounds, worldwide condemnation, and public criticism for his association with unsavoury characters such as Jeffrey Epstein put Trump on the back foot. But today, he has taken a new narrative.
They arrested the wrong guy," went the bold declaration from the official White House handle. The line resonated with Trump's base, which still thinks he's been targeted unjustly since his initial term.
On Monday, Trump ramped up his attack by bringing back the time-worn Russia accusation and shooting it at his predecessor. A freshly declassified Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) report, whose head is Tulsi Gabbard, blames Obama-era officials for weaponising intelligence.
According to the report, Obama and his national security team politicised intelligence knowingly to stage a "years-long coup" against Trump in the aftermath of the 2016 election.
The documents contain internal communications between Obama staffers. They stated that even if Russian hackers were unlikely to modify vote counts in a physical sense, their actions could erode public faith in democracy. Trump took advantage of the leak to advance his long-time argument that his presidency was sabotaged at the beginning.
Trump then went on to surprise critics further by sharing a digitally created video on Truth Social. The video depicts Barack Obama being taken into custody by FBI agents within the Oval Office, where Trump looks on, smiling.
The AI video starts with Obama voicing, "Especially the President is above the law," and is followed by multiple clips of leaders voicing, "No one is above the law." The video concludes with a mock photo of Obama in prison clothes behind bars.
The sensational usage of AI has raised grave concerns. Critics caution that it spreads misinformation and fuels political tensions at a moment when the nation is still divided.
The context for all of this is the re-emergence of public interest in the Epstein files, which contain names of influential people associated with the deceased financier. Trump, who was once seen with Epstein on more than one occasion, still evades questions.
Divisions are emerging within his own MAGA ranks. A number of campaign insiders have condemned Trump's messaging, leadership, and disunity over recent months.
But with—or maybe because of—this pressure, Trump is opting for confrontation. With incendiary rhetoric, symbolic tweets, and stinging retorts, he is sending a message: the hunter has come.
