The Weekly List
The Weekly List
Amy Siskind
Week 66 - A Week of Incredible Racism, as the Epstein Files Start to Boil
29 minutes Posted Feb 12, 2026 at 4:53 am.
0:00
29:28
Download MP3
Show notes

In a week of chaos, so much happened it was easy to lose sight of the fact that Trump posted an image of former president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as apes on Truth Social. He then deflected that it was posted by a staffer, took down the post, and refused to apologize. In any sort of normal time, that act, in and of itself, would be career ending. In the era of Trump, it’s Thursday.

Trump did not back off of his racism, which seems to be more a feature than a bug, castigating Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny over his Super Bowl halftime performance. Trump’s brutal and racist immigration push also continued unabated, even as polling increasingly showed the American people turning against him. Those who dare to speak out were targeted — from protestors in Minneapolis getting arrested, to Trump lambasting a U.S. Olympian.

Amid all this, information from the latest Epstein files release led to resignations around the world, but little in the U.S., although the files increasingly are gaining public and media attention. Commerce Department Sec. Howard Lutnick became the first regime member to admit visiting Epstein’s island. Calls grew louder for the release of the remaining three million files.

All the while, the regime continues to deconstruct the government from within. It is important to read the stories of what is happening at our federal agencies. Trump also continued his campaign of branding his name wherever he can, and unprecedented corruption. Republicans have largely refrained from speaking out against him or his agenda, except on the fringes. Questions continue to arise about Trump’s plans to interfere with a free and fair midterm election, and polling increasingly suggests even control of the Senate will be in play.