| A furious dispute over documents tied to the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein threatens to splinter one of the closest-knit tribes in American politics. Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement has turned on its leader in perhaps the most dramatic fashion so far – showing how the president’s coalition has taken on an identity independent of him, one that may outlast his own term in the White House. The uproar began with the Justice Department’s decision last week not to release additional information connected to Epstein’s case. A steady stream of Trump allies and influencers attacked the president, and his Attorney General Pam Bondi, over the memo that declared there was no need for further disclosures. “I don’t want their support anymore!” the president responded on Truth Social on Wednesday. But Trump changed course on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal published a story alleging that he wrote a suggestive birthday letter to Epstein more than two decades ago. The president called the letter “FAKE,” and vowed to sue the newspaper for defamation. The paper declined to comment on his litigation threat. In the wake of intense media coverage, Trump directed Bondi to release grand-jury testimony in the Epstein case.  Trump at the White House on Friday. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg It remains to be seen whether the new information will appease critics. The so-called Epstein files have been viewed as a treasure trove by Trump’s anti-establishment supporters, who saw the disgraced financier’s ties to the rich and powerful as evidence of prevalent corruption amongst America’s elite. Despite Trump’s own past association with Epstein, he campaigned on a “drain the swamp” slogan, promising to declassify Epstein’s files along with others related to high-profile cases like the assassinations of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. The whole affair is really about “government transparency and justice,” said Republican strategist Matt Terrill. Terrill advised the administration to outline “everything that they have, everything that they’ve put out, and then if there’s things that they can’t put out, explain why that’s the case.” Nonetheless, he believes “the MAGA base is not going to divorce President Trump,” noting that the president weathered initial disapproval among many loyalists of his military strikes on Iran. In fact, Terrill reckons, the latest Journal story will likely prompt the base to “rally even more around him.” Other developments this week: - Ukraine aid: Trump and NATO's Mark Rutte unveiled a new plan for US allies to purchase American weapons on Ukraine's behalf, Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Natalia Drozdiak write. The agreement would allow Trump to support Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy without paying the price tag. Trump has expressed frustration lately with Russian President Vladimir Putin for continuing his war against Ukraine.
- Powell's fate: Speculation about whether Trump could fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is likely to hang over the reminder of Powell's tenure, which ends next May. The president continues to attack the Fed chief for keeping interest rates too high. Trump said it's “highly unlikely” he’ll oust Powell, but suggested possible fraud in the Fed's building renovations, without providing evidence. Powell responded to White House questions on the project yesterday, Bloomberg's Amara Omeokwe reports.
- Tariff inflation: There’s still not much sign of the long-feared surge in US consumer prices as a result of Trump’s trade war. Underlying measures of inflation for June, published this week, came in lower than expected for a fifth straight month. There was evidence that some goods targeted by tariffs are getting more expensive — like toys and household appliances — but not enough to move the needle overall, Bloomberg’s Augusta Saraiva writes.
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