Graham Platner is now the Democrats’ official choice to be Maine’s next senator, scandals be damned. Notably, his first campaign advertisement since becoming the candidate does not even mention his opponent, Sen. Susan Collins (R–Maine), but instead focuses on “powerful Democrats and Republicans” who possess “a love of Jeffrey Epstein and a hatred of me.”
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Platner is running on opposing “the Epstein class.”
The only thing the DC establishment can agree on is a love of Jeffrey Epstein — and a hatred of me.
Together, we will take back our government from the Epstein class.
WATCH: Our new TV ad pic.twitter.com/H0Ekeqa4uC
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) June 10, 2026
It’s time to start calling out this shameless, cynical line of attack (and defense) with greater fervor. The “Epstein class” is a phrase coined by Rep. Ro Khanna (D–Calif.) and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D–Ga.) to refer to a nebulous, nonspecific group of societal elites who are supposedly complicit in the crimes of Epstein. Increasingly, this is directed at President Donald Trump, who knew and associated (and then disassociated) with Epstein 30 years ago, before his crimes were known—though many Democrats have been perfectly willing to throw the Clintons under the bus.
But the truth is that there is no Epstein class. There is no sinister cabal of wealthy, powerful pedophiles who abused underage girls provided by Epstein. The theory that these elite pedophiles skirted justice because of government incompetence—or because high-level government agents were involved—is false. The disclosure of the Epstein Files, of millions of pages of relevant documents, has not produced a shred of evidence to support such an idea. This should matter. Eventually, people making sensational claims should feel required to present proof, particularly when the course of action they advocated—the unprecedented public release of police notes and uncorroborated investigative files—is adopted. The theorists have none.
By invoking the “Epstein class” and asserting that it is this group of (imaginary) persons who are out to get Platner, the candidate is doing exactly what Hunter Biden did when he appeared on Candace Owens’ podcast: distracting from his own failings by insinuating that there’s some really corrupt, evil class of criminals who are out to get him. Concerned about the fact that Platner very obviously lied about not knowing his tattoo was a Nazi symbol? Ignore that: It’s what the Epstein class wants you to think!
For what it’s worth, the rise of this lazy and false smear—which is now predominantly wielded by partisan Democrats—is entirely the fault of top Trump administration officials. A fascinating article in The New York Times excerpted from a new book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan details exactly how this came to be. In their capacity as independent podcasters, people like Dan Bongino and Kash Patel helped popularize the idea that the FBI was protecting Epstein clients and that Trump would reveal all if reelected. (Trump himself never shared much enthusiasm for this issue.) Once they joined the administration, however, they were forced to confront a troubling truth: There was no such client list to unveil.
“As they took office in 2025, Trump’s advisers were subject to intense pressures of their own making,” note Haberman and Swan.
According to their reporting, Vice President J.D. Vance is keenly aware of how disappointed the MAGA base has been with the administration’s handling of the Epstein Files. For this, he has only himself to blame. It will prove impossible to satisfy the demand for something that simply does not exist.
Check out the latest episode of my new podcast with Christian Britschgi, in which we stop being polite…and start getting real.
Oh man, they’re remaking Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2!
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be reborn on Nintendo Switch 2 in 2026. #NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/t3qz5IVv5u
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 9, 2026
I am excited. I am also concerned, because there are so many ways they could mess this up. It’s generally not a great idea to tinker with things that were basically perfect the first time around. (Thus my opposition to the latest Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action show; it’s fine, but why bother?) The opportunity to improve the graphics is nice, but the original game has so much charm and personality specifically because the pixelated sprites look weird and unsettling. I’m also terrified that they will make it open world, like Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild. Do not do this, Nintendo!
That said, the Super Mario RPG Remake was excellent, and I thought that game was perfect to begin with, too. Moreover, I wouldn’t mind if they mixed up the puzzles in the dungeons, made combat more dynamic, and increased the difficulty for veterans.
