What happened to the Epstein scandal? You are gone. Wipe you out of my eyes. Hocuspocus, evaporated with a magic wand move. It seems that the master of illusions, Donald Trump, managed to escape this deadly blow, at least for the moment.

Trump's attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president, Maduro, a former bus driver, got Epstein out of the headlines. Now Trump and his cronies are beating the drums for his aims of world greatness, announced in Davos, Switzerland. This alpine resort, ugly enough — and not strong enough for skiing — was the perfect scene for Trump's show. Davos' annual carnival is the world stage of big egos, swindlers and braggers.

Leading among them was former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a politician with unparalleled bendability and ability to sugarcoat lies and half-truths. Blair has just agreed to join Trump's so-called Peace Board, a bunch of shady politicians. The participation fee is $1 billion, a typical Trump fundraiser.

Blair acted as a US spokesman during the invasion of Iraq, replacing George W. Bush's inexpressible to sell to the world American intervention, which may have led to nearly a million victims. Today, oil-rich Iraq remains a US-occupied state.

Europe, with the exception of two countries, refused to play this farce of the so-called Peace Board. Canada, usually obedient to Washington's demands, refused to join - an important step forward in its independence from American tutelage. Mark Carney, Canada's new Prime Minister, stood firm in the face of Trump's temptations and threats of an invasion, while many other US allies shook in fear or yearn for the quiet days of somewhat cranky President Joe Biden. I salute Carney's bravery.

But all of this is something crazy. Trump's claims that Chinese and Russian warship fleets threaten the High Arctic are either outrageous lies fabricated by Fox News neo-conservative propagandists, or an aging brain delusion. One should wonder if Trump really believes this arctic nonsense, or if he's using fabricated crises to expand and strengthen his power. Will Canada be the next prey?

Meanwhile, every day brings increased influence on Washington from the far-right government in Israel. At this point, it’s hard to figure out who’s giving the orders: Israel’s Netanyahu or Trump. The entire Peace Board is a hoax designed to fatally undermine the UN, hated by both Trump and Netanyahu, because it helps protect the marginalized Palestinian people.

Trump clearly sees himself as chairman of the Peace Board and as the world's foremost political leader, even as a monarch. This is definitely ambitious for a former Studio 54 attendee in New York and botched hotel clerk. Many Americans enjoy Trump because he has turned politics into entertainment. Comedian Paul Begala said it beautifully when joking that "politics is Hollywood for ugly people".

Trump also gained fame by figuring out how to monopolize TV news at a time when the written press was dying. Every evening, every morning Trump was there, creating a new daily crisis and occupying the screen. His alarms of foreign invasions, Chinese threats, black criminals, liberal communists and drugs worked like a spell to poorly educated elderly voters. He was right about some things, but totally wrong about many others.

For the false arctic crisis and Venezuela, he has often appeared as an enthusiastic pupil on Christmas Eve. For the man who said he hoped to be a war leader (after avoiding military service), what gift could be more exciting than the Pentagon, stuffed with military toys?

© Eric S. Margolis, 2026