The celebrations didn’t last long. President Trump kicked off the festivities at the Iowa State Fair grounds. He was in Iowa to ballyhoo passage of the One, Big Beautiful Bill. The crowd -- as always at Trump rallies -- was enthusiastic. The mammoth measure is the centerpiece of Trump’s second administration. It unlocks the door to a huge boost to the economy and provides a torrent of new monies for tougher border enforcement and mass deportations, among other considerations. Promises made, promises kept.

Rand Paul and congressional bean counters, though, were grumpy about the measure’s costs. Paul still is. He’s scoring the legislation’s particulars statically. Trump is scoring the tax cuts dynamically. Trump is right. Revenues will pour in. The trouble, as the Kentucky senator should know, is always about spending.

Uncle Sam runs annual deficits and has amassed a $37 trillion debt because members of Congress and presidents keep spending like, well, they’re buying votes. We really need a constitutional amendment not just balancing the federal budget but limiting spending as a percentage of GDP (except in times of war and national emergencies).

Oddly, though, at the Iowa rally, the president floated a trial balloon. Maybe amnesty for illegals working in the ag sector and hospitality and leisure worlds needs to be addressed somehow, the president remarked. Trump said that he had been approached by ag secretary Brooke Rollins and his chief of staff Susie Wiles with the idea. Surely, they heard earfuls from Iowa farmers and, likely, reps from the Iowa Farm Bureau.

But in jumped Charlie Kirk to sound an alarm. Kirk is as staunch a Trump man as is around. Kirk heard from a couple of establishment Republicans, he said, who urged him to back an amnesty measure.

From [your]news, July 7:

Kirk described the effort as a betrayal of Trump’s core campaign promise to restore the rule of law and carry out mass deportations. He claimed the push is being orchestrated behind closed doors in Washington and that it is actively unfolding while public attention remains focused on the economy and the administration’s legislative victories.

The amnesty trial balloon dropped faster than a lead balloon. The conservative backlash was quick and intense. A day later, Rollins was trotted out before reporters. She made this door-slamming statement, per Reuters:

"Ultimately, the answer on this [farm labor concerns] is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure. And then also, when you think about, there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program. There are plenty of workers in America," she said at a press conference outside the Department of Agriculture headquarters.

With the midterm elections happening next year, Wiles gets -- as the president does -- that turning out his voter base is mandatory. The U.S. House hangs in the balance. Redistricting in Texas and Ohio should give the GOP a boost, but only marginally. Democrats’ Senate takeover chances hinge, in part, on Kentucky governor Andy Beshear throwing his hat in the ring and former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper running. Both men are eyeing the presidency, however.

In Iowa, a couple of House Republicans are expected to be in tight contests. No doubt, Wiles and Rollins pushed Trump to placate farm interests to protect these incumbents. Whatever the motive, MAGA across the country is in no mood for amnesty, targeted or otherwise. Perhaps prioritizing immigration enforcement in states other than Iowa until after the midterms conclude is politically prudent? Opening the door to amnesty anywhere is a surefire way to depress large segments of Trump’s voter base. The White House was wise to have Rollins “clarify” the issue.

Then there’s the Epstein Files

The White House’s “Nothing to see here, move on” tactic regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case isn’t flying. Conservatives have taken sides. Ben Shapiro opines that conservatives who don’t accept the White House’s “case closed” line means that they believe Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Dan Bongino are lying.

Tucker Carlson believes that “Pam Bondi’s Justice Department” is covering up. Glenn Beck says that Bondi should resign. Megyn Kelly thinks that Bondi isn’t long for the AG job. And Elon Musk -- currently on the outs with Trump -- says that full disclosure of the Epstein files will be his America Party’s priority.

We know that Epstein ran a sex operation involving underage females. We know that a slew of prominent people traveled on the “Lolita Express,” including trips to his “Orgy Island.” Ghislaine Maxwell, his groupie and recruiter, is cooling her heels in a federal pen for trafficking minors and other related offenses. We know… So, is it an artful dodge by the president and Bondi to declare no there, there?

A ”list” is a handy term. There may not be a tidy list of “clients” that Maxwell typed up and saved on a PC. It may consist of all sorts of records, which pieced together, would constitute a list of very prominent sex perverts -- names that are recognizable to the public. We can bet our houses and kids’ college funds that Trump isn’t on any list. Not only did Trump boot Epstein out of Mar-A-logo, but Democrats would have mined a Trump connection years ago to bring him down.

There’s plenty of speculation about the White House’s motives. Who’s being protected? Are there congressional Republicans and big-dollar GOP donors who are compromised? Remember, winning Congress next year is vital. Are there threats of retaliation by the intelligence agencies? The scuttlebutt has been that Epstein was a CIA asset. What? The CIA indulges in compromising powerful people and hanging blackmail over their heads? Nah. Only J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI would have done that.

What’s true or false? There are too many questions left unanswered. Too many strings left dangling. There may also be more to the Epstein saga that can’t or shouldn’t be revealed at this time. The guesswork won’t stop until more definitive answers are provided.

And, Finally, is the Left Heading Toward an Explosion?

Victor Davis Hanson, posting at X for the Daily Signal (July 9), summarized:

We are entering a terrifying new phase of their radicalism. A Democrat official publicly celebrated the deaths of children in Texas' devastating flash flood because they were white. There have been organized assassination attempts against ICE agents. The [Democrat] party is teetering on the edge of something far more dangerous than political disagreement.

Then this, Hanson’s most shocking claim:

“ We've got even more disturbing reports that Democratic Congress people said, ‘Well, what are we supposed to do? We meet with our constituents and they're telling us that one of us should be shot. I don't mean shot by punishment. They're urging us to use violence and be willing to be shot by others to promote a radical agenda.’”

Finally, this take from Joel Kotkin at UnHerd, July 4:

This cultural division [across the country] is compounded by deepening geographic splits that increasingly resemble the antebellum era before the Civil War. The Democratic Party held seats across the Plains and the South well into the Eighties. Today, it is essentially a Northern party, with its power concentrated in major cities. This has fostered a leadership class typified by firebrands like Jasmine Crockett, Gen-Z favourite Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and New York mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani.

All of the above make for a foggy, unsettling summer. For President Trump and conservatives, it’s about sticking with principles, working to fulfill pledges, and standing together, despite some differences and qualms. Democrats and their hardline leftist constituencies are disempowered, angry, and growing ever more frustrated. Now is no time for conservatives to split into rival camps.

J. Robert Smith can be found at X. His handle is @JRobertSmith1. At Gab, @JRobertSmith. He blogs occasionally at Flyover.

Image: AT via Magic Studio