This Week in Audacity
The Supreme Court, Trump’s Epstein fan mail, and a Congress that hates Sesame Street
A new weekly series from The Girls Are Not Okay
Where we round up the most unhinged, unholy, and unrepentantly bold political and cultural moments—and roast them accordingly.
I started This Week in Audacity for the girlies, the gays, the theys—and anyone who wants to stay informed without spiraling. Because if you’ve ever opened the news and immediately needed a nap, this is for you.
Politics can feel exhausting, inaccessible, and flat-out overwhelming. This series is for the people who care deeply about what’s going on but need it delivered in a language they can understand: plain speak, a little shade, a dash of group chat energy, and zero condescension.
Each week, we’ll break down the audacity of it all—from the Supreme Court’s dystopian power plays to whatever nonsense Congress is up to to the chaos of men named Donald drawing women and denying it like they’re on Maury. We’re documenting, dissecting, and dragging the delusion so you don’t have to doomscroll alone.
Let’s get into it.
The Supreme Court, Trump’s Epstein fan mail, and a Congress that hates Sesame Street
🧠 The Supreme Court said “education? optional.”
So here’s the tea: The Supreme Court just lifted an injunction that had been blocking a Trump administration plan to shrink the Department of Education. Translation? They’ve cleared the way for the federal government to take a step back from things like enforcing civil rights in schools, supporting low-income students, and making sure kids with disabilities aren’t forgotten.
And how did they do it?
Not through a big public case with oral arguments and press coverage. No no—they used the shadow docket. Yes, that’s a real thing. Yes, it sounds like something a cartoon villain would use. And yes, it kinda is. Donald Trump is a Disney villain so this tracks.
The shadow docket lets the Court make major rulings without full briefings, arguments, or transparency. No spotlight. No explanation. Just vibes. And in this case? Those vibes are deregulation and neglect.
All this while folks are begging for student loan relief, teachers are underpaid, schools are under-resourced, and Florida’s out here banning AP Black studies. Priorities? In hell.
To be clear: this isn’t just about budget cuts. It’s about continuing the decades-long conservative dream of gutting public education—dismantling institutions, redirecting funds to private and religious schools, and making the Department of Education so small they can drown it in a bathtub.
✍️ Trump’s Epstein birthday letter is... disgusting
In this week’s episode of “I Know You Fucking Lying,” a new Wall Street Journal report revealed that Jeffrey Epstein's longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell once asked Donald Trump—and other public figures—to write letters for Epstein’s 50th birthday album.
Trump’s alleged contribution? A typed-up, sexually suggestive message about “wonderful secrets,” accompanied by a crude sketch of a naked woman… with his signature in place of her pubic hair.
Yes. You read that correctly.
The letter concluded: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump is now denying the letter’s authenticity and threatening to sue the Wall Street Journal, saying, “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women.” Which—okay, but no one believes you’re out here sketching like Picasso. The point is, you signed a woman’s crotch and called it a birthday card. And you expect us to believe it wasn’t you?
You expect me to believe “grab her by the pussy” Trump wasn’t Epstein’s boy? Oh. Okay.
And while we’re here, let’s talk about the Department of Justice’s ongoing smoke-and-mirrors act. Earlier this year, Trump’s people (Pam Bondi) swore the Epstein client list was “on my desk” and ready to drop. They circulated “Epstein binders” to MAGA influencers like it was TMZ with receipts. But when July 7 rolled around, the DOJ said there’s no client list and no further disclosures needed.
So what was in those binders? Old news. Publicly available info. Nothing new. Nothing damning. Just enough to rile the base and then disappear when accountability was due.
Because let’s be real—this has never been about justice for victims. It’s always been about distraction, spectacle, and power. Trump and Epstein were practically besties for years. The vibes were not “passing acquaintance.” The vibes were “matching robes at Mar-a-Lago.”
And every time the pressure gets too real, Trump does what he always does: deny, deflect, and sue.
Also, let’s talk about the delusion. Imagine thinking you were ever getting a truthful answer about anything from the administration of a man who was literally convicted of lying 34 times. Y’all really thought Donald Trump was just going to hand over the Epstein client list if his name was in it? Be fucking for real. If you truly believed that, MAGA is more delusional than I thought. This man was besties with Epstein — there are photos, there’s video, there’s decades of documented proximity. If you think he’s out here fighting for victims and transparency, I have a wall to sell you.
📻 Congress voted to cut public media funding
This week, the GOP-controlled House voted to eliminate all federal funding for NPR and PBS — because apparently, reading books and knowing things is now un-American.
Let me be clear: I love NPR. I start my mornings with Up First while I do my skincare like it’s the audio equivalent of coffee. I’m subscribed to Code Switch, Throughline, Consider This, and Up First. And yes, I donate. Gladly. Because public media matters.
But for me, this isn’t just political. It’s personal.
I grew up in a Haitian household where Creole was the only language spoken. My mom didn’t speak English. We didn’t have tutors or prep classes or any of the bells and whistles people think are necessary to succeed. What I had was PBS.
Sesame Street, Between the Lions, Reading Rainbow — those shows taught me English. I knew how to read and speak fluently before I ever stepped into a classroom. By kindergarten, English was like a first language to me. And in first grade? I was tested for and placed in gifted, because I was reading beyond my grade level. That didn’t happen because of private school or test prep. That happened because of public media.
Cutting this funding isn’t just about saving money. It’s a direct attack on accessible, independent journalism and educational content, especially for rural communities and low-income families. PBS is often the only source of free early childhood education in many parts of the country. And NPR? That’s how a lot of us stay informed without getting a headache or turning into conspiracy theorists.
So when Republicans gleefully gut public media, they’re not being fiscally responsible. They’re being anti-intellectual, anti-poor, and anti-anything-that-doesn’t-kiss-Fox-News’s-ass.
PBS taught me how to speak. NPR taught me how to think. And I’m not letting either go without a fight.
So to recap:
Trump allegedly wrote a horny fan letter to a serial predator.
He sued the Journal for publishing it.
The MAGA base is mad there’s no client list.
And we’re all once again reminded that this man is still the president. A president. Someone’s president, not mine.
We need more than therapy. We need exorcisms. Actually, somebody sedate me.