The Grand Old Party Now Stands for Guarding Old Pedophiles

House Speaker Mike Johnson shut down Congress to avoid releasing the Jeffrey Espstien files.

Courtesy Rolling Stone

July 24, 2025

LCCN Op/Ed • [email protected]

There was a time—not that long ago—when the Republican Party styled itself as the party of law and order, family values, and fiscal restraint. Fast-forward to 2025, and here we are: the same party now functions more like Trump’s personal legal defense fund and propaganda arm than a political institution. Accountability? That’s for the other guy.

Donald Trump could walk into a courtroom wearing a jumpsuit made of classified documents, dragging an unpaid porn star behind him, and Republicans would still line up to offer their unwavering support—after checking with Mar-a-Lago first, of course.

The latest headlines don’t even cause a blink anymore. Trump loses a civil case? They call it a “witch hunt.” He’s indicted again? “Weaponization of government.” Another one of his allies gets convicted? “Two-tiered justice system.”

The disturbing part? This isn’t just about loyalty—it’s about self-preservation. Trump has burrowed so deeply into the Republican political bloodstream that condemning him feels like suicide to most elected officials. They’ve sold their spines for retweets, surrendered integrity for airtime, and confused sycophancy with strategy.

Even in the face of revelations—ugly, documented, and ongoing—the party’s collective response is a mix of denial, deflection, and Fox News talking points. When allegations swirl around Trump’s past connections with Jeffrey Epstein, GOP leaders don’t demand transparency. They don’t open investigations. They pivot to Bill Clinton, or Obama, or whatever decade-old distraction is closest to hand.

Meanwhile, Americans—real ones, not the manufactured caricatures in MAGA hats on cable news—are left wondering what the modern GOP actually stands for beyond protecting one man at all costs. Democracy? They tried to overturn it. Rule of law? Only when it serves their side. Moral clarity? Please. The party of Reagan has been replaced with the cult of Trump, where dissent is betrayal and complicity is the new patriotism.

Let’s not forget: this is the same party that once lost its collective mind over a tan suit. Now? They shrug off multiple indictments, obstruction of justice, and cozying up to authoritarians like Viktor Orbán.

The Republican Party, as it currently exists, isn’t conserving anything except Trump’s ego and legal standing. The former Grand Old Party has become a Guard of One—guarding Trump’s legacy, his lies, and yes, even his most repugnant associations—because acknowledging the rot means implicating themselves.

In Jeffrey Espstien and Ghislaine Maxwell’s case it has become the party that Guards Old Pedophiles.