The desperate attempt to link President Trump with anything rapey has the news media experimenting in all kinds of art forms, such as method acting when pretending to take E. Jean Carroll seriously, and now, lip reading.

NBC News on Wednesday re-publicized vintage video footage of Trump courting alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

“The footage shows two wealthy men laughing and pointing as they appear to discuss young and beautiful women dancing at a party,” NBC’s online version of the story began.

On MSNBC, Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski describes the conversation between Trump and Epstein as “difficult to understand.” But why should that stop her from trying?!

Brzezinski says that Trump “appears to say to Epstein, ‘Look at her back there. She’s hot.’”

There is no audio of the conversation, presumably either because Trump’s mic was off or he didn’t have one on in the first place. But so long as NBC can say what he “appears” to be saying, everything is okay!

If I were to watch an episode of Morning Joe on mute and transcribed what it “appears” Joe Scarborough says to Brzezinski as they sit next to each other, I wonder what I could come up with.

Without being able to lean heavily on the word “appears,” the story would probably have gone like this: NBC was on site at Mar-a-Lago to glorify Trump’s rich, playboy lifestyle. Here he is, showing off for the cameras, surrounded by professional cheerleaders, clearly brought in for the program. And there Trump is making chit-chat with Epstein, 16 years before he would plead guilty to soliciting sex from an underage girl.

It’s not as though Trump and Epstein were caught in an undercover sting while plotting an orgy. The cameras were invited there by Trump. He points to them, smiles for them and, most overlooked, dances so, so badly for them.

The exchange between Epstein and Trump means nothing, particularly when you consider that Epstein was banned from Mar-a-Lago after his guilty plea. But the idea of Trump as a wild rapist is forever ingrained in the minds of the media.

Lip synching is just the latest trick they use to keep the myth alive.