Right-Wing Media Is Now Falling In Line With Trump On Epstein
An assessment by the journalism watchdog group Media Matters found that Fox News has largely stopped talking about Epstein over the past two days. By noon on Monday, the network had mentioned Epstein zero times, the group found. That's compared to 46 mentions of former President Joe Biden in that window.
The morning wasn't a fluke. By the end of the day, the tracking effort found that the network had racked up 158 mentions of Biden and only eight of Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in jail while awaiting trial on sweeping sex trafficking charges.
The pattern continued on Tuesday, Media Matters senior fellow Matt Gertz reported.
Fox News didn't comment when asked about the absence of Epstein mentions.
The shift follows Trump's lengthy Truth Social post from Saturday, lashing out at his base for their furor over the unreleased Epstein files ― documents many on the right believed would legitimize their conspiracy theories about a 'deep state' coverup, and that both conservatives and liberals believed may expose public figures' connections to Epstein.
'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?'' Trump wrote. 'They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening.'
'For years, it's Epstein, over and over again,' Trump continued. 'Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration.'
Laura Ingraham was among the Fox News hosts to pull an about-face. Last week, she said on her show that the Bondi closing the case contributed to the 'confusion' and 'doubt' about the Trump administration's promises to be fully transparent with the Epstein files. She also asked the crowd at Friday's Turning Point USA conference if they were 'satisfied' with the decision, setting off mass boos from the audience.
But on her show Monday, Ingraham suddenly seemed to be reprimanding Trump supporters for questioning him, describing the fallout as 'conservative influencers... eating their own about Epstein' while the focus should be on the one-year anniversary of Trump's shooting.
Fox News host Bret Baier did bring up the ordeal during Tuesday's episode of 'Special Report,' suggesting he'll keep discussing it.
'This story does not go away here,' he told correspondent David Spunt, who described Trump as 'tamping down the Epstein story.'
Another sudden shift came from right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who spent Friday riling up his followers about the remaining Epstein files days after the Justice Department said it was reversing course and would not be releasing them.
'How many of you think the Epstein thing is a big deal? Raise your hand.' Kirk asked the crowd at his Turning Point USA event, the same one Ingraham attended. 'Every hand has gone up,' he remarked.
But Kirk said Monday he'd be moving on for now ― a day after CNN reported that President Donald Trump had called him to quell some of the criticism.
'Honestly, I'm done talking about Epstein for the time being,' Kirk said on his talk show. 'I'm going to trust my friends in the administration. I'm going to trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done, solve it. Ball's in their hands. I've said plenty this last weekend.'
But after that clip from his show went viral, Kirk returned to talking about Epstein on Tuesday's episode and railed against the media for allegedly misrepresenting what he'd said Monday. Kirk said he'd simply needed to focus on updates on Russia, Ukraine and NATO in that episode but reiterated he trusts members of Trump's administration to handle the Epstein files properly.
It remains to be seen how Kirk proceeds with the subject, but the back-and-forth suggests these may be choppy waters for MAGA influencers to navigate.
Trump Says Comey, Biden And Obama 'Made Up' The Epstein Files
Democrats Push For House Vote Forcing Pam Bondi To Release Epstein Files
MAGA, Elon Musk Torch Trump Over Pam Bondi Defense And Epstein Files
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Barack Obama thinks adults shouldn't eat ketchup
The president's controversial stance on ketchup is sparking debate Barack Obama has stirred up an unexpectedly spirited debate over a beloved American condiment, and the reactions are as saucy as the subject itself. During a lighthearted episode of the Michelle Obama IMO podcast, co-hosted by the former First Lady and her brother Craig Robinson, Barack shared his long-standing—and rather unwavering—belief that ketchup is strictly for kids. 'In my opinion, and this is controversial in my family, but you should not eat ketchup after the age of 8,' he said, his tone firm despite the room's laughter. Michelle, clearly familiar with this culinary hill her husband is willing to die on, noted that the ketchup cut-off age seems to get younger every time he brings it up. 'Last time, I think it was 10,' she chuckled. Barack stood his ground, expanding on his perspective. 'I have nothing against kids having ketchup on burgers or fries—even ketchup on hot dogs, which is hard for me to watch—but at a certain point, you've gotta outgrow it,' he said. He conceded, 'I might be a little too draconian in my attitude,' but maintained that 'ketchup has its place.' Craig, ever the playful provocateur, called it like he saw it: 'It sounds like you're saying ketchup is childish.' Barack didn't disagree. 'When I see a grown person pouring a lot of ketchup on something—I told you this was controversial in my family,' he repeated, smiling at the familial pushback. Despite his condiment convictions, Michelle confirmed that the Obama household is far from ketchup-free. 'There's always ketchup in the house,' she said. 'Everyone uses it. Except him.'
CNN
10 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump Doesn't Rule Out Pardon For Ghislaine Maxwell - Laura Coates Live - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Trump Doesn't Rule Out Pardon For Ghislaine Maxwell Laura Coates Live 47 mins President Donald Trump denied again today that he was briefed on his name appearing in files tied to the Jeffrey Epstein case, despite reports by CNN and other outlets on the briefing. The administration remains dogged by public criticism over its handling of the case.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Murkowski: Trump administration funding freeze could result in ‘closing schools'
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) fears the Trump administration's multibillion-dollar education funding freeze could cause schools in her state to close as districts struggle to keep employees without the money. The administration originally froze a total of $6 billion in funding to schools, affecting after-school and summer programs, along with classes for adult and English learners. Last week, the president released about $1 billion that was aimed at after-school programs, but $5 billion is still held up. 'Many of our school districts have already made really hard decisions about closing schools,' Murkowski told ABC News. 'Both in Fairbanks and Anchorage, we've seen layoffs,' she continued. 'If your literacy skills are weak, if you're working on your English skills, I mean, these are all things that are keeping people out of the workforce at a time when we're trying to get people into it,' Murkowski added. 'So I am very worried.' She was one of nine Republicans to sign a letter to the Office of Management and Budget last week demanding the funding be released and rejecting the administration's claim the money is going toward 'woke' programs. The letter prompted the office to release the about $1 billion in funding for after-school and summer programming, prompting a sigh of relief for parents. But the rest of the money is still in limbo, with no timeline on when it will be given to schools. 'I'd like to see some of the other programs released, but, you know, we haven't heard one way or the other,' Sen. Shelley Moore Capito ( who led the Republican letter, told ABC. While Murkowski is hesitant to say the money is cut, she stresses the funding needs to be released before the school year begins. 'I don't want to call it cuts yet, because my hope is that they're just unpaused and that they are going to materialize,' Murkowski told ABC News. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
