Trump can't stop MAGA from obsessing about the Epstein files
In a blistering post on Truth Social on Wednesday morning, Trump continued to push his backers to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that has driven what appears to be one of the most significant rifts between him and the political movement he built.
'Let those weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work,' he wrote. 'Don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore.'
Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office that he had 'lost faith in certain people' because 'they got duped by the Democrats' on the issue — even though it was Republicans who primarily pushed for more on the Epstein files.
Trump's message Wednesday was a significant escalation, reflecting that his supporters aren't all following his lead and adopting his messaging as they usually do. It's also left MAGA-aligned media at a loss of what to do, torn between much of the base that continues to call for more documents related to Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, and Trump, who insists they should drop the issue.
'This is a major problem and could hurt turnout in the midterms,' said a Republican strategist familiar with Trump's political operation. 'It signals betrayal to those who believed the president would expose the deep state. His team made promises, then doubled down.'
'For the base that believes the deep state is real and that Epstein was part of it, this feels like the ultimate knife in the back,' the person added.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
MAGA media in a bind
The trouble in moving on from Epstein is reflected in MAGA-friendly media.
The major MAGA media figures have built huge audiences by backing Trump, no matter the policy shift or controversy. When Trump needs cover with his political base, those figures have been a reliable go-to to help get his supporters back on message.
Charlie Kirk, a vocal Trump supporter and founder of the influential Turning Points USA, on Monday said he was done talking about the issue.
'Honestly, I'm done talking about Epstein for the time being,' Kirk told his large audience. 'I'm going to trust my friends in the administration, I'm gonna trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done, solve it, ball's in their hands.'
One day later, he said an assertion that he was no longer talking about Epstein at all is 'fake news.' What he meant, Kirk explained Tuesday, was that he was done talking about Epstein that day. He pointed to the portion of his remarks in which he said 'for the time being,' which he falsely claimed media outlets ignored.
'Again, no one covered the second part of the statement,' Kirk said. 'No one covered it. The thing has, like, 10 millions views on social media.'
Last week, the Justice Department released a two-page memo saying that after an 'exhaustive review,' officials had determined there is no evidence of an 'incriminating 'client list.'' MAGA outrage swiftly targeted Attorney General Pam Bondi, who had indicated during a Fox News interview in February that she had Epstein's client list 'on my desk' at that very moment.
In a post Saturday night, Trump expressed support for Bondi, who is the focus of MAGA's ire: 'What's going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They're all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!'
Fox News, still the biggest presence in conservative media, has all but abandoned talking about Epstein, even though it had long provided significant coverage of the issue. A Fox News spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
On Tuesday, prominent conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza, who relentlessly spread misinformation that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, said he was no longer going to 'talk about the Epstein files,' and it's 'time to move on.'
But in what represents a new wrinkle in MAGA media, other conservative media personalities are continuing to press the issue, a sign that the Epstein scandal has a different level of staying power than past Trump-MAGA dust-ups.
Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, an organization that is trying to obtain Epstein investigation documents, maintains that there's a 'straightforward solution' to the saga, but it requires more transparency.
'Just give us the records under FOIA,' he said Wednesday on 'War Room,' a popular podcast hosted by MAGA influencer and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. 'Describe what the records are. If they're withholding anything, tell us why. And there's a court process for it. If we don't like it, we can challenge it.'
'But at least it's a transparency that we don't have currently because of the awful memo that was sent out,' he added.
Megyn Kelly, a high-profile conservative commentator and Trump supporter, agreed.
'There are some right-wing pundits online now who are saying 'no one cares about Jeffrey Epstein,'' she said on her show Tuesday. 'And, uh, that's just not true.'
Kelly was at a Kirk-hosted conference in Tampa over the weekend where she spent most of her time on stage focused on Epstein and trashing Bondi.
Newsmax, a conservative TV network, has also continued to focus on the issue, hammering Bondi's role even after Trump has publicly supported her. On Tuesday, host Rob Finnerty blasted Bondi and said if she does not offer more information, the network will call on her to resign.
'Either the people Donald Trump appointed to get to the truth are actively covering up a child sex ring and know they are doing it, and in the process of doing it they are protecting very powerful, very wealthy people, or Pam Bondi very simply and very plainly overpromised, then underdelivered,' he said.
'It's Epstein, over and over again'
Trump's message over the years has been inconsistent on Epstein, who was accused of running a sex trafficking network. Trump called him a 'terrific guy' in 2002, but said in 2019 that they had a 'falling out a long time ago.' He has insisted he had no knowledge of what Epstein was doing.
Trump helped fuel conspiracy theories about the Epstein files, saying as a candidate that he would release more documents.
As president, Trump has said that there are no more documents to release and that the issue is over. At other times, he has said that the files exist, but claimed they were forged by Democrats and his political enemies, so they should not be released.
'For years, it's Epstein, over and over again. Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, [former FBI director James] Comey, [former CIA director John] Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration,' Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday night blaming the files on Democrats.
Fanning the flames of the Epstein files helped Trump build his base, but now that he has pulled the rug out from under its feet, it is proving to be a challenge for a president who famously said that essentially nothing could make his loyal supporters leave him.
'The administration perpetuated much of this narrative from the outside, and there remains many legitimate questions. But once in power, they continued to feed the monster and the monster is now feeding on the administration's credibility. Trump famously said the base would not leave even if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue, but now the MAGA base is irate and incredulous he can't shoot straight on Epstein,' Republican strategist Matt Bartlett said.
Compounding the problem Tuesday, some prominent House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed for more Epstein documents to be released, in direct defiance of Trump. Johnson also said that Bondi 'needs to come forward and explain' her contradictions on the issue, and that former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently in federal prison, should testify before Congress.
'I'm for transparency,' Johnson told conservative media personality Benny Johnson. 'It's a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.'
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he found it "a little difficult to believe, the idea that the DOJ and the FBI who prosecuted cases relating to this don't have any idea who Epstein's clients were."
"My view is make public, everything you can make public. That's what the president said yesterday. I think that that would be — they want my advice and they don't, but if DOJ were asking for my advice, that's what I would say — make it all public," he told NBC News on Wednesday.
The MAGA political base has had small fights and disagreements over the years, but nothing has consumed and divided it like the Epstein issue. Grassroots supporters say they feel betrayed by a president who long promised transparency on the issue, and the vast MAGA political and media infrastructure has split on the issue.
Giancarlo Sopo, who led Hispanic media for Trump's 2020 presidential campaign, said the president should ignore those voices.
'Obviously, the public deserves transparency, but the White House would also be wise not to mistake a handful of carnival brackets for the voice of the Republican base,' he said. 'No modern president has commanded his party's loyalty as firmly as Donald Trump, and most Republicans — like most Americans — want leaders focused on improving their lives.'
'That, rather than appeasing an insatiable grist industrial complex, should be the administration's priority,' he added.
That appeared to be the direction Trump was taking Wednesday morning with his latest heated Truth Social post directed at his supporters still talking about the Epstein issue.
'Also, unlike Republicans, [Democrats] stick together like glue,' Trump posted. 'Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bulls---,' hook, line, and sinker.'
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