President Donald Trump is now comparing the Jeffrey Epstein files to the Russia investigation and other past inquiries that disrupted his first term.
But unlike Trump-Russia, many of the president’s supporters are deeply invested in what happened with Epstein. High-ranking members of his administration repeatedly promised to release more information to the public before the Department of Justice effectively declared the case closed on July 7, triggering the current firestorm.
Trump’s obvious irritation with his supporters’, or “PAST supporters” as he put it in a social media post on Wednesday, ongoing fascination with Epstein, is stepping on his instruction to Attorney General Pam Bondi to release “credible” information on the matter.
This has put him on a collision course with some of his most passionate backers, who view the Epstein case as the kind of deep-state cover-up that they elected Trump to stop, as well as an illustration of elite depravity and deviancy.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” Trump wrote.
“It was a hoax. It’s all been a big hoax. It’s perpetrated by the Democrats, and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net. And so they try and do the Democrats’ work. The Democrats are good for nothing other than these hoaxes,” Trump later said in the Oval Office.
Trump first lumped the Epstein files in with past investigations that have tormented him on Tuesday. “I would say these files were made up by [former FBI Director James] Comey and [former President Barack] Obama, made up by the Biden [administration], and we went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax,” he told reporters.
Epstein died in custody during Trump’s first term while facing sexual trafficking charges. Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her role in the abuse.
Many believe there is a wider sex trafficking conspiracy involving other rich and powerful people who knew Epstein, perhaps memorialized in a client list. The Bondi-led Justice Department said last week that no such list existed. There was also widespread skepticism in some corners that Epstein actually committed suicide, as the government concluded.
As this became of particular interest to elements of the Right, some began to dismiss talk of Epstein as adjacent to QAnon conspiracy theories about elite sexual abuse and exploitation, such as Pizzagate. The divisions within Trump’s base over the files have rekindled Democratic interest.
Bondi and other Trump administration officials invited conservative social media influencers to the White House to view documents related to Epstein. They were photographed holding up binders emblazoned with “The Epstein Files: Phase I.”
“This is the most transparent administration in American history,” the influencer best known as DC Draino posted at the time. “The best part? This is just the start.” But it turned out to be the start of an unprecedented MAGA split instead.
Skeptics of the official Epstein narrative had been appointed to senior positions in the FBI under Trump, including Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino. They have both publicly said since taking office that they believed, based on the evidence, that Epstein killed himself, though they have reportedly sparred behind the scenes with Bondi over how this has been handled.
Trump’s detractors, and at least one erstwhile ally in Elon Musk, have painted his newfound Epstein files skepticism as complicity in the financier’s alleged crimes. Musk later said he took some of his attacks on Trump too far, but has never specified that this was a reference to his Epstein-related allegation and has continued to press for the files to be released.
Others suggest that Trump’s attitudes reflect his bad experiences with the FBI and Democratic lawfare. Trump is also annoyed by how this has distracted from what he regards as his administration’s successes, including pushback against the first-term Russia investigation.
“I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, when we’re having some of the greatest success, and also tragedy with what happened in Texas,” Trump snapped at a reporter at the White House last week. “It just seems like a desecration.”
“I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is, I really don’t,” Trump told reporters outside Air Force One on Tuesday, calling the scandal “sordid” but “boring.”
It is also possible that once in power, Trump officials did not uncover sufficient evidence of what some had alleged as private citizens.
Trump has been able to resolve past disagreements with elements of his base, such as on the recent Iran strikes or the decision to keep arming Ukraine, by relying on their confidence in his leadership and judgment. This one has otherwise trusting supporters scratching their heads.
MTG JOINS IN MASSIE DISCHARGE PETITION TO FORCE RELEASE OF EPSTEIN FILES
Some in the MAGA world find the administration’s Epstein about-face inexplicable and are not persuaded by Trump’s framing of the controversy as a hoax.
If Trump can’t get a handle on this story, however, it may have at least one thing in common with the Russia investigation: it could disrupt his term.