The Trump Administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case appears to have driven a wedge between Trump and his base, beyond anything that has happened since Trump entered the political arena a decade ago.
Epstein, a wealthy financier who had been convicted of sex crimes and accused of more of them, died in 2019 in a Manhattan jail, in what was ruled at the time as a suicide. Trump, who had been friends with Epstein in Manhattan and Palm Beach circles years earlier, was president at the time of Epstein’s arrest and death.
In the years since, there has been a massive constellation of conspiracy theories, often stoked by pro-Trump conservative media influencers, related to Epstein, alleging everything from major Democratic and Hollywood figures being guilty of Epstein-related sex crimes to the financier having been murdered, in a view adjacent to the long-running pedophilia conspiracy theories of QAnon. When Trump returned to office, there had been hope among that cohort that the truth would come out, especially with the long-awaited release of “The Epstein list.”
The online Epstein outrage highlights a vulnerability for Trump and an unfortunate reality about the incentive structure of this social media era. In short, it’s that conspiracy theories keep people watching, sharing and playing along… https://t.co/80jaXNtkLo
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 14, 2025
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However, even with MAGA-fied figures like Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and his deputy Don Bongino taking over the law enforcement functions of the federal government, the government put out a report his month concluding what it says is the truth: Epstein was not murdered, there was no “client list,” Epstein was not blackmailing prominent figures, and the sex crimes were committed by Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, and not by others.
The MAGA base has not accepted these findings, with some calling for Bondi to be fired, and others finding troubling “deep state” or pedophile conspiracy influence within the Trump Administration.
Trump, for his part, has been reluctant to fire any underlings, and also has sought to dismiss the Epstein case as old news. Also, per Newsweek, a recent post of his that began with the bizarre intro of ““What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’” has set a “ratio” record.
Donald Trump’s Truth Social post defending Pam Bondi has seen more than 36,000 replies so far, many from people unhappy with the president’s remarks. https://t.co/Tdbue3Nirl
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 13, 2025
“The post—lengthy, defensive, and directed at his own base—appears to have backfired. According to public engagement data archived from Truth Social, the post has garnered more than 36,000 replies, compared with nearly 11,000 re-truths (the platform’s term for shares) and 32,000 likes as of 10:45 a.m. ET Sunday,” Newsweek reported.
Whatever the “ratio,” it doesn’t appear the Epstein controversy is getting away from Trump anytime soon.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
