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White House officials are concerned that the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal will lead to diminished crowds at President Donald Trump's rallies, according to The Washington Post.
Significant sections of the president’s base have grown frustrated at the administration’s handling of the Epstein files, and polls show Americans in general also disapprove. The case once again exploded into the public conscious earlier this month when the FBI and Justice Department said that the disgraced financier did not have a "client list" and died by suicide.
The agencies also released what they claimed was an unedited video focused on his cell door, which many have noted appears to be missing about a minute.
The Trump administration’s failure to reveal further information about the case has enraged scores of MAGA Republicans, many of whom believe that Epstein was murdered in his cell as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges in order to protect the wealthy and powerful with connections to him. The president has repeatedly and forcefully denied any wrongdoing, and being named in any documents related to Epstein does not suggest wrongdoing.
A Post poll found this week that just 43 percent of MAGA Republicans support the administration’s handling of the scandal, with 17 percent disapproving and 39 percent holding no opinion.
Officials in the White House now have concerns that even if just a small number of people defect over the issue, it could harm Trump’s efforts to promote his unpopular “big, beautiful bill” to voters, according to The Post. The president could start holding rallies to boost the legislation next month.
“It’s not going to be some huge revolt, but you’re going to see less lines at the rallies,” a source with insight into White House machinations told the paper, adding that officials are also worried about not enough action being taken on the investigations into former President Barack Obama that Trump has demanded.
“All you need is 5 percent of these people to just get cynical, apathetic, lethargic, and we’re done,” the source told The Post.
The White House has been trying to distract the public from the Epstein scandal by suggesting that Obama was behind a conspiracy against Trump, then a political candidate, in 2016, amounting to treason. Director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently declassified materials she believes supports the claims.
A top White House official told the Post that, with a “very small segment” of the MAGA base, the Epstein case “will never die down, not matter what.” Trump himself has also criticized many over their continued interest.
“We’re not just sitting on our hands,” they said. “There are things happening that are not public. Just because they’re not public doesn’t mean things aren’t happening.”
Trump has faced repeated questions regarding his friendship with Epstein, which lasted 15 years, and he has offered various explanations for their split in the early 2000s.
The White House is staking out a path ahead as the chaos surrounding the Epstein files within the MAGA movement begins to calm, however.
Operatives who were overwhelmed by phone calls from angry activists say the complaints have mostly died down.
On top of that, right-wing backlash over the Wall Street Journal’s story about an alleged birthday note that Trump sent to Epstein in 2003 unified the some of the base temporarily, senior officials added.
In response to those allegations, Trump told the Journal: “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.” He has since sued the outlet for defamation, seeking $10 billion in damages.
On Friday, Trump was once again asked about Epstein, and pointed to former top Democrats, such as former President Bill Clinton and the former president of Harvard, economist Larry Summers, who have previously been reported as having had connections to the financier.
“You should focus on Clinton, you should focus on … the former president of Harvard,” said Trump. “You should focus on some of the hedge fund guys. I’ll give you a list. These guys lived with Jeffrey Epstein. I sure as hell didn’t.”
