Trump is Calling Friends to Tell Them to STFU About Epstein
This is your TPM evening briefing.
President Trump has reportedly been calling some of the highest profile and, typically, most loyal MAGA influencers in recent days to tell them to stop talking about the infamous Epstein files and his administration’s botched handling of their release. This comes as more and more Republicans in Congress try to walk a tightrope, supporting the president while also not saying anything that might upset the online hordes of Trump supporters whose votes they need.
CNN reported over the weekend that Trump called MAGA influencer and right-wing agitator Charlie Kirk, founder of the far-right youth group for MAGA supporters, Turning Point USA. Trump was reportedly responding to Kirk’s remarks over the weekend at a Turning Point event in Florida where Kirk told a crowd of his followers that he supported FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. This was around the time that reports emerged suggesting that Bongino was supposedly getting ready to offer his resignation, so displeased was he with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to not make public all the government’s investigative files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Plenty was said this last weekend at our event about Epstein,” Kirk told his podcast listeners on Monday. “Honestly, I’m done talking about Epstein for the time being. I’m gonna 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.”
Bongino, Kirk and many other now-big-name online MAGA influencers eagerly stoked various conspiracy theories, including ones about Epstein’s crimes and death, as they rose to fame. They were among a cohort of influencers that was especially enthusiastic about Trump’s ability to make public Epstein’s “client list” which, they posited, would expose a bunch of rich and powerful people as pedophiles. These rumors and their QAnon-adjacent themes were embraced by many in Trump’s base, who assumed their candidate would clear all this up (despite his longtime friendship with Epstein). It is still unclear why Bondi chose to not release the investigative files in full, but the official reason is that an “exhaustive review” of the files found no new evidence for additional charges and no supposed sex trafficking client list. An FBI memo last week also suggested that releasing more documents might reveal the names of victims.
Obviously, many MAGAheads are not buying it, including, apparently, Bongino, the FBI deputy director. Trump says he called him too.
“I spoke to him today,” Trump said Sunday when asked about reports of Bongino’s interest in resigning. “Dan Bongino, very good guy. I’ve known him a long time. I’ve done his show many, many times. He sounded terrific, actually.”
It is unclear if Bongino is still at odds with Bondi over the Epstein saga. CNN anchor and Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins said on Monday evening that it was still an open question in the Trump White House, as of Monday morning, whether Bongino was going to stay on as deputy director, though he did show up for work on Monday after not showing up the Friday before.
“No, it’s not clear even to White House officials, Anderson, who were texting each other and texting me this morning asking, you know, whether or not they had figured out if he had shown up to work today because it was still an open question in Washington this morning if he was going to be back at the FBI today,” Collins said in response to a question from CNN host Anderson Cooper.
The rift that has emerged between MAGA influencers, the deputy director of the FBI (perhaps) and the rest of the Trump administration has forced many Republican members of Congress to mealy mouth their way towards having some sort of stance on the issue — one that won’t alienate their online supporters, while also not breaking with Trump. Some have been latching onto a Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) talking point, that she would like to set up a private viewing of the documents at DOJ. Others have directed any ire they have at Bondi.
“If the attorney general has knowledge of people who committed sex crimes with the minors, she should be prosecuting them,” Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) told NBC News.
While Republican leadership has remained pretty solidly on Trump’s side since last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) did break with the president a bit in a podcast interview that published today.
“I’m for transparency,” Johnson told right-wing influencer Benny Johnson. “It’s a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it.”
Republicans, however, have unanimously voted against Democratic efforts to make the files public
To What Extent is This Only A Thing Among MAGA’s Most Extremely Online Members?
Friend of TPM and journalist Sarah Posner, who has written extensively on the Christian right, posted an interesting thread on Bluesky today suggesting that this MAGA rift over the Epstein files may not translate at the ballot box.
While the Epstein files saga may be a brand-defining hill to die on for many online MAGA influencers, including the MAGA influencers who lead the FBI, how much do rank and file Republicans care? Everyday conservative Americans, including white evangelicals, are enthused about other things the Trump administration is doing, she says, even if they don’t particularly like how the Epstein stuff was handled.
You can read the whole thread here.
But Then Again …?
New polling from CNN shows that about half of Americans are “dissatisfied” with the amount of info the Trump administration has released on the investigations into Epstein. The poll was conducted by SSRS in the days immediately following the DOJ memo. Per CNN:
Almost no one is content with the amount the government has shared: Just 3% of Americans say they are satisfied with it. A sizable chunk of the public either says it doesn’t matter to them either way (29%) or that they haven’t heard enough about the case to say (17%).
[…]
The poll shows Republicans at large are less likely to say they are dissatisfied with the information shared than Democrats or independents. Overall, 56% of Democrats and 52% of independents say they are dissatisfied. Among Republicans, 40% are dissatisfied. Nearly as many Republicans say it doesn’t matter to them either way (38%), a larger group than the roughly one-quarter who felt that way among Democrats (27%) or independents (26%).
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