“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” President Trump shot back at a reporter during a Cabinet meeting. “This guy’s been talked about for years. … I mean, I can’t believe you’re asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, where we’re having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration.”
It’s almost impossible not to laugh at the mess the Trump administration has made for itself with the Epstein files fiasco. Don’t worry, I am not going to wade too deep into the “merits” of the controversy. But a very brief recap might be helpful.
Epstein, the famous financial consultant and sex-trafficking sleazeball to the rich and famous, killed himself in jail during Trump’s first term. And ever since, the extended MAGA universe—often egged on by Trump himself—has convinced itself that Epstein was at the center of a vast web of underage sex, blackmail, and intrigue. He had to have been murdered to keep his “client list” secret, insisted many. When Trump returned to the White House and put MAGA all-stars Kash Patel and Dan Bongino at the top of the FBI—both big boosters of various Epstein-related theories—the understandable expectation was that all would finally be revealed. Early on, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had the Epstein client list on her desk and would reveal all soon.
Then, last week the administration announced it could find no evidence to support the conspiracy theories. Bondi said she misspoke about the client list. MAGA world went bonkers. Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly smelled blood in the water. Shouts of cover-ups and insinuations or accusations that Trump must be on the list proliferated. Bongino may be thinking of resigning. Patel is begging friendly journalists to take him at his word. And Trump is trying to shame everyone out of even talking about the guy.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I think there are all manner of legitimate—and interesting!—questions to ask about Epstein’s clients, about how he made money (billionaire Leon Black said he paid Epstein $170 million for “tax advice”—that’s a lot of advice) and, yes, about Trump’s relationship with Epstein (and Bill Clinton’s).
And given how Trump launched and sustained his political career relentlessly pushing unfounded conspiracy theories—from birtherism to the 2020 “rigged” election and so many others—it’s difficult to muster any sympathy for the Mar-a-Lago Macbeth, as Epstein’s ghost plagues him like a sleazier Banquo. In fact, what is delicious about the whole spectacle is that literally no one—other than Epstein’s underage victims—is worth rooting for. Patel, Bongino, Bondi, and the denizens of MAGA media are all caught in a no-win situation: Support Trump and his “cover-up” of their favorite conspiracy theory or alienate Trump by refusing to drop it.
That so many people are refusing to drop the issue may be the most significant thing about this whole episode. Trump has a long history of trying to dictate what counts as a legitimate question or topic. Lately he’s gotten more strident. When a local reporter asked about the lack of advance warning for the recent Texas floods, he snapped, “Only a very evil person would ask a question like that.” He’s told reporters to never ask him whether he “chickens out” on his tariff schemes.
The primary intention, as always, is to intimidate the reporters. But what often lends weight to the intimidation is the fact that Trump’s own people—from social media influencers to Fox News hosts —will follow his cues and annoy, harass, mock, or criticize mainstream reporters who ask unwanted questions of the president. The fact that the Epstein fiasco divides those very people could be a sign of Trump’s waning influence within his own coalition. The fact that the divide is larger and louder on the Epstein files than on any another issue—including Israel, Ukraine, tariffs, Medicaid cuts, debt and deficits, or Trump’s myriad shady business deals—only heightens the schadenfreude.
If he is covering up his own shady involvement with Epstein, that would, of course, turn the dial to 11. But assuming we know about as much as we ever will, it doesn’t really matter politically who is right about Epstein or why Trump wants people to stop talking about him. The relevant fact is that he’s made it clear what he wants, and many of his own minions and enablers think it’s in their interest not to give it to him.
