President Donald Trump says the Epstein files drama has only made him more popular.
“My Poll Numbers within the Republican Party, and MAGA, have gone up, significantly, since the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax was exposed by the Radical Left Democrats and, just plain ‘troublemakers,’” Trump wrote. “They have hit 90%, 92%, 93%, and 95%, in various polls, and are all Republican Party records.”
The president’s remark further comes as a new CBS/YouGov poll found 75 percent of Americans disapprove of how the Trump administration has handled the Epstein files, and 89 percent want the Justice Department to release everything it has on the case.
While Trump’s approval rating among Republicans indeed remains close to 90 percent, according to polls from CNN (88 percent) and Quinnipiac University (89 percent) released last week, the story is very different with the public at large.
According to data guru Nate Silver, Trump’s approval rating has fallen nearly 9 points to an abysmal 44 percent since July 10 as the Epstein drama unfolds—just barely above its lowest point during Trump’s first term. His disapproval rating, on the other hand, has climbed to 53 percent.
The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation released a memo earlier this month finding that the disgraced financier kept no “client list” and affirmed that Epstein died by suicide while in federal custody in 2019. The admissions sent the MAGA sphere into a tailspin, with many accusing Trump of a further cover-up intended to protect himself. To quell the controversy, Trump said last week his administration would move to unseal grand jury testimony regarding the case.
Trump’s ire over the focus on his friendship with Epstein reached a new peak last week after The Wall Street Journal reported on a graphic letter Trump gave to Epstein for the financier’s 50th birthday in 2003, which was written inside a drawing of a naked woman.
The text of the letter seemed to imply a deeper connection and shared history between the two wealthy socialites.
“We have certain things in common, Jeffrey,” Trump allegedly wrote, according to the Journal. “Enigmas never age, have you noticed that? … Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump tried repeatedly to color—and then kill—the story, denying he ever drew the image. After the Journal approached the White House on Tuesday for comment, Trump dismissed the Epstein as a “hoax”; linked it to Democrats, speculating they had tried to tamper with files to make him look bad; and called the story a “bulls--t” tale before attacking MAGA “weaklings” who broke with him over it.
He then threatened in a phone call with the paper’s editor in chief, Emma Tucker, to sue the Journal should it publish the story. Trump made good on that threat and sued the paper and its 94-year-old billionaire owner, Rupert Murdoch, on Friday for $10 billion.
Still, Trump tried his best to remain cheery in his Sunday screed. He claimed the public backed his agenda and took yet another opportunity to highlight his 2024 electoral win.
“The General Election numbers are my highest, EVER! People like Strong Borders, and all of the many other things I have done,” he wrote. “GOD BLESS AMERICA. MAGA!”
In another Trump social post Sunday, Trump also patted himself on the back for “a lot of good and great things done” during the first six months of his term: “One year ago our Country was DEAD, with almost no hope of revival. Today the USA is the ‘hottest’ and most respected Country anywhere in the World.”
