Trump is walking through a minefield!

Public anger toward the federal government over the Jeffrey Epstein case is growing more palpable by the day. Support for Trump has noticeably waned. Recent polls show that even many of his own supporters no longer back him with full confidence.

While the Reuters-Ipsos poll revealed that Republicans are nearly split over Trump’s actions regarding the Epstein case—with only 11% strongly approving—another survey by CBS-YouGov showed that although half of Republicans are at least somewhat satisfied with Trump’s performance, only 10% said they were "very" satisfied. This means that only about one in ten Republicans firmly endorses his actions.

The CBS-YouGov poll also showed that MAGA Republicans (supporters of the “Make America Great Again” movement) were more inclined to be satisfied with Trump's handling of the Epstein case (60% were at least “somewhat” satisfied) compared to non-MAGA Republicans (41%). This raises the question: are MAGA Republicans—many of whom are demanding more transparency in the Epstein case—genuinely more satisfied with Trump’s performance, or do they simply feel obligated to follow his party line?

Taken together, these numbers suggest that Trump is walking through a minefield! Regardless of the reasons behind these differences, the data indicate that the Epstein case could become a significant liability for a considerable segment of Trump’s base. These voters may become at least somewhat disillusioned with him—especially if this issue is compounded by other recent actions of Trump’s, such as the war in Ukraine, which many of them disapprove of.

A Wall Street Journal report last week claimed that Trump wrote a letter in 2003 congratulating Epstein on his 50th birthday. Initially, this seemed to unify even many Epstein-focused influencers—bringing them to Trump's defense against the media, their long-standing mutual adversary. Trump has denied writing the letter and has filed a lawsuit against the Journal. Many of his supporters also believe Trump was deceived in this matter. However, this doesn’t mean they are fully content or willing to simply move past the issue. The data clearly show that, at present, the Epstein case remains a political “minefield” for Trump.

The same CBS-YouGov poll also found that 90% of Republicans believe the Epstein files likely contain damaging information about wealthy or powerful individuals. Similarly, the Reuters-Ipsos poll showed that 55% of Republicans (compared to just 17%) believe the federal government is hiding information about Epstein’s death, and 62% (versus 11%) believe it is covering up details about his clients.

These responses suggest that Republicans are dissatisfied with the government’s limited disclosures—even if they are reluctant to express that dissatisfaction openly when directly asked.