NEW YORK (AP) — US President Donald Trump is lashing out at his own supporters, accusing them of being duped by Democrats, as he tries to clamp down on criticism over his administration’s handling of much-hyped records in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which Trump now calls a “hoax.”
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote Wednesday on his Truth Social site. “They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.”
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” he went on.
There is no evidence that former Democratic officials tampered with the documents or played any role in promoting conspiracies about the files, which members of Trump’s administration stoked for years.
The rhetoric marks a dramatic escalation for the Republican president, who has broken with some of his most loyal backers on issues in the past, but never with such fervor. Though Trump cannot legally run for another term, he will need strong support from a united party to pass his remaining legislative agenda in a narrowly divided Congress and an energized base to turn out in next year’s midterm elections.
The schism centers on the administration’s handling of documents related to Epstein, who was found dead in his New York jail cell in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. Last week, the US Justice Department and the FBI acknowledged in a memo that Epstein did not maintain a “client list” to whom underage girls were trafficked. They also said no more files related to the investigation would be made public, despite past promises from Attorney General Pam Bondi that had raised the expectations of conservative influencers and conspiracy theorists.
“It’s a new administration and everything is going to come out to the public,” she had said.
The reversal sparked fury among Trump’s most loyal defenders, who have turned on Bondi, in particular. But Trump has repeatedly said he maintains confidence in his attorney general and has instead chided those who continue to press the issue.
“I don’t understand what the interest or what the fascination is,” he said Tuesday, after unsuccessfully urging his “‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals'” to stop wasting “Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”
In an Oval Office appearance Wednesday after the Truth post, Trump said he had “lost a lot of faith in certain people” as he tried to turn the page on the story.
“It’s all been a big hoax,” he told reporters. “It’s perpetrated by the Democrats, and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net.”
He complained that Bondi has been “waylaid” over her handling of the case and has given out all “credible information” about the wealthy financier. “If she finds any more credible information, she’ll give that, too,” Trump said. “What more can she do than that?”
He continued to complain in a pre-taped interview with John Solomon that aired Wednesday evening on Real America’s Voice that the issue was distracting from his accomplishments.
“All my supporters want to talk about is the Jeffrey Epstein hoax. It’s unbelievable,” he said. “It’s a disgrace. … I’m going to remember.”
While Trump has tried to blame Democrats for making Epstein an issue, he and many figures in his administration, including FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, spent years stoking dark and disproved conspiracy theories like those surrounding Epstein, including embracing QAnon-tinged propaganda that casts Trump as a savior sent to demolish the “deep state.”
Trump’s comments have not been enough to quell those who are still demanding answers. Some of the podcasters and pro-Trump influencers who helped rally support for Trump in the 2024 campaign said Wednesday they were disappointed or puzzled by his comments.
Far-right conspiracy theorist and podcaster Alex Jones called Trump’s handling of the Epstein situation “the biggest train wreck I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s not in character for you to be acting like this,” he said in a video on Tuesday. “I support you, but we built the movement you rode in on. You’re not the movement. You just surfed in on it.”
Benny Johnson, a conservative podcaster, said on his show that he is a fan of Trump’s movement but is trying to “give tough love and speak on behalf of the base.”
“Maybe it hasn’t been framed correctly for the president,” Johnson said. “I don’t know.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, in an interview on Benny Johnson’s show Tuesday, had called for the Justice Department to “put everything out there and let the people decide.”
His first-term national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, implored Trump in a lengthy message to correct course.
“All we want at this stage is for a modicum of trust to be reestablished between our federal government and the people it is designed to serve. That’s all (PERIOD!),” he wrote. “With my strongest recommendation, please gather your team and figure out a way to move past this.”
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, on his podcast, attempted some damage control on Trump’s behalf.
“Don’t take too seriously this whole Truth Social here,” Kirk told his audience. “I know some people are getting fired up about this. I don’t believe he was trying to insult anybody personally.”
Still, he expressed frustration about the administration’s handling of the issue.
“We are now Wednesday going into Thursday. People are very, very confused, and some people are very disappointed and mad,” Kirk said. “We made so much progress with Gen Z, and this is a big vulnerability. Online, on TikTok, this story is not landing well. Let’s fix this, and we can.”
Other Trump allies have stuck by his side, suggesting he does not need the influencers who have capitalized on Epstein conspiracy theories to make money and earn viewers.
“He lent you his clout and voters,” Brenden Dilley, the head of a group of meme makers who have lent their support to Trump, wrote on X on Wednesday. “They don’t belong to you.”
While those speaking out represent a fringe of Trump’s most vocal online base, they are not the only ones dissatisfied with the government’s handling of the Epstein case, according to recent polling.
A CNN/SSRS poll, for instance, found that about half of US adults are not satisfied with the amount of information the federal government has released about the Epstein case. About three in 10 said it doesn’t matter either way, and about two in 10 didn’t know enough to offer an opinion. Almost no one said they were satisfied with the amount of information released.
Looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections, some Democrats are clear-eyed that the Epstein files may not be a front-and-center issue for voters who tend to put a premium on kitchen table issues, but they see it as part of a broader pattern that could hamper Trump and the GOP.
“There is something breaking through to voters getting at this idea of a Republican Party working for these big, corrupt, wealthy, famous people and not fighting for their constituents,” said Katarina Flicker of the House Majority PAC, Democrats’ super PAC for congressional races.