Why Trump's Epstein Problems aren't Going Away

Trump wants people to stop talking about Epstein cover up, it probably won't happen

Donald Trump really, really wants everyone to stop talking about how his administration may be covering up the extent of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. Over the last several days, Trump has tried to pretend there’s no tension within his administration over the handling of the Epstein files. He’s reportedly been calling some of his critics to ask them to pipe down. He has even blamed Clinton, Biden, and Obama—even though Epstein was arrested and died mysteriously under Trump’s watch.

His annoyance with the persistence of the Epstein conversation boiled over on Wednesday when Trump posted the following on Truth Social:

The Democrats’ “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. 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.”

In other words: if you talk about Epstein or criticize Trump for breaking his repeated promises to release the files, you are no longer welcome in his movement.

Historically, Trump is very good at changing the subject. He moves the conversation onto a new topic or outrage du jour before his opponents can do any real damage. But despite his many efforts, I’m not sure the Epstein furor is going away anytime soon. There are several reasons why Trump’s Epstein problems aren’t likely to fade:

1. It’s Suspicious as Hell

Many of Trump’s far-right media allies are conspiracy theorists. They believe and promote all sorts of far-fetched stories about the government, 5G, vaccines, and 9/11. Their obsession with Epstein is rooted in an unproven belief that global elites are running a sex trafficking ring involving some of the most prominent figures in government, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley. But their suspicions about Trump’s conduct here are not unfounded.

Here’s the fact pattern: