By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Most Americans think President Donald Trump’s administration is hiding information about accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and give it poor marks on the issue after pledging to make public documents in the case, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
The two-day poll, which closed Wednesday, showed 69% of respondents thought the federal government was hiding details about Epstein’s clients, compared to 6% who disagreed and about one in four who said they weren’t sure.
Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking minors when he died by suicide in jail in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed after his death.
The case has captivated swaths of Trump’s political base who were expecting lurid details after some of Trump’s top law enforcement officials said they would be releasing documents that would lead to major revelations about Epstein and his alleged clientele.
The Trump administration last week reversed course on its pledge, enraging some of the president’s followers. Close to two-thirds of Republicans think the administration is hiding details on Epstein’s business, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Just 17% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the case, a weaker rating than the president received on any other issue in the poll. Among Republicans, 35% approved, compared to 29% who disapproved and the rest who said they weren’t sure or didn’t answer the question.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Trump and White House officials were weighing a range of options including unsealing new documents, appointing a special prosecutor and drafting executive actions on issues such as pedophilia.
Trump, however, has been defiant, describing supporters hung up on the issue as “weaklings” who were helping Democrats. “I don’t want their support anymore!” Trump said in a social media post.
The beliefs following Epstein’s death were part of a range of conspiracies that have taken hold in U.S. politics, including “QAnon,” a far-right fringe belief that a cabal of cannibalistic child molesters inside the U.S. government have conspired against Trump.
Behind the scenes Trump and senior aides have also reached out to key MAGA-aligned influencers, urging them to dial down their criticism of the administration’s handling of the Epstein investigation and shift focus to broader priorities for the America First movement.
The backlash over the Epstein case has laid bare tensions inside Trump’s coalition and is testing one of Trump’s most enduring political strengths: His ability to command loyalty and control the narrative across the right.
The outcry comes amid discontent among parts of Trump’s base over the U.S. strikes on Iran, continued involvement in Ukraine and any hint of backsliding on the administration’s hardline immigration promises.
Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During the 2021 trial of Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier’s longtime pilot, Lawrence Visoski, testified that Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane multiple times. Trump has denied ever being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,027 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)
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