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How Epstein files are a turning point in Trump's Maga presidency
A person takes a photo as a message calling on President Donald Trump to release all files related to Jeffrey Epstein is projected onto the US Chamber of Commerce building across from the White House in Washington, DC, on July 18. AFP
United States President Donald Trump faces the sternest test of his turbulent second term in the White House. For the first time since he took office, Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) base is turning against him.
In an unprecedented move, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson shut down Congress weeks ahead of the August summer recess to avoid Democrats—and angry Republicans—seeking answers to the snowballing Epstein issue.
Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted paedophile and a sex trafficker, committed suicide at New York's Metropolitan Correctional Centre in August 2019. Trump has denied involvement in Epstein's infamous parties with underage girls. The furore could have passed but for two disclosures.
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First, The Wall Street Journal published a lewd birthday greeting allegedly written by Trump to Epstein in 2003. The letter was signed by Trump, the Journal claimed, and had a prurient sketch.
An enraged Trump sued the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper for $10 billion and banned it from his press pool during his weekend visit to his two golf courses in Scotland.
Worse was to follow. CNN revealed a verified image of Epstein attending Trump's marriage to his second wife, Marla Maples, in 1993. Trump had earlier denied he knew Epstein well and had no knowledge of his paedophilia.
CNN's report provided explicit details: 'Photos from 1993 confirm for the first time that Epstein attended Trump's 1993 wedding to Marla Maples. Epstein's attendance at the ceremony at the Plaza Hotel was not widely known until now. In addition, footage from a 1999 Victoria's Secret fashion event in New York shows Trump and Epstein laughing and chatting together ahead of the runway event.
'The new footage and photos, which have not been reported and predate any of Epstein's known legal issues, come amid renewed scrutiny of Trump's past relationship with Epstein. Allegations that Epstein sexually abused underage girls first surfaced in 2005, leading to his arrest a year later. He was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and later died in jail. The medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.
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'In 2002, Trump was quoted in a New York magazine profile of Epstein—'Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of 'Mystery'—describing him as 'a terrific guy', saying he's known Epstein for 15 years. 'It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,' Trump said.'
The real danger for Trump is not the media exposés but wilting support from his Maga base. It is where he draws his power. If that support wanes, the damage could ripple through the slender Republican majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives, crippling Trump's agenda on trade tariffs and immigration.
A two-day Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll showed that nearly 70 per cent of respondents believed Trump 'was hiding details about Epstein's clients'. Only 6 per cent said he wasn't. The rest said they weren't sure.
Trump's voter base in the 2024 US presidential election comprised more than 50 per cent of all Americans. If that support falls significantly over the Epstein issue, it could prove to be a turning point in his presidency. Since Trump knows he can't be president a third time, his principal aim is to protect his legacy and the Republicans' chances in the midterm Congressional elections due in November 2026.
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To limit the damage, Trump has ordered his attorney general, Pamela Bondi, to release Grand Jury findings on the Epstein case. But both Democrats and Republicans know this is a ruse. Grand Jury transcripts will not reveal Epstein's clients and whether Trump was among them. They are simply screening mechanisms by the jury to validate a criminal case.
What Democrats, sensing a kill, want are unredacted files of Epstein that contain explicit details of his clients and their travel to his private Caribbean island.
Trump has refused to unseal these files. This contrasts with Bondi's declaration on February 27, when her office released 200 pages of Epstein documents. Bondi's office issued this statement: 'Attorney General Bondi requested the full and complete files related to Jeffrey Epstein. In response, the department received approximately 200 pages of documents. However, the attorney general was later informed of thousands of pages of documents related to the investigation and indictment of Epstein that were not previously disclosed. The Attorney General has requested the FBI deliver the remaining documents to the Department.'
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The Xi Factor
Trump is meanwhile fighting multiple battles. He is keen to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year. Xi has proved the hardest nut to crack in Trump's global trade war.
Fond of grand gestures, Trump would like to do a trilateral summit with both Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin to reprise the famous Roosevelt-Churchill-Stalin summit between the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union in Yalta, Crimea, in February 1945, in the midst of the Second World War. The only change: Xi replaces Churchill in a reflection of the rise and fall of Great Powers.
Trump is also looking forward to his second state visit to Britain on September 17-19, hosted by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer secured an early US-UK trade deal by carrying with him to the White House a personal invitation signed by King Charles.
But September could also bring bad tidings for the Trump presidency. Both Houses of Congress will reconvene after their hasty early closure in July. The first item on the agenda: Jeffrey Epstein.
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If more damaging revelations meanwhile emerge about Trump's links with Epstein, they will erode not only his wider public support but also diminish his credibility with his Maga base.
The writer is an editor, author and publisher. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
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