Do Americans believe Trump sent Epstein a birthday letter? What a new poll found
Many are also convinced the men were 'close friends' and that Trump knew about Epstein's alleged crimes before they became public.
The poll comes as the president has faced scrutiny over his administration's handling of an investigation into Epstein, a convicted sex offender, who was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019.
Here is a breakdown of the results.
The Wall Street Journal report
The Wall Street Journal report, published on July 17, alleged Trump wrote a 'bawdy' letter to Epstein, which was included in an album assembled by Ghislaine Maxwell for his 50th birthday in 2003.
The typewritten letter, arranged inside a sketch of a nude woman's silhouette, concluded with the message: 'Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.'
In response, Trump said the letter was fake, writing on Truth Social, 'These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures.' He then filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper's publisher, Dow Jones & Company, and its owner, News Corp.
However, many Americans are inclined to believe the report, according to polling.
In the poll, close to half of respondents, 46%, said they think The Wall Street Journal report is completely or mostly true.
Meanwhile, just 10% said they consider it to be completely or mostly false. An additional 27% said they hadn't heard of it, and 17% said they were not sure.
Trump-Epstein relationship
A plurality of Americans also believe Trump and Epstein were once deeply connected.
Forty-two percent said they think the pair were 'close friends' when their relationship was at its strongest point.
Meanwhile, 16% said they were 'friends, but not close,' and 21% said the two were 'acquaintances.' Just 2% described them as 'strangers' or 'enemies,' and 19% said they were not sure.
Epstein himself — in a 2017 interview with author Michael Wolff — said he was Trump's 'closest friend.' The pair moved in similar social circles in New York and Florida and were photographed at events together, including at Mar-a-Lago, in the 1990s and early 2000s.
And in 2002, Trump told New York Magazine, 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy.' However, more recently, he has distanced himself from the disgraced financier.
In 2019, after Epstein was arrested and charged with sex trafficking minors, the president said, 'I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don't think I've spoken to him in 15 years. I wasn't a fan.'
Importance of Epstein story
The survey — which sampled 3,406 U.S. adults on July 18 — also asked respondents: 'How important do you think the story of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein is?'
A plurality, 45%, said they believe the story is 'very important,' while 28% described it as 'somewhat important.'
An additional 10% said it is 'not very important,' and 8% said it is 'not at all important.' Nine percent said they were not sure, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
The story was thrown back into the national spotlight in early July, when the Department of Justice released a memo claiming it had found no evidence of an Epstein 'client list' and no evidence sufficient to charge third parties.
The revelations contradicted previous statements from some top administration officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, who told Fox News in February that Epstein's client list was 'sitting on my desk right now to review.'
While on the campaign trail, Trump himself also expressed a willingness to release documents related to Epstein.
'I'd certainly take a look at it,' then-candidate Trump said during a podcast interview. 'I'd be inclined to do the Epstein, I'd have no problem with it.'
But, his tune has shifted since then. When asked by a reporter about the accused sex trafficker on July 9, Trump said, 'Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years. This creep? That is unbelievable.'
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Buzz Feed
21 minutes ago
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18 Trump Supporters Share Thoughts On Epstein Files
Tension surrounding the Trump administration's handling of information about Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes has been bubbling over the past couple of weeks — and it looks like it's not settling anytime soon. Between US Attorney General Pam Bondi claiming the Epstein files were sitting on her desk awaiting review (and then suddenly backtracking), the House GOP blocking an amendment that would force the Justice Department to release additional information about Epstein, and most recently, The Wall Street Journal reporting that Bondi told Trump back in May that his name appeared "multiple times" in the Epstein files, Donald Trump has, once again, found himself in hot water. But does Trump's potential connection to Jeffrey Epstein and his sex trafficking crimes have Trump supporters second-guessing their vote? Recently, Redditor u/Effective-Cream492 asked Reddit community members to share what their MAGA family members think about the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files, and I'm disappointed but not entirely shocked: "I heard one of my MAGA uncles claim that Obama is actually the one in the files, and Trump is trying to preserve the dignity of the presidency by not releasing them. He said that Obama should be thanking Trump! Not sure why my uncle didn't say Clinton instead, but it's not my conspiracy." —TogarSucks "They're suddenly very quiet for people who used to scream about 'the list.'" "My dad doesn't care. He still think that it's Democrats trying to make Trump look bad." "'I don't love how they're handling the files, but overall, I stand by my vote.' Cue the eye roll." —grippysockgang "I have three MAGA family members who've touched on the subject. The first one didn't want to talk about it, the second one was like, 'Man, I don't know, we'll see,' and the third was like, 'Just put Vance in." So, out of a very narrow sample pool, I'd say they know how it all looks, even if they won't admit it." "They don't think it's a big deal. Like, they genuinely don't care." "They've been rather quiet lately." "'We were tricked, but so were you about Harris.' I'm not going to spend any time with Aunt Sherri anytime soon." —DarrenEdwards "My uncle won't call me back. Every time I call them, they refuse to answer. I told him I just want to talk about the Epstein case, but won't. That says it all." "Most of them are desperately trying to bury their heads in the sand. A few are in agreement that the list should come out, and that proven pedos should be buried under the prison, party be damned. But there are a few that don't know what's even going on since it's not an election year and they've already pulled the ladder up behind themselves." "My family believes Trump. They think all the Epstein stuff is a Democratic hoax. I try to provide facts and evidence, but any source I provide to them is either 'fake news' or 'out to get Trump.' It's exhausting." "They don't care. Trust me, Trump supporters don't care about anything — including each other." —indefilade "Some have come to their senses. Others are trying to make sense of it, but can't make the leap. I'm waiting to engage with others so that I can corner them into 'panic mode' and catch them saying some dumb shit they have to live with. I honestly spend way too much mental bandwidth having fictitious debates that never materialize. It's not healthy, but I need to find some way to productively contribute to slowing the collapse of our culture." "A person I know says that Trump is still better than a Democratic president. He doesn't really care about Trump scandals, including this one. I choose not to talk about this at all because they're clearly delusional." "I was told to leave Trump alone and 'let him have his four years' because 'they didn't pick on Biden this bad.' I'm fucking over these people." —nimrod823 "They're doing what they always do: turning their attention toward Obama/Clinton/Biden at the behest of the current administration and its allies in the media. They're taking the bait because it's a great opportunity for them to distract themselves from the actual controversy that may implicate their beloved president in heinous crimes." "My MAGA parents are suddenly acting like they don't watch the news; my MAGA husband suddenly doesn't care about politics and thinks that ALL the news channels reporting anything bad about Trump are compromised; my MAGA in-laws haven't said a word online, though we aren't speaking anyway, so I don't know. I thought this would be a wake-up call, but I guess it needs to get worse for some people to actually wake up." Lastly: "My dad believes that Trump is covering up for other people, not himself. He believes that Trump could be on the list, but that he never actually did anything. Like, Trump may have known what was going on, but never agreed with it or participated. And, according to my dad, if he never agreed, then it's fine." —cantyoukeepasecret If you have Trump-supporting family members, what do they think about how the Trump administration is handling the Epstein case? Let us know in the comments, or you can anonymously submit your response using the form below.
