"This will not just go away": Trump faces MAGA trust crisis over Epstein debacle

Top MAGA influencers warn the Trump administration is bleeding trust over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, and that the president is drifting out of step with the movement he built.

Why it matters: The MAGA base was blindsided by the Justice Department's conclusion that the notorious sex trafficker died by suicide in 2019 and had no "client list." Days after the initial shock, Trump's insistence on moving on is fueling a deeper sense of betrayal.

• "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?" Trump asked incredulously during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting after a reporter pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi on the findings.
• "I can't believe you're asking a question about Epstein at a time like this," he added, calling it a "waste" of time and a "desecration."

Driving the news: The chorus of MAGA outrage has only intensified since the Justice Department and FBI released a memo on Sunday finding no evidence that Epstein was murdered, had a "client list" or had blackmailed powerful figures.

• Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk and Steve Bannon — influential Trump allies who have feuded with the president at times — are among those who have accused the administration of a cover-up.
• But even MAGA's most loyal foot soldiers are struggling to explain how top Trump officials could close the Epstein case after promising — for years — that it would expose shadowy global elites.

Between the lines: MAGA's deep divisions over Israel have only exacerbated the Epstein backlash, as some influencers revive unproven claims that he was involved with Israeli intelligence.

• Asked about allegations of Epstein's ties to intelligence, Bondi told reporters on Tuesday: "To him being an agent, I have no knowledge about that. We can get back to you on that."

What they're saying: "Trump is massively misreading his base on this one. It could cost him the midterms," MAGA influencer Liz Wheeler posted Tuesday after the president lashed out at the questions about Epstein, who had been charged with sex trafficking underage girls at the time of his death.

• "The Epstein situation is sending massive ripples through the base. Trust is being lost," one MAGA media figure told Axios. "Mostly the people around him, but somewhat Trump."
• "Anything Epstein just blows up," the person added. "People were promised Epstein files and they've been lied to over and over and over again. This will not just go away."

Zoom in: No one — not even Trump — is immune from MAGA frustrations over Epstein. But Bondi has become the top target for loyalists demanding that heads roll.

• MAGA figures describe feeling "gaslit" by Bondi, who lacked deep ties to the movement before joining Trump's administration and promised maximum transparency about the Epstein case.
• That included the eventual release of a "list of clients" that she claimed was sitting on her desk — a move widely seen as an attempt to curry favor with the base.

• "Don't sit there and tell me there's nothing when you told me there was something. That's the issue for the AG," podcaster Jack Posobiec said on Steve Bannon's "War Room" Wednesday. "Put out everything you have."

The intrigue: FBI director Kash Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino, who were deeply integrated into the MAGA movement before entering government, have not faced the same level of scorn.

• Some supporters have accused them of participating in a cover-up. But others suggest they're being silenced — or that the Biden administration purged Epstein-related files from the FBI before Patel and Bongino took office. Bondi, by contrast, is being granted no such leeway.
• While Patel and Bongino had promoted Epstein conspiracy theories before Trump's second term, they appeared to pump the brakes earlier this year. In a joint Fox News interview, both said Epstein had committed suicide — a firm conclusion that avoided the breadcrumb-laying approach Bondi leaned into.

Reality check: For all the outrage, there's no indication that MAGA will defect from Trump himself in serious numbers. Loyalty to the president remains the movement's defining feature.

• "President Trump is proud of Attorney General Bondi's efforts to execute his Make America Safe Again agenda, restore the integrity of the Department of Justice, and bring justice to victims of crime," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
• "The continued fixation on sowing division in President Trump's Cabinet is baseless and unfounded in reality."