Roughly ten days after the Trump administration disclosed that Jeffrey Epstein did not die by suicide and that no co-conspirators would be charged, new polling data shows significant voter backlash. The fallout is proving especially problematic for President Donald Trump and the broader Republican Party, particularly among supporters within his own MAGA base.
A poll conducted by Data for Progress revealed that just 34% of voters approve of the administration’s handling of the Epstein files. Among Republicans, approval stands at 51%, while only 27% of independents—America’s largest voting bloc—approve of how the case has been managed.
The impact on Trump's overall approval rating has been pronounced. According to Morning Consult, his approval has dropped to 44%, with disapproval rising to 50%. This marks a six-point decline from the previous month when his approval stood at 50%. Much of the drop is attributed to the erosion of support among independent voters, with multiple polls showing his disapproval among this group exceeding 60%.
On Tuesday, congressional Democrats introduced an amendment that would force a vote to release the Epstein files. Although nearly all Republicans voted against the measure—with just one exception—the poor polling numbers may have spurred several GOP members, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, to publicly support the files’ release the same day.
These calls from congressional Republicans directly contradicted a statement Trump made on Truth Social the prior Saturday, which was widely interpreted as urging the public to "move on" from the Epstein matter. Reiterating that stance on Tuesday, Trump told reporters that the Epstein files were created under the Biden and Obama administrations and labeled them a “hoax”—a claim that has not been broadly accepted, even among segments of his base.
As Trump heads deeper into his terem, he appears increasingly reliant on his core voter base. However, his former strategist Steve Bannon recently warned that losing even 10-15% of that core support could prove disastrous. With independent support eroding and skepticism rising within the movement itself, Trump’s approval struggles may persist if the controversy continues to dominate headlines.