--- title: Trump Decries 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,' Mocks Those Buying Into 'Bulls---' description: “I don’t want their support anymore!" Trump wrote of Republicans questioning his handling of the Epstein files. canonical: https://time.com/7302661/trump-jeffrey-epstein-hoax/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-07-16T14:34:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-07-16T17:52:45.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Decries 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,' and Those Still Raising Issue as 'Past Supporters' og:description: “I don’t want their support anymore!" he wrote. og:url: https://time.com/7302661/trump-jeffrey-epstein-hoax/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bd5ad490fe002eb/6998c84b47fe51b53555be72/GettyImages-2224643281.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Trump Departs White House En Route To Texas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Decries 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,' and Those Still Raising Issue as 'Past Supporters' twitter:description: “I don’t want their support anymore!" he wrote. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0bd5ad490fe002eb/6998c84b47fe51b53555be72/GettyImages-2224643281.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Decries 'Jeffrey Epstein Hoax' and Mocks Those Still Raising Issue Are 'Past Supporters' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Trump Comes to Defense of Bondi Amid Scrutiny Over Epstein Files [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Comes to Defense of Bondi Amid Scrutiny Over Epstein Files](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2D1DLCOX.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2025-07-08. The 2019 death in jail of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a billionaire financier connected with some of the most powerful people in the world and who was facing trial on sex trafficking charges, has long been the subject of fascination and conspiracy theories, especially by the right. Some were convinced he was killed in an effort to keep concealed a “list” of his high-profile co-conspirators, despite longtime observers repeatedly indicating that no such list existed._  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jul 16, 2025 5:52 PM UTCPublished: Jul 16, 2025 2:34 PM UTC  President Donald Trump answers questions outside the White House in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2025. President Donald Trump answers questions outside the White House in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2025. Win McNamee—Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Jul 16, 2025 5:52 PM UTCPublished: Jul 16, 2025 2:34 PM UTC President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed the [outrage within his party](https://time.com/7302426/jeffrey-epstein-files-trump-takeaways/) over the [Jeffrey Epstein files](https://time.com/6552063/jeffrey-epsteins-unsealed-court-documents/) as “bull—t,” rebuking his own supporters for buying into what he called a “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax” and declaring he no longer wanted the backing of “weaklings.” The [post on his social media platform Truth Social](https://trumpstruth.org/statuses/32018) marked Trump’s most forceful attempt yet to tamp down an escalating political crisis that has fractured parts of the MAGA coalition, spotlighted internal rifts in his administration, and prompted a growing number of Republican officials to call for the release of files related to the convicted sex offender’s decades-long abuse of underage girls. “Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull—t,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote. “I don’t want their support anymore!” The outburst followed weeks of [mounting pressure](https://time.com/7301051/trump-jeffrey-epstein-bondi/) on Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Justice Department’s [reversal on long-promised disclosures](https://time.com/7300378/epstein-client-list-suicide-blackmail-conspiracy-theories-doj-fbi-memo/) related to the Epstein investigation. The Trump Administration has now insisted that no “client list” exists—despite years of signaling otherwise. Trump’s sharp language and public frustration come at a moment of increasing scrutiny, not just over Epstein’s ties to the powerful, but over Trump’s [own history with the financier](https://time.com/7302268/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-timeline-relationship-2/), whom he once described as a “terrific guy.” For years, Trump has leaned into conspiracy-laden rhetoric, embracing far-right fantasies about a shadowy cabal of elites harming children and portraying himself as the lone figure capable of unearthing the truth. Many of these theories found a central symbol in Epstein, whose death in federal custody in 2019 under murky circumstances only amplified the sense among Trump’s supporters that powerful figures were hiding something. Now, with his Administration overseeing the very documents his followers long demanded, Trump has made a sharp pivot—one that has disoriented many of his most ardent fans. “I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. “The credible information has been given.” That message has not landed. Trump’s remarks, combined with Bondi’s shifting explanations and her reported clash with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, have only fueled suspicions of a cover-up. Less than an hour after Trump published his post Wednesday morning, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, announced she was "proudly" cosponsoring an effort by Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky to bypass House leadership and force a floor vote on releasing Epstein-related files. "I will never protect pedophiles or the elites and their circles," Greene [wrote on X](https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1945502464037326863). Trump ally Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who has influenced some of Trump’s past decisions, has demanded Bondi’s resignation and called for a special counsel to investigate the files. Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, in a post of his own, pleaded with Trump: “@realdonaldtrump please understand the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away.” At a Turning Point USA summit last weekend, right-wing commentators Steve Bannon and Jack Posobiec called for transparency, with Posobiec vowing to “go full Jan. 6 committee on the Jeffrey Epstein files.” Even House Speaker Mike Johnson, a close Trump ally, has tried to thread the needle, telling reporters that he is “for transparency” and wants Bondi to release the full set of documents. Trump on Wednesday suggested he no longer wanted the support of Republicans who were continuing to question his handling of the Epstein issue. “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work,” he wrote. “don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” Later in the Oval Office, Trump suggested to reporters that he was done with the story despite what his supporters think. “It’s all been a big hoax,” he said. “It’s perpetrated by the Democrats, and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net.” “He’s dead, he’s gone,” Trump added, referring to Epstein. “Certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats and the Democrat playbook.” Trump also said that Bondi has been “waylaid” from focusing on other issues, saying that she has “bigger problems” to work on. “If she finds any more credible information she’ll give that, too,” Trump said. ”What more can she do than that?” The controversy has exposed the risks inherent in the political strategy Trump and his allies have long used: stoking distrust in institutions while wielding them for their own aims. That dynamic has become especially fraught now that Trump is once again in charge of the federal government. Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 on charges related to soliciting a minor and again arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking before dying in jail, had longstanding ties to powerful figures in both political parties, including Trump and former President Bill Clinton. In a 2002 interview with New York Magazine, Trump [praised Epstein](https://time.com/7302268/donald-trump-jeffrey-epstein-timeline-relationship-2/) as someone who “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.” Though the two reportedly stopped interacting after a 2004 real estate bidding war, questions about their relationship have lingered. Last month, former Trump advisor Elon Musk publicly claimed that Trump was named in the FBI’s Epstein files, setting off a new wave of speculation. The Justice Department has attempted to clarify that the remaining files include no actionable evidence implicating others and that previous claims about a “client list” were misunderstood. Bondi has suggested the records on her desk were misunderstood to be a list. Some Democrats have moved to capitalize on the issue, highlighting GOP lawmakers who once demanded full transparency but recently voted down amendments that would have forced release of the Epstein documents. But in his post, Trump, suggested those files were made up by Democrats. “These Scams and Hoaxes are all the Democrats are good at - It’s all they have - They are no good at governing, no good at policy, and no good at picking winning candidates. Also, unlike Republicans, they stick together like glue.” Meanwhile, the segment of Trump’s base that remains committed to exposing what they see as elite crimes may not be so easily mollified. “For this to go away, you’re going to lose 10% of the MAGA movement,” Bannon warned during the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit on Friday. As Trump seeks to recenter his second term around more familiar grievances—immigration, crime, the economy—the Epstein files continue to dog him. And his latest declaration that the issue is a “hoax” may only deepen the mistrust among a faction of supporters who once saw him as their ultimate truth-teller. ## Transcript Yeah, sure. If I could I just interrupt for a second. Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years. You're asking? We have Texas. We have this. We have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy? This creep? That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time? Do you feel like answering? I don't mind answering. I mean, I can't believe you're asking a question on Epstein at a time like this where we're having some of the greatest success and and also tragedy with what happened in Texas. It just seems like a desecration. But you go ahead. Sure, sure. First, to back up on that, in February, I did an interview on Fox, and it's been getting a lot of attention because I said I was asked a question about the client list, and my response was, it's sitting on my desk to be reviewed. Meaning the file along with the JFK, MLK files as well. That's what I meant by that. Also, to the tens of thousands of video, they turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein. Child porn is what they were never going to be released. Never going to see the light of day. To him being an agent, I have no knowledge about that. We can get back to you on that. And the minute missing from the video, we released the video showing definitively the video was not conclusive, but the evidence prior to it was showing he committed suicide. And what was on that? There was a minute that was off the counter. And what we learned from Bureau of Prisons was every year, every night they redo that video. It's old from like 1999. So every night the video is reset and every night should have the same minute missing. So we're looking for that video to release that as well, showing that a minute is missing every night. 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