US President Donald Trump has lashed out at his MAGA supporters, calling them “weaklings” for peddling “bullshit” over the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Trump appeared to disavow his base in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Thursday (AEST), declaring: “I don’t want their support anymore!”
It comes as the MAGA world has erupted over a joint Justice Department and FBI memo released last week that determined there was no Epstein “client list”.
The memo said there was no evidence to support long-held conspiracy theories about the well-connected financier’s death in federal custody in 2019, and his alleged clientele.
Conservative influencers from Laura Loomer to Elon Musk have criticised US Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel for their findings, and a section of MAGA has refused to let up.
But Trump has tried to downplay the Epstein case’s importance — despite fuelling such conspiracies during his election campaign — and close the book on the controversy.
On Thursday, Trump took a major swipe at the MAGA antagonists and blamed Democrats for stoking angst about the Epstein files “hoax”.
“Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this “bullshit,” hook, line, and sinker,” he ranted on Truth Social.
“They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.
“I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Country’s history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!”
Later, Trump doubled down against the “stupid people” in his party who he said were falling for the Democrats’ “hoax”.
“Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net and try to do the Democrats’ work,” Trump said.
“They’re stupid people.”
Late last week, Trump was forced to defend Bondi against a growing MAGA backlash.
In a 400-word post, he demanded that no more time or energy be wasted on Epstein.
“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals’?,” he posted to Truth Social on Saturday.
“They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.”
Conspiracy theories about Epstein’s 2019 death in prison and potential evidence in his sex-trafficking case, including an alleged “client list”, have been a fixation for the right, one egged on by Trump himself.
Last Monday’s memo on Epstein concluded that after reviewing more than 300 gigabytes of data, there was “no incriminating client list” nor was there any evidence that Epstein may have blackmailed prominent people.
The Epstein memo came months after Bondi pledged to reveal major revelations about Epstein, including “a lot of names” and “a lot of flight logs”.
Patel and FBI deputy director Dan Bongino, a former conservative podcaster, both made statements before working in the Trump administration about a so-called client list. They often suggested the government was hiding information from the American public about Epstein.
The memo also confirmed prior FBI findings, including that Epstein died by suicide in his jail cell while awaiting trial, and not because of a criminal act such as murder.
Epstein’s death while imprisoned in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Centre has ignited controversy for years.
This week, US House Speaker Mike Johnson called for the release of the files. He became the highest-ranking Republican to break with Trump on Epstein in a rare fissure between the President and his fiercely loyal base.
“I’m for transparency,” Johnson told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson.
“It’s a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.”
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