Is President Trump’s once-ironclad bond with his MAGA base starting to crack over the shadowy Epstein files?
The Hill reported that Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) dropped a bombshell on Sunday, asserting that Trump is losing ground with his core supporters due to lingering questions about Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious financier tied to horrific crimes, while bipartisan pressure mounts to unseal related documents.
During an appearance on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker, Khanna didn’t hold back, suggesting Trump’s hesitance on this issue betrays the very “forgotten Americans” he’s long championed.
“You know why Trump is losing his MAGA base on this?” Khanna asked pointedly on “Meet the Press.” “The reason he’s losing it is he ran saying, ‘There’s a corrupt governing elite that has shafted you,’ that ‘this is the Epstein class versus forgotten Americans, and I’m going to stand up for forgotten Americans. He’s forgotten those forgotten Americans,” Khanna continued.
While his rhetoric stings, one wonders if Khanna’s painting a fair picture—or just scoring cheap points with a base that’s skeptical of elite cover-ups anyway.
Khanna’s not alone in pushing for transparency, teaming up with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in a rare cross-aisle effort to force the release of Epstein-related files over recent months.
This bipartisan duo has been relentless, building momentum for a discharge petition that finally secured enough signatures earlier this week to trigger action.
A House vote on releasing these files is now set for the upcoming week, a development that could shine light on long-buried details—if it passes.
Every Democrat in the House, along with four Republicans, has backed this measure, showing that even some on the right aren’t shying away from demanding answers about Epstein’s network.
The final signature on the petition came from Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who signed on Wednesday shortly after being sworn in, tipping the scales for the vote.
Meanwhile, Khanna used his “Meet the Press” platform to urge Trump to meet directly with survivors, a call that’s hard to argue against if justice is truly the goal.
Yet, the White House isn’t taking this lying down, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson firing back, “Democrats and the mainstream media knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency.” Her defense raises a fair point—why the sudden outrage from the left when their own track record on this scandal reeks of inaction?
For months, the Trump administration has faced scrutiny from both sides of the aisle over how it’s handled information tied to Epstein, fueling speculation and distrust among even loyal supporters.
While Khanna’s accusations may carry a partisan edge, the bipartisan nature of the push for these files suggests there’s genuine concern about what’s being kept under wraps, and MAGA folks aren’t blind to that.
If Trump wants to keep his base fired up, he might need to step up and address this head-on, proving he’s still the outsider fighting the swamp—not part of it.