MAGA voters are passionate about protecting children from abuse. That may explain why President Trump was unable to prevent the release of the Epstein files.
What is a discharge petition? Why is it used in the Epstein files?
Republicans are trying to use the “removal petition” to force a vote on the Epstein File Transparency Act. Some members of his own party are rebelling against Trump.
- Calls for child protection are a common theme among some Republicans, tied to issues such as abortion, immigration and transgender rights.
- Pollsters have suggested the Epstein controversy could be politically damaging to Trump and erode support from his base.
As Charlene Lewis prayed with dozens of others in front of a West Palm Beach clinic where abortions will be performed in 2022, she reflected on why she wanted to “emphasize the sanctity of life and emphasize its importance if we can give each child a chance.”
Before Donald Trump’s 2023 speech at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, Greg Smith drew parallels between the historic presidents, saying that while Abraham Lincoln “freed the slaves,” Trump was “freeing the children.” Moments later, Smith and the crowd of thousands cheered as Trump vowed to crack down on transgender rights and gender reassignment surgeries, which Smith and others see as endangering minors.
A year ago, at the Mar-a-Lago premiere of a documentary exposing the exploitation of children at secret southern border crossings, viewers with tears in their eyes declared, “We want our children to be safe,” and “there’s human trafficking and danger on open borders.”
These three seemingly disparate issues—reproductive rights, immigration, and sexual identity—have long shared a common thread: the recommendation to protect children. This call is now at the center of demands for the release of government documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal abuse and trafficking of underage girls.
After Congress ultimately ordered the release of investigative files into the deceased financier’s heinous crimes, President Trump again said, “I don’t care” about the issue.
But in Trump and Epstein’s home county of Palm Beach, that negative sentiment runs counter to the core issues that united Republican, MAGA and independent voters that propelled Trump to the presidency.
This core belief may well explain why President Trump’s efforts to pressure Republicans and MAGA supporters to walk away from the Epstein case did not work.
On November 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution 427-1 ordering the release of documents and files from a judicial investigation into a serial pedophile. The Senate then agreed unanimously, and President Trump signed the bill late on November 19th.
After the House vote, Epstein victim Haley Robson called on Trump and others to “step up,” echoing a familiar common theme throughout the MAGA world.
“Choose your children. Protect your children,” she implored, adding, “By protecting your children, all children, you protect us all equally.”
President Trump, why not call Epstein a pervert and order the release of his files?
Despite the Epstein issue’s importance to his political base, until recently President Trump has steadfastly denounced it as a “hoax.”
In early November, he tried to pressure Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert from the White House to withdraw support for the bill in Congress. He slammed Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and called Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a MAGA star, a “traitor.” Both were vocal supporters of the Republican bill.
While wrapping up his weekend visit to Palm Beach on November 16, President Trump reversed his stance and supported passage of the House bill. Skeptical observers speculated that the cause of this change of heart was more rooted in a resigned acceptance that the bill would pass if the Republican vote share increased.
When asked after the House approval why he didn’t order the files released without waiting for Congress to act, Trump bristled and refused to answer, calling it “insubordination” and “a terrible question.”
“As far as the Epstein file goes, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump said. “I kicked him out of the club years ago because I thought he was a terrible pervert. It turns out I was right.”
Pollster calls Epstein controversy ‘kryptonite’ for Trump
President Trump also began posting on Truth Social in which he reiterated his frequently made claims. From “closed” borders to banning transgender athletes from women’s sports to ending wars, “all the victories we’ve won” far outweigh the importance of the Epstein file.
John Zogby, a pollster who writes for the conservative newspaper Washington Examiner, said in a Nov. 14 podcast that President Trump is risking his own political detriment by slamming and ridiculing the Epstein scandal.
“I’ve always said I believe Jeffrey Epstein is Kryptonite,” Zogby said of the embarrassing emails for the president that were released on Nov. 12.
In a subsequent interview with USA TODAY Network’s Palm Beach Post, Zogby said that polling since the summer showed signs that President Trump’s support among Republicans has declined slightly. Zogby said the president’s approval rating among Republican voters has consistently been well above 90%, but some surveys since the Epstein controversy erupted have put his approval rating in the low-to-mid 80% range.
Zogby wonders how the various “evidence”, including the “full court coverage” against Boebert and continued resistance to releasing the files, will influence Republican voters going forward.
“Frankly, if there’s nothing there, you can just leave it alone,” he said of the file. “People are fed up and we’re kind of in the middle of a storm right now. People are seriously looking to 2026 and asking, is this guy going to hurt them?”
Antonio Fins is the politics and business editor of the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network. Please contact us at afins@pbpost.com. Please support our journalism. Subscribe now.
