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While Donald Trump’s MAGA base remains in uproar over his administration’s apparent decision to close the case on Jeffrey Epstein, the president’s former pal and child sex trafficker, he can still rely on Republicans lawmakers, Fox News, and (at least some) right-wing influencers to do his bidding. 

A day after Trump infuriated his most loyal supporters by dismissing their outrage over a Department of Justice (DOJ) memo that basically said “there is nothing to see here” with regard to Epstein’s client list, the financier’s mysterious death in prison, and that nobody else would be charged in association with his sordid crimes, the MAGA establishment complied with the president’s order to move on.

“One year ago, our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote in a social media post this weekend. “Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

And, even though this is the HOTTEST topic (to use the president’s parlance) right now — both in MAGA circles and in the mainstream media — Fox News decided it was time to put this whole Epstein thing to rest.

Through 4:00 pm, the pro-Trump network had mentioned Epstein’s name zero times on Monday, according to Matthew Gertz of Media Matters, a left-wing organization that keeps track of the right-wing propaganda machine. 

Conversely, Fox had referenced Joe Biden 85 times, much of it in connection with the story with which the network’s executives hope to distract their audience: the former president’s use of an autopen. 

Interestingly enough, Fox itself became part of the Epstein story.

One reason why the MAGA base is so enraged by the administration’s inaction and secrecy in the case is that Trump had promised to make the Epstein files public in a pre-election interview with the network. 

However, the raw video of that conversation with three Fox News hosts, including current Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, shows that Trump’s answer was heavily edited. 

While the version that aired made it sound as though the then-candidate would gladly declassify files related to 9/11, JFK, and Epstein, in reality, Trump had hemmed, hawed, and hedged when it came to documents related to his former friend. 

“I think [Epstein] less so because you know, you don’t want to affect people’s lives if there is phony stuff in there,” Trump said. “Because you know, there is a lot of phony stuff in that whole world.”

And, when asked whether declassifying those materials would rebuild the public trust in the government, Trump added “I don’t know about Epstein so much as I do the others.” 

Fox apparently did not think that this was information the MAGA base — for whom sex trafficking of children is a central concern — should have, and creatively edited the interview. 

If you have been paying attention, then you will know that this is the same thing for which Paramount just shelled out $16 million to Trump (for legal costs and his presidential library). Of course, in that case, it was more of a bribe to get the president to greenlight a merger than anything else, so this isn’t exactly the same thing. 

Fox wasn’t alone in trying to keep Epstein out of the news and the public consciousness. 

On Monday night, the Republican majority on the House Rules Committee thwarted an attempt by Democrats to attach an amendment to a cryptocurrency bill that the chamber will consider this week that would force DOJ to release the Epstein files. 

Notably, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) voted with the Democrats in a sign that spells trouble for Trump. While he can control the GOP’s leadership, there are some rank-and-file Republicans who are feeling quite differently about whether the Epstein matter should just be swept under the rug. 

One of them is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who is usually one of the president’s most loyal supporters. 

“America deserves the truth about Jeffrey Epstein and the rich powerful elites in his circle,” she tweeted Monday. “The line is drawn with anyone who abuses children and vulnerable innocent people. When George Santos is going to prison for 7 years but Epstein only served 13 months, our justice system is CORRUPT!!!”

That kind of rhetoric is a real problem for Trump because he is one of the “rich powerful elites” in Epstein’s circle. 

While that fact seems to have evaded the attention of the president’s MAGA supporters, if they continue to be frustrated with Trump’s behavior, they may just step outside of their bubble and discover that there is a wealth of information out there that they will find highly troubling. 

This includes images of the two men getting along splendidly, complimentary statements Trump made about Epstein (including one in which he references his pal’s preference for young women), and the president’s bizarre comments on Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier’s confidante who is serving a prison sentence for her role in the child sex trafficking ring (that DOJ now wants MAGA to believe didn’t exist or at least doesn’t merit additional investigation).

Finally, they may also learn that the president is seemingly taking a hands-on approach in an effort to make this story go away. 

CNN reported that Trump called right-wing activist and influencer Charlie Kirk, who had been one of the most vocal critics of Attorney General Pam Bondi at his Turning Point USA Student Action Summit this weekend.

That seems to have done the trick. 

On Monday, Kirk told his podcast audience that he is “done talking about Epstein for the time being. I’m gonna trust my friends in the administration, I’m gonna trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done, solve it, ball’s in their hands.”

All that being said, it seems unlikely that MAGA nation, which isn’t exactly the “trust the government” crowd, will be as easily mollified.

Based on the overwhelmingly negative responses to Trump’s post in which he asks his supporters to not waste any additional time and energy on Epstein, the president has his work cut out to make this story go away. 

That is putting it mildly. 

This is the one issue on which he is losing control of his base. Trump has always styled himself as an outsider and a disruptor who will shake things up. But in this case, the most important one in the eyes of many MAGA loyalists, he is the establishment, he is the elites, his lackeys are the deep state.

For now, the best case-scenario for him is that the ire of his supporters will focus on the likes of Bondi, and that he will eventually sacrifice her. 

However, even that may not be enough at this point, because MAGA nation demands answers that the administration clearly doesn’t want to provide.

One thing is certain: As far as his base is concerned, this is the biggest crisis of Trump’s political career, which is saying something, because they forgave him an admission of sexually assaulting women, blatant corruption, a felony conviction, and a failed coup. 

And that begs the question: What exactly is in those files if Trump is willing to pay such a high price to keep them hidden?