Perhaps few people could have foreseen that it was not the rising cost of living or the "court drama" surrounding the White House that shook the core base of President Trump's supporters, but rather the Epstein case from six years ago.

According to a report by CNN on July 16, due to a large number of supporters being dissatisfied with Trump's handling of the Epstein case, Trump in turn accused them of completely believing in the Democratic Party's "fraud," and stated that he no longer needed their support.

Previously, the U.S. Department of Justice had stated on July 7 that after a "thorough review," they found no evidence that the convicted sex offender Epstein extorted celebrities, kept a "client list," or had other documents worthy of public disclosure. The FBI stated that Epstein's cause of death was suicide and even released a long surveillance video as evidence.

However, Trump's base "MAGA" (Make America Great Again) supporters had long suspected that Epstein's death was intended to cover up other conspiracies involving American elites. Moreover, the FBI's released surveillance footage was revealed to be missing one minute of content, which caused many former supporters to become dissatisfied and suspicious of the relevant departments and Trump himself. In addition, during the period when Trump had a falling out with Musk, Musk had stated that Trump was also connected to the Epstein list, making the Trump administration's stance on the Epstein case more intriguing.

On the 15th, Trump returned to the White House. Associated Press

What further enraged Trump was the division within the Republican Party over whether the Epstein files should be made public. John Johnson, a Republican who had long been a political ally of Trump, also called for the Department of Justice to disclose the related documents. On July 15, Johnson mentioned the Epstein case in a podcast program, stating: "This is a very sensitive issue; we should make everything public so the people can decide."

Mike Pence, the vice president during Trump's first term, also said in an interview on the 16th: "I think anyone involved in this case or associated with this despicable person (Epstein) should be subject to public scrutiny."

On local time July 16, Trump angrily stated on his "Truth Social" platform: "Democrats are good at fraud and deception. The latest example I will always call 'the Epstein scam.' My former supporters completely believed this nonsense! They haven't learned a lesson, and they might never learn one, even if they were deceived by radical leftists for eight years."

At the end, Trump even said: "Let these wimps continue to work for the Democrats. There's no need to talk about our extraordinary and unprecedented achievements anymore because I don't need their support anymore!"

The original post by Trump "Truth Social"

CNN reported that although Trump still spoke toughly, the development of the incident may be going beyond his control. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of the Republican Party is currently trying to gather conservative lawmakers' allies, even connecting with Democrats, pushing the House to vote to require the Department of Justice to release all documents related to Epstein. Interestingly, one of Greene's most famous labels is "conspiracy theorist."

Representative Eric Burlison from Missouri told CNN that the Epstein issue has become the top concern raised by voters in the past week. "This somewhat highlights the frustration of the American people, who feel they cannot trust their government," he said. "So I think ultimately, it's a question: Is this government for the people, or are the people for this government?"

Although the lawmakers are full of enthusiasm, CNN also reminded that actual voting is expected to take place only after the lawmakers return from their summer break in September. Greene and others need to go through a process that takes some time before they can push forward.

Currently, the pressure to disclose more information about the Epstein case has fallen on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. CNN reported that she had previously stated there was a "client list" of Epstein on her desk, but later her department claimed that such a list did not exist in a memo.

Trump publicly supported Bondi, saying she had "handled it well," and added that whether other "credible" information could be released depended on her. On the 15th, Bondi denied that the Department of Justice would release more files and stated that the documents already released were "sufficient to explain the issue," and refused to answer more related questions.

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