Dem
47
GOP
53
As we note above, the strange case of Jeffrey Epstein is probably not going away anytime soon. It might even stretch into 2027, when the presidential primary debates will begin. The more stonewalling there is, the longer the story will live.
Some potential Republican candidates are already staking out positions on Epstein. Will they support Donald Trump and say: "Nothing to see here, move on"? Or will they support the base and demand full transparency (in the expectations that many Democrats will be implicated)? One thing that seems likely is that potential candidates who want everything out there are not in the Epstein files themselves.
Of course, taking a position now is playing with fire, because new information might come out that could make a well-entrenched position look terrible. For example, "Nothing to see here" could look very bad if a dozen congressional Republicans and multiple dozen Republican donors were later shown on video to be committing rape of teenagers, live and in color.
So far, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Rand Paul (R-KY) are with the base and demanding that everything related to Epstein be released. Cruz is planning a retreat with donors next month and has his own podcast and radio show. Hawley has taken a number of high-profile positions of late, including banning stock trading by the president, vice president, and members of Congress. Paul just visited South Carolina and will soon visit New Hampshire.
On the other hand, J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem are 100% in with Trump and support the "nothing to see here" view. Some other possible candidates, including Govs. Brian Kemp (R-GA), Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) are trying to keep out of it, for the moment.
All of them are probably aware that polls are showing that almost 80% of Trump voters want to get to the bottom of this and want everything out there. They are not thinking this through at all, since it is very likely that some Republicans, possibly including their hero, are in deep trouble here. Also, 52% of Trump voters think the government is covering up stuff. Nonpoliticians who support Trump, including Mike Cernovich, Mike Lindell, Joe Rogan, Andrew Schultz and Steve Bannon, are attacking Trump for not releasing everything. This puts them in alignment with the base, but in opposition to Trump. (V)