
President Donald Trump blasted MAGA supporters who are demanding answers from his administration regarding the "Epstein files," calling said Republicans "stupid" and "foolish."
During a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa on Wednesday, President Trump was asked by a reporter to clarify his claim that the Jeffrey Epstein files were a hoax.
"Big hoax," Trump interjected. When pressed on whether Attorney General Pam Bondi had given him that information, he replied, "Not the attorney general, no, no."
"It's a hoax started by Democrats. It's been run by the Democrats for four years," Trump said. "You had [former FBI Director] Christopher Wray and these characters, and [James] Comey before him. It's a bad group," he added in a clip circulating on X.
Trump claimed the controversy began with the Steele dossier, also known as the Trump-Russia dossier, a series of reports that were compiled in 2016 by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. The dossier alleged ties between Trump's campaign and the Russian government and included unverified claims of election interference and compromising material on Trump.
The president took his opportunity Wednesday to dismiss the dossier outright, saying it "turned out to be a total hoax" before returning to the Epstein files.
"It's all been a big hoax," Trump reiterated. "It was perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans. Foolish Republicans fall into the net and end up doing the Democrats' work."
Trump on Epstein files: It is a hoax started by Democrats and run by Democrats for four years. You had Christopher Wray and Comey before him… It’s all been a big hoax perpetrated by Democrats. Some stupid Republicans fall into the net pic.twitter.com/7OP05huGL1
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 16, 2025
He then turned his criticism toward the Democratic Party, saying they're "good for nothing other than these hoaxes."
"They're bad for policies. They're bad for picking candidates that can get elected," he added.
Trump also took aim at New York City mayoral hopeful and Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, claiming the city has "a communist running" and warning, "He may get elected too actually... He'll destroy the city."
Social media users admonished Trump for suggesting the Epstein controversy was manufactured by Democrats, with one X user pointing out it was the Trump administration that distributed Epstein binders to MAGA influencers in February.
"Here we have some MAGA influencers holding up binders of a 'democratic hoax' provided by the trump administration," Keith Edwards, a political YouTuber, wrote in response.
Here we have some MAGA influencers holding up binders of a "democratic hoax" provided by the trump administration. pic.twitter.com/DhMrhr1uMH
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) July 16, 2025
"Remember when some MAGA influencers were posting the last few days, 'Does Trump think we're stupid?' Well, he just answered them," Ron Filipkowski, a former state and federal prosecutor, added.
Remember when some MAGA influencers were posting the last few days, “Does Trump think we’re stupid?” Well, he just answered them. https://t.co/82oBGSAEmx
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) July 16, 2025
MAGA influencers, supporters and politicians alike are raising concerns over the Trump administration's refusal to release the Epstein files, with former Trump aide Steve Bannon warning that the administration's stance could lead to the downfall of the MAGA movement and cost Trump the presidency in 2028 and former Fox New host Tucker Carlson claiming the mishandling could provoke "a revolution".
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