The hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” turned their attention Monday morning to the “growing turmoil” over the Trump administration‘s handling of its Jeffrey Epstein files.
Last week, the Justice Department announced that it had uncovered no list of Epstein’s clients, contradicting previous remarks by multiple Trump officials, including attorney general Pam Bondi. On his Truth Social account, Trump downplayed the Epstein situation on Saturday, insisting that his “perfect administration” was being criticized by selfish people who are “trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.” He asked his supporters not to “waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”
The Atlantic contributing editor and “Morning Joe” co-host Jonathan Lemire said Monday that Trump’s post has had the opposite of its intended effect. “Trump’s efforts to try to quell this storm, his Truth Social post [was] nearly a thousand words over the weekend, [have done] exactly the opposite,” Lemire told MSNBC viewers. “There’s real, real anger here.”
You can watch the full “Morning Joe” segment yourself in the video below.
Trump’s Truth Social post was not the first time that he has expressed his frustration with the growing outrage over the government’s Epstein files. During a press conference last week with Bondi, who told Fox News back in February that she had Epstein’s long-rumored client list sitting on her desk, Trump snapped at a reporter who brought up the Justice Department’s Epstein memo, remarking, “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?”
“This is what’s interesting about this. Do we know what the actual Epstein list is? Or even if there is a list? No, we do not,” Lemire observed on Monday’s “Morning Joe.” “But what we do know is this is a rare moment, a very rare moment, where there is a real fracture in the president’s base.” The “Morning Joe” co-host went on to suggest that Trump’s recent, Epstein-related outbursts and pleas are reflective of the genuine “panic” currently felt by members of his administration.
“I’m told … there’s some real panic in the White House right now. A lot of people have gone quiet. A lot of people have gone dark, but they recognize — those that are talking — recognize right now this is a problem,” Lemire noted. “It’s the first time they’ve had a problem like this, and they don’t think it’s gonna go away anytime soon.”
