Charlie Kirk talks Epstein, urges Trump administration to act
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Charlie Kirk stands in the back of the room as President Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony in the Oval Office on May 28. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Charlie Kirk, one of the most powerful and influential MAGA podcasters, devoted Tuesday's podcast to extensive interviews about Jeffrey Epstein — a day after he and several other MAGA figures suggested they would take President Trump's advice and move on.
- Andrew Kolvet, the show's executive producer, told Axios that Monday's viral clip had additional context: "Charlie is not done talking about it. The ball is in the administration's court to find a solution."
Why it matters: The MAGA blowback over the handling of Epstein evidence is a rare instance of the president's base bucking his wishes.
- On Tuesday's show, Kirk urged the Trump administration to fix the Epstein mess by disclosing more information.
- The conclusions from the Justice Department and FBI that the disgraced financier did not have a "client list" and died by suicide have prompted anger from Trump-world, often with Attorney General Pam Bondi as their top target for punishment.
Between the lines: Trump has urged his rattled MAGA base to not "waste [t]ime" on the Epstein case, and tried to stifle the outrage.
- In a lengthy Truth Social post Saturday, the president wrote that "selfish people" are trying to hurt the administration, "all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein," who he described as "somebody that nobody cares about."
- Many key voices on the right certainly do still care about Epstein and aren't buying the administration's dismissal.
Driving the news: Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, said on his show on Monday that he will "trust" his "friends in the government to do what needs to be done, solve it, ball's in their hands."
- At TPUSA's Student Action Summit over the weekend, attendees expressed deep skepticism over the administration's rollout of information about the convicted sex trafficker, Axios' Tal Axelrod reported.
- In a post on X, Kirk added, "I discussed how the communication and transparency could be much improved, how the base wasn't going to just move on, and provided options for ways forward. Now, I'm giving them space to operate."
- CNN reported that Trump spoke with Kirk over the weekend.
Zoom out: Dinesh D'Souza, noting that while unanswered questions remain, said on his Monday podcast episode that it's "time to move on."
- "I think that right now it seems pretty clear we're not gonna get more information out of the government," he said. "They have closed the case. Unless Ghislaine Maxwell, who's in prison, speaks out, and she's free to speak out."
The divide also threatens to spill over into Capitol Hill, Axios' Andrew Solender and Kate Santaliz report, where House Democrats have seized on the friction and attempted to force a vote on making Bondi release all records related to Epstein.
- While some GOP members are echoing the scrutiny shared online over the rollout, others have flocked to the AG's defense and don't seem to want to touch the issue dividing the MAGA base.
What they're saying: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) characterized the Epstein conversation as "nonsense" on "CNN News Central" Monday.
- Pressed by CNN's John Berman on what the "nonsense" was, Lawler replied, "Frankly, the fact that you're even covering this. ... I don't even understand frankly ... why we're spending a lot of time on Jeffrey Epstein."
What we're watching: There are possible routes the White House may take to mitigate the damage, Axios' Marc Caputo reported.
- Those include appointing a special counsel to investigate the case, removing redactions to already released documents and petitioning courts to unseal Epstein-related records.
Go deeper: MAGA's siege mentality shadows Trump's "Golden Age"
Editor's note: This story has been updated and it's headline changed to reflect most recent developments.
