Another attempt by President Donald Trump to defend ally Pam Bondi and quell the uproar over the purported Jeffrey Epstein “client list” on July 12 was roasted on his own Truth Social platform.
Trump’s early evening post defended fellow Floridian Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, whom the president said was doing a “fantastic job” in his “PERFECT Administration,” which he insisted deserved accolades for securing the border, “fixing” the economy and restoring energy “dominance.” He then blamed “selfish people” whom Trump said are trying to “hurt” the administration “all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.”
Bondi’s Justice Department announced on July 7 that there was no “client list” amid Epstein documents it was reviewing and that it would not be releasing them.
But Trump’s followers on Truth Social were not having it and accused the president of “gaslighting,” and insisted his argument is “not holding water” in a display of defiance rarely seen on the platform.
Trump wants Jeffrey Epstein to be old news. His base disagrees.
Trump’s almost 400-word social media statement, one of the lengthiest the president has posted on Truth Social, was yet another attempt by the president to end the controversy over the Epstein files. Days earlier, he downplayed a media question about the matter by dismissing it as old news.
But anger within the president’s base has only mushroomed, with some calling for the ouster of Bondi, who previously served two terms as Florida attorney general and was on Trump’s legal team during the U.S. Senate trial in the first impeachment.
Here is a sampling of the criticism being aired on Truth Social:
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump again tries to dismiss the firestorm over Epstein ‘client list.’ It did not go well
Reporting by Antonio Fins, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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