CNN Host Throws Cold Water On Epstein Drama’s Effect On Trump’s Base: ‘Not One’

CNN contributor John King threw cold water on the notion that controversy surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case is dividing President Donald Trump’s base during Tuesday’s installment of The Arena With Kasie Hunt.

“This would be less of an issue for the president if, you know, this has actually split MAGA in many ways for, in some ways it’s the first real example we’ve seen of that,” host Kasie Hunt said without evidence.

Brad Todd, a longtime Republican strategist who currently works as a political commentator, cautioned that the issue may only be resonating among online influencers, talk radio hosts and the like. “Well, I think you’ve seen the sort of influencer, self-described influencer salon here basically in Washington that’s completely spun up about it. The surveys I see of regular voters say that they’re a whole lot more worried about can they afford a house? Are mortgage rates too high? What’s going to happen with the economy?” he said.

“I think that the president’s right to try to refocus attention on that because I think voters do care about it more. But you’re correct that the talk radio influencers, the click bait influencers, those people, they think this is ripe for profit.”

King then chimed in to largely agree with Todd, stating that he has yet to come across a single Trump voter who cites the Epstein case as a leading issue despite concerns over messaging from the administration. “I just reached out to a whole bunch of our Trump voters from our All Over the Map project. And you’re right, actually. You’re right. None of them said they’re turning on the president. And they all say costs, the economy, are way more important to them,” King said.

He did note, however, that many of those he talked to appear to have issues with the administration’s handling of the issue after Attorney General Pam Bondi’s disastrous “Epstein Files” rollout back in February.

“But a lot of these people are Trump voters, not necessarily Republican voters. And so do they show up in the midterms? Is it, you know, and it could be the tiniest little thing on the margins as we learn in every one of our elections. They do, I agree with you that it might not be the most important thing to your everyday Trump voter out there, but it’s still important and they think they’re being lied to,” King added.

King’s findings line up with those found in CNN’s most recent approval poll, which found that Trump’s favorability among Republican voters has increased since the Epstein drama surged back into the news earlier this month.

“I mean look, I think this one surprised me a bit because of all these complaints online going after Trump and the Epstein files, you might think his approval ratings were going down with Republicans. If anything, they’re going up,” CNN’s lead data analyst Harry Enten said when going over the results. In the network’s own poll, Trump’s approval among GOP respondents climbed to 88 percent, up from 86 percent in the previous survey.

Quinnipiac — which had former Vice President Kamala Harris winning every swing state with the exception of Georgia in its final 2024 presidential election poll — found even higher support for the president. Among Republican respondents, 90 percent expressed support for the president’s job performance, up from 87 percent in the prior poll.

“If anything, Donald Trump’s approval rating has gone up since this whole Epstein sagastarted. He is at the apex, or close there too, in terms of his popularity with Republican voters. Epstein files, complaints, or not,” Enten said, to which CNN’s Audie Cornish remarked, “You just proved that not everything online is real.”

Earlier this week, Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a motion for the release of grand jury documents relating to the Epstein case. One request was blocked by an Obama-appointed federal judge on Friday, though two separate requests are ongoing in New York.