Carville: Trump could face ‘political catastrophe’ with MAGA base over Epstein furor
Democratic political strategist James Carville weighed in on the pressure from President Trump’s MAGA base for the Justice Department (DOJ) to release more files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying Trump losing “even 10 percent” of his supporters would be a “political catastrophe.”
In an appearance Thursday on CNN’s “The Situation Room,” Carville outlined potential political fallout the president could face from the Epstein controversy.
“If you think about it, well, he can’t lose any of his base. He clocks in, let’s just say 88 percent of Republicans, maybe 90, you know, he’s sprawling among independents and 90 percent of the Democrats don’t like him. Well, if he loses even 10 percent of his Republican support, that’s a political catastrophe for him,” Carville told host Wolf Blitzer. “I mean, he’s operating under very small margins here.”
The analysis comes as calls mount for the Trump administration to release more information following its probe of the Epstein case. Earlier this month the DOJ and FBI unveiled a joint memo that concluded the convicted sex offender did not keep a “client list” — seemingly a contradiction from previous comments.
Voters and Republicans, along with Democrats, have shown distrust in the federal government in recent days over DOJ’s perceived lack of transparency. A new survey from Emerson College Polling found that 51 percent of voters disapprove of how the administration is handling the files
A Fox News Poll from earlier this week also revealed that only 13 percent of the GOP says the administration has been transparent, while 60 percent said the opposite.
The president has sought to shake off the drama in recent days, even lashing out at MAGA supporters, with little to no avail.
“Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats’ work,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office last week.
He added at the time, “I call it the Epstein hoax. Takes a lot of time and effort. Instead of talking about the great achievements we’ve had … they’re wasting their time with a guy who obviously had some very serious problems, who died three, four years ago. I’d rather talk about the success we have with the economy.”
Trump amid pressure from his base asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to request the release of the grand jury testimonies of Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. The latter met with Bondi’s deputy Todd Blanche on Thursday and will continue answering questions on Friday.
Despite the request, a judge denied the request.
The president is also entangled in a legal battle after bombshell reporting from the Wall Street Journal earlier this week said Bondi told Trump two months ago that he was mentioned in the Epstein files. The president has denied the claims and sued the outlet over the report.
Carville suggested Thursday that while that would not automatically implicate him, “there is evidence he knew about it.”
“He said Epstein likes girls, particularly on the younger side. I mean, he was obviously aware at a minimum of what Epstein was up to,” he added.
The president has brushed off the criticism, writing late Friday that the continued furor is just part of a “Democrat CON JOB.”
“They have gone absolutely CRAZY, and are playing another Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax but, this time, under the guise of what we will call the Jeffrey Epstein SCAM,” he wrote on Truth Social. “As things are revealed and, I hope will take place quickly, you will see that it is yet another Democrat CON JOB.”