Department of Justice’s (DOJ) handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files is really stirring things up, with a new poll revealing that more than half of Americans believe President Trump is trying to cover up crimes related to the convicted sex offender, as reported by The Hill. This is a pretty significant finding, and it definitely highlights the public’s concern over the transparency of this whole situation.
According to a recent Economist/YouGov poll, a whopping 53 percent of people surveyed think President Trump is actively “trying to cover up Epstein’s crimes.” On the other hand, 29 percent of respondents don’t share that belief. It’s also interesting to note that exactly half of those polled suspect President Trump was involved in Epstein’s illicit activities, while 30 percent think he wasn’t.
We’re seeing a clear party-line split here, which isn’t too surprising. For example, 91 percent of Democrats surveyed said they believe President Trump is attempting a cover-up, compared to just 13 percent of Republicans. Similarly, 86 percent of Democrats think he was involved in Epstein’s activities, while 67 percent of Republicans believe he wasn’t.
The poll really puts into perspective the public’s current view of the situation, showing widespread disapproval
Now, it’s important to remember that President Trump hasn’t been credibly accused of any criminal activity connected to Epstein, and he’s vehemently denied any wrongdoing himself. He’s stated that he cut ties with the late financier many years ago. However, the Trump administration has faced a lot of criticism for how it’s managed the Epstein investigation overall.
Congress actually passed a law last year, almost unanimously, that required the DOJ to publicly release all of its files on Epstein. President Trump, under a lot of pressure, signed that bill into law. But since then, the DOJ has really come under fire. They’ve been criticized for releasing files with super broad redactions in some places, yet, in a really unfortunate oversight, they’ve also left some information exposed that identifies victims.
This dissatisfaction is clearly reflected in the latest poll numbers. Only 24 percent of respondents approved of how President Trump is handling the investigation into Epstein, while a substantial 57 percent disapproved. Even former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was a close ally of President Trump before their very public split late last year, weighed in on the issue. She called the Epstein files President Trump’s “biggest political miscalculation” during an appearance on a podcast.
Greene claimed that President Trump only signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law “because he had to.” She explained that President Trump had initially pushed back against the bipartisan effort to release these files. He only changed course and endorsed the effort right before the bill was passed in Congress. Greene stated that it “became a massive political problem” and was the “biggest political miscalculation in Donald Trump’s career” to call it a hoax and fight the release.
She even mentioned that she, along with Representatives Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert, had to vote with all the Democrats to get the bill released because Speaker Mike Johnson initially refused to bring it to a vote.
Published: Feb 18, 2026 12:30 pm