CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten says Donald Trump has some of the sharpest political instincts he’s ever seen.
On Monday, Enten noted that Google searches for Jeffrey Epstein have dropped 89% from three weeks ago. That suggests Americans have moved on from the Trump administration’s handling of the case.
“I would just say this, Donald Trump has some of the best political instincts of any politician I’ve seen and on this particular issue, you see it full well and clear because he has been saying ‘you know what, [the Epstein files] is not an issue’ and it turns out a lot of the American public actually seem to agree with him,” Enten said.
Trump’s approval rating is 44% — seven points higher than it was in August 2017 during his first term. In a July CNN/SSRS poll, only one Republican voter named Epstein as their top issue. No Democrats or Independents did.
“[Trump’s approval] is still well within that margin of error here of 44% and you compare that to where he was in his first term at this point, he was 37%,” Enten said. “So he’s seven points higher, very much in a different political universe now. It’s significantly higher in terms of his overall approval rating than he was at this point in his first term … So no, he hasn’t lost any of that base and when it comes to that center of the electorate, he’s basically holding on there and his overall approval rating, 44%, is pretty darn gosh good for him considering where he was at this point in term number one.”
The Epstein story flared again after the administration concluded on July 6 that Epstein died by suicide and did not have a “client list.” Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously told Fox News she had the list on her desk, but the DOJ and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she was referring to various documents from multiple cases.
Trump has repeatedly criticized reporters for focusing on the Epstein story. He also sued the Wall Street Journal on July 18 after it claimed he drew a nude woman and sent it to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.
The Daily Beast and Democratic strategist James Carville later retracted claims that Melania Trump had strong ties to Epstein.
On July 29, Trump told reporters he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. He said Epstein had been hiring his female spa workers, including then-17-year-old Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein of recruiting her for sex acts.