A new poll shows that three out of four Americans oppose the way Donald Trump’s administration handled documents related to Jeffrey Epstein as legislation to declassify it sits on the president’s desk.
The Marquette University Law School surveyed 1,052 people nationwide between Nov. 5 and Nov. 12.
The poll found that Trump’s handling of documents related to the pedophile financier was his third-worst polling issue, ahead of only the government shutdown and his administration’s providing between $20 to $40 billion to shore up Argentina.
Only 26 percent of Americans approve of the way Trump has handled the affair, while 74 percent disapprove. A majority of Republicans also disapprove of the way Trump has handled the issue of releasing the Epstein documents, with 57 percent of Republicans disapproving of the way Trump has managed it.
The poll also shows both women and men overwhelmingly disapprove of how Trump has handled the Epstein matter — 73 percent of men disapprove and 74 percent of women. Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 overwhelmingly did not approve, with 84 percent of young people registering their displeasure with his handling of the matter.
It was Trump who reinvigorated the matter. During the 2024 presidential campaign he promised voters that he would declassify information related to Epstein. But in July, the Department of Justice and the FBI released a two-page memo that said Epstein did not have a “client list” and that the sex trafficker likely killed himself in federal custody in 2019, despite conspiracy theories about his hanging death in jail.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives swiftly passed legislation to release the documents in a stunning 427-to-1 vote. Initially, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson opposed the legislation, with Trump calling the whole matter a “Democrat hoax.”
Afterward, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) requested unanimous consent so that the bill would automatically be considered passed the moment the House sent the text to the upper chamber. The bill officially arrived at the Senate on Wednesday morning and headed to Trump’s desk immediately.
That led to Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) filing a discharge petition to force a vote on the floor. Along with every Democrat, Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Nancy Mace of South Carolina all signed the petition. That led to Trump turning his wrath on Massie and un-endorsing Greene.
Then, over the weekend, Trump changed his mind and said he would support the vote to release documents related to the late convicted sex offender who trafficked teenage girls.
That opened the door for the massive vote to pass the legislation. At roughly the same time, Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Epstein’s involvement with prominent Democratic elected officials like former president Bill Clinton, former government officials like ex-Treasury secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder and prominent Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.
By far Trump has the highest approval rating for his handling of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza, with 67 percent of Americans approving of it and 54 percent approve of his border security policy. But 55 percent of Americans disapprove of his immigration policy.
The poll also has a mixed picture for Democrats. In September, 53 percent of Democratic voters approved of Democrats in Congress.
But in November, after Democrats opposed a continuing resolution to keep the government open in hopes of extending enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace, 64 percent of Democratic voters approved of their party leaders in Congress.
Marquette conducted the poll after Democrats swept races in New Jersey, Virginia, New York City and Georgia among other areas thanks to large voter turnout and backlash against Trump. But the poll ended as a handful of moderate Democratic senators brokered a deal to end the shutdown.
The poll also found that 49 percent of voters would expect to vote for a Democrat in the 2026 midterm election compared to 44 percent who expect to vote for a Republican in the midterm.
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