Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has frequently angered Trump, reminded his party about this on Sunday as he urged lawmakers to support legislation that would force the Justice Department to publish documents about Epstein.
“I would remind my Republican colleagues who are deciding how to vote — Donald Trump can protect you in red districts right now by giving you an endorsement,” Massie said on ABC News. “But in 2030, he’s not going to be the president, and you will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don’t vote to release these files, and the president can’t protect you then.”
Trump has opposed the Epstein bill in the House, describing it as a continuation of investigations that have shadowed him for years, until he abruptly reversed course on Sunday, saying “it’s time to move on” from the issue by announcing his support for the vote.
“We must keep the Majority at all costs,” Trump wrote on social media. “Republicans must fight back!”
Democrats swept elections in New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere this month, a sign of discontent with Trump’s handling of the economy.
Neil Newhouse, a longtime Republican pollster, said Democratic victories weren’t surprising but “what got our attention was the depth and the breadth of the wins.”
“We can tell them prices are going down until we’re blue in the face,” Newhouse said. “Unless they’re seeing it at the grocery stores, it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.”
