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The American public isn’t happy with how President Donald Trump is handling the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, that’s according to a new poll shared by Lawrence O’Donnell on Wednesday’s “The Last Word.”
“The verdict in the court of public opinion is in, and it is not good for Donald Trump,” O’Donnell said, flashing the results of an Economist/YouGov poll released this week. According to the survey, 59% of Americans disapprove of the way Trump is handling the investigations into Epstein — and just 20% of respondents approved.
O’Donnell said that with dismal numbers like that, “everything Donald Trump does now is an attempt to get 59% of Americans to look the other way.”
The “Last Word” host told viewers to “think about how important this story is to Donald Trump’s presidency.” According to O’Donnell, Trump is acutely aware of how a fallout over the investigation could “challenge his ability to retain political power.”
“Republicans in Congress have never been afraid of Donald Trump,” O’Donnell continued. “They know he’s a clown who knows nothing. They know he’s a child prone to uncontrollable temper-tantrums. They know he doesn’t belong in the White House. They know he doesn’t belong anywhere in government. They have never been afraid of Donald Trump. But Republican politicians have been very afraid since Donald Trump won the Republican nomination for president in 2016 — that is when every Republican politician began living in abject fear of not Donald Trump, but Trump voters.”
O’Donnell put it more succinctly: “Donald Trump is nothing without Trump voters.”
The “Last Word” host warned that the controversy over the administration’s handling of the Epstein investigation risks fracturing that usually unwavering support. “Donald Trump’s power is completely dependent on support from Republican voters,” O’Donnell said. “And nothing, nothing has separated Donald Trump from his voters more than the man who has risen from the dead to remind us [he] was ‘Donald’s closest friend for 10 years,’ Jeffrey Epstein.”
You can watch O’Donnell’s full remarks in the clip at the top of the page.