The firestorm of right-wing outrage over Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to shut down further releases of the Jeffrey Epstein files seems to have fizzled out just as fast as it erupted. After President Donald Trump publicly scolded his supporters and told them to “move on,” many of the loudest voices in conservative media are suddenly falling into line.
According to Media Matters, a watchdog group that monitors news coverage, Fox News went nearly silent on Epstein as of Monday morning. By noon, the network hadn’t mentioned Epstein a single time—compared to 46 mentions of President Joe Biden. By the end of the day, those numbers had ballooned to 158 for Biden and a mere eight for Epstein.
The shift wasn’t a fluke. On Tuesday, the pattern continued, with Fox’s prime-time stars seemingly obeying the new party line: silence.
It all comes on the heels of Trump’s frustrated Truth Social post over the weekend, where he berated his supporters for criticizing Bondi. The attorney general had previously promised transparency, but has since stated that no additional Epstein-related documents would be released, contradicting MAGA expectations that a bombshell client list would one day appear.
“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals’?” Trump wrote. “They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!”
“Why are we giving publicity to files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration?”
That message appears to have realigned the troops.
Fox’s Laura Ingraham—who just days earlier told her audience that Bondi’s closure of the case created “confusion” and “doubt”—made an abrupt U-turn on Monday. Instead of questioning Bondi or Trump, she chastised conservatives for “eating their own about Epstein” and redirected attention to the anniversary of Trump’s shooting attempt, calling it the story that really matters.
Even Bret Baier offered only a brief mention of the Epstein controversy on Special Report, noting that “this story does not go away here”—before quickly moving on.
Perhaps the most dramatic about-face came from Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk. On Friday, he stood before a crowd and asked, “How many of you think the Epstein thing is a big deal?”—to which nearly every hand shot up.
But by Monday, after reportedly receiving a call from Trump himself, Kirk was singing a different tune.
“Honestly, I’m done talking about Epstein for the time being,” Kirk said on his show. “I’m going to trust my friends in the administration… Ball’s in their hands.”
His remarks went viral—and backlash followed. By Tuesday, Kirk was back on the subject, insisting his comments had been misrepresented. He blamed the media for twisting his words and reiterated his faith in Trump’s team to handle the issue.
For now, many conservative figures appear to be tiptoeing around the Epstein question. Some are deferring to Trump’s messaging. Others are clearly recalibrating. But one thing is clear: what was once treated as a MAGA crusade for truth is quickly becoming a loyalty test—and those who stray too far from the official line risk being left behind.
In MAGA world, Epstein isn’t a scandal anymore. He’s a stress test. And right now, Trump’s grip on the narrative is winning.