One word that shows how much damage the Epstein scandal has done to Trump

President Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt had a one-word answer about whether the White House would intervene in the UK extradition case against the former manosphere Maga heroes, Andrew and Tristan Tate. “No.” These two letters spell out the extent to which Trump’s reputation has been damaged by his association with the late paedophile Jeffery Epstein. The President can’t afford to spend his depleted political capital defending a pair of alleged sex abusers. The dual national British-American Tates face multiple charges in the UK of rape, sex trafficking and sexual assault. Andrew Tate faces additional charges of “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography” – a particularly sensitive allegation in Maga-land after the Epstein files fallout. The brothers, who both deny any wrongdoing, have spent the last week in a Miami jail, allegedly in solitary confinement according to their lawyer. Andrew Tate claimed self-pityingly on X he was being held “next to a cannibal who screamed through the night”. Joseph McBride, the Tates’s Maga-friendly lawyer, who represented January 6 riot defendants, tried pushing the usual buttons that trigger Trump’s sympathy. He claimed this week the brothers were “political prisoners on American soil”, so far to no avail. This contrasts to February 2025 when Trump officials reportedly urged Romania to lift travel restrictions on Andrew Tate. Tate, then under criminal investigation in the country, had texted excitedly about Trump’s victory according to reports: “I had word from the Trump admin that they’re on top of things… I’ve been told I’ll be free soon but Trump needs to see me in Miami.” This week’s apparent cold shoulder from Trump seems to be a tacit admission that the Epstein case has been his undoing. The President’s popularity has never recovered from the slump last summer caused by the sustained political pressure and Maga splits over slow-walking the release of the Epstein files. By July 2025, Trump’s electoral honeymoon was over and a clear majority of Americans, 53 per cent, began to disapprove of his performance in office, according to New York Times polling averages (his ratings have slumped further to 59 per cent). Top White House officials were so worried that Vice President JD Vance and chief of staff Susie Wiles held a crisis meeting on 17 July, 2025, in the Situation Room – a secure bunker reserved for grave national security matters – to discuss the Epstein fallout, according to revelations in the book Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swann. Tristan and Andrew Tate in 2025. The brothers face multiple charges in the UK of rape, sex trafficking and sexual assault (Photo: Andrei Pungovschi/Getty) Trapped by the resurgence of war with Iran, rising fuel prices at home and with the midterm elections looming, Trump’s top officials are in no mood to allow the President to fall into a similar morass over the Tates. Melania Trump may have her own reasons for hoping her husband keeps his distance from the toxic bros. The Tates were arrested within days of appearing in Washington at a party hosted by Paolo Zampolli, Trump’s special envoy for global affairs. Zampolli scouted the young Melania Knauss as a model in Slovenia in the 1990s and introduced her to Trump. He also knew Epstein socially and his former long-time partner, Amanda Ungaro, flew as a teenager on the billionaire’s plane. More than for herself, however, Melania may dread her son Barron being dragged into the Tate controversy. In 2024, Barron Trump, then 18, reportedly was a fan and took part in a joint Zoom call with Andrew Tate. In a bid to create mischief, a Democratic congressman, Yassamin Ansari, has called for Barron Trump to give evidence to the House Oversight Committee on whether he had knowledge or “any involvement whatsoever” in the Tates’s alleged crimes and or discussed their legal affairs with the President.A spokesperson for the Tates previously said the reports about Barron and Andrew were “fake news” and the White House has not commented. There is no evidence that Barron, a student at New York University, has had any further connection with the Tates, let alone one that would justify being questioned by Congress, but he did help his father reach out to manosphere influencers at the last election. Donald Trump Jr, who called the Tates’s imprisonment in Romania “absolute insanity”, has been silent over their current predicament. Alina Habba, Trump’s former legal adviser, who previously told the brothers, “I’ve got your back”, has not responded to requests for help, according to the New York Times. Paul Ingrassia, a Maga lawyer who serves as a general counsel in the Trump administration, initially criticised “politically motivated prosecutions” on X but told the paper: “I have no ongoing connections to them now.” Trump is not only keen to put the Epstein saga behind him, but also faces the embarrassment of having been obliged to pay $5.6m damages to former agony aunt E Jean Carroll this month, after he was found personally liable for sexual assault and defamation. He is currently trying to claw back the money in a quixotic new legal challenge, but the Supreme Court has already declined his appeal to quash the lower courts’ verdict. Trump has learned the hard way that there is no upside to being associated with alleged rapists and sex offenders. As they await extradition to the UK, Andrew and Tristan Tate have found they can’t rely on a fickle Trump for support.