Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, has backtracked on comments made on Monday where he declared he was 'done talking about' Jeffrey Epstein and would 'trust my friends in the government.' The reversal comes amid ongoing right-wing backlash over the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case.
On his Monday podcast, Kirk stated, 'Honestly, I'm done talking about Epstein for the time being. I'm gonna trust my friends in the administration, I'm gonna trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done [and] solve it.' He added that 'everyone knows my opinion about the Epstein thing' and that he would move on to other topics.
However, on Tuesday, Kirk claimed his comments were misconstrued, insisting that he had only meant he was taking a break 'for the time being' and specifically 'yesterday.' He complained that media coverage omitted the 'for the time being' part of his statement, though most outlets, including The Independent, included it.
Kirk also defended his trust in 'friends in the government,' clarifying he meant individual administration members like Dan Bongino and Kash Patel, not the government as a whole. He expressed a desire to see the Department of Justice unseal grand jury testimony related to Epstein.
The controversy follows President Donald Trump's efforts to quell the firestorm over a Department of Justice memo concluding Epstein was not murdered and had no client list. Trump has urged his base to move on and support Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has faced criticism over the memo.
