'A Question of Leadership': Florida Voters Are Turning on Donald Trump Over Epstein Files Controversy

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released more than three million pages of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case on January 30.

Having said that, President Donald Trump and his administration have faced considerable criticism over the handling of the Epstein files.

Now, the Epstein issue has emerged as one of the primary contributing factors for his plummeting approval rating among the Florida voters, according to a new statewide poll.

The poll, conducted by Democratic consultants and reported by the Miami Herald, found that voters have expressed disapproval of Trump's approach to the release of the Epstein files.

The results of the statewide poll showed that Miami voters gave Trump a net approval rating of -25.

One of the most important factors that resulted in such an underwhelming performance of the president, was the Epstein files issue.

The issue was the president's lowest-performing topic in the poll.

Other issues including abortion, government spending, the Iran conflict and inflation also produced negative approval ratings for the president.

In the fall of 2025, Trump initially opposed legislation that would have mandated the public release of the Epstein files, but reversed course after the bill drew strong support from House Republicans.

Also in 2025, Trump interrupted a reporter who asked about a missing minute of prison surveillance footage from the night of Epstein's death.

During a White House Cabinet meeting, a reporter directed the question to Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Trump quickly intervened and answered, “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years. Are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.”

He then questioned whether the reporter was interested in wasting time.

Dismissing any foul play, Bondi said that the prison camera system dated to 1999 and that authorities were attempting to retrieve the lost footage.

"Every night, the video is reset and every night should have the same minute missing. So we're looking for that video to release that, as well, showing that a minute is missing every night," she said.

In February 2025, Bondi was asked whether Epstein's client list would be released, to which she replied that it was on her desk. However, a subsequent memo indicated that no such list existed.

When asked about the client list at the Cabinet meeting, Bondi clarified that she had been referring to the Epstein case files as "the list."

According to the Miami Herald report, Christian Ulvert, founder of political consulting firm EDGE, said Epstein's name is likely to surface in Democratic midterm election campaigns.

Ulvert said that Democratic candidates would use the issue to remind voters of what he described as questions of accountability and leadership.

"You can expect candidates to remind voters what's at stake when it comes to truth, safety and justice — not as a political talking point, but as a question of leadership and accountability," Ulvert said.

The poll also found that 52 percent of voters with no party affiliation said they were more likely to vote for a Democratic congressional candidate over a Republican one.

Only 26 percent said they preferred a Republican candidate, with the remainder undecided.