According to a Quinnipiac University poll, the majority of U.S. voters disapprove of Trump's handling of files related to Epstein, a wealthy financier who died by suicide in jail in August 2019, weeks after his arrest on sex trafficking charges.

The rhetoric marks a dramatic escalation for the Republican president, who has broken with some of his most loyal backers on issues in the past, but never with such fervor.

Conservative influencers like Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon, and even Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, have called for more transparency in the case.