10 Turbulent Days for Trump; The Epstein Scandal and Election Setback

What was expected to be a week signaling the end of the federal government shutdown and the beginning of a return to stability instead became the peak of Donald Trump’s political crises; declining approval ratings, widening rifts among Republicans, economic turmoil, and renewed scrutiny over the Jeffrey Epstein case confronted his administration with a series of major challenges.

According to Rokna, a collection of political, economic, and media events unfolded during the 10 days following the recent US elections, rattling the landscape for the Trump administration in unprecedented ways; crises that not only confused his allies but also weakened the cohesion of his conservative base.

According to Newsweek, the Republicans’ heavy defeat in the elections triggered a chain of crises that ultimately led to internal divisions, unprecedented criticism from figures within the MAGA movement (Make America Great Again), and even the resurfacing of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The November 5 election was disastrous for Republicans. Sweeping Democratic victories from New York to Georgia revealed that widespread public dissatisfaction with the economy and the effects of the prolonged government shutdown had severely damaged the ruling party and Trump. In Virginia and New Jersey, Democrats won the gubernatorial races by decisive margins, and in New York, Andrew Cuomo’s loss to Zohran Mamdani, a radical leftist, signaled a profound shift in voter sentiment.

These results triggered a wave of blame within the Republican Party. Some figures pointed to weak party messaging as the reason for defeat, while others argued that doubts about the Trump administration’s economic performance were the primary cause of declining conservative votes.

Trump quickly attempted to distance himself from the results, insisting that “the name Trump was not on the ballot,” and sought to shift responsibility onto the candidates and electoral conditions. But analysts noted that economic dissatisfaction had become so deep that even blaming the previous administration was no longer effective.

According to this report, polls show that voters are increasingly burdened by inflation, housing costs, and declining purchasing power. This caused independent voters—who were decisive in the 2024 and 2025 elections—to reject the administration’s direction by a substantial margin.

Yet the most concerning aspect for Trump was the loss of support in areas where he had previously exceeded expectations. The drop in support among Latino voters in New Jersey and Virginia was telling: “economic problems do not recognize race or ethnicity.” Analysts warned that Trump’s charisma no longer holds sway among migrant laborers, as the determining factor in daily life is “the wallet.”

Another blow was the sharp decline in Trump’s approval rating. Consumer confidence fell to its lowest point in several years, as independents stated that the economy was deteriorating. Efforts by Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, to blame the problems on “Joe Biden’s legacy” failed to shift public opinion.

Meanwhile, criticism within the MAGA base intensified. Marjorie Taylor Greene called the election results a “serious alarm bell” for Republicans and urged the party to focus on the cost of living. Trump, in turn, launched a strong attack against her. All of this signaled the beginning of widening internal fractures.

According to the American outlet, Trump attempted to reshape the political narrative with a televised interview several days ago, but his remarks on H-1B visas sparked further anger from right-wing factions. His defense of recruiting foreign workers for advanced industries was unacceptable to the “America First” base. The backlash from hardline conservatives was so intense that Trump’s team was forced to clarify his position the following day.

The return of the Epstein scandal was the next major blow; the release of more than 20,000 pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein dealt significant damage to Trump. The volume and nature of the documents were enough to keep the White House under intense media scrutiny for several consecutive days. Several prominent Republican figures also joined Democrats in calling for the full release of the Epstein file; a move that carries heavy political implications for Trump.