Poll: Half of Americans believe Trump is tied to alleged Epstein crimes
Feb 19, 2026
Half of Americans believe President Donald Trump was involved in crimes allegedly committed by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and a similar share believe the president is trying to cover up those alleged crimes, accordi
ng to a new YouGov/Economist poll.The survey of more than 1,700 U.S. adult citizens found that three in 10 respondents do not believe Trump was involved in crimes allegedly committed by Epstein, while 21% said they were unsure. By party affiliation, 13% of Republicans believe Trump was involved, compared with more than half of independents and 86% of Democrats.Meanwhile, 85% of respondents including 94% of Democrats and 84% of Republicans believe powerful elites helped Epstein abuse young girls and protected him, and that those people need to be investigated.RELATED STORY | Trump defends Bondi after fiery testimony on Epstein files, slams DemocratsSeveral powerful men appear in the millions of Epstein-related documents recently released by the Justice Department, including former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Britains former Prince Andrew, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trump. Trump has not been accused of criminal activity related to Epstein, though he does appear in the files multiple times. Earlier this month, he urged the country to move on from the matter.I think its really time for the country to get on to something else. Now that nothing came out about me, other than it was a conspiracy against me, literally, by Epstein and other people, the president said. But I think its time now for the country to maybe get on to something else, like healthcare, or something the people care about.
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