Lara Trump may have unintentionally added fuel to the fire as President Donald Trump struggles to contain a MAGA backlash over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Appearing on MAGA influencer Benny Johnson’s podcast Monday, Lara—who is married to Eric Trump—was asked what advice she had for de-escalating the controversy within the Trump team.
“Well, I do think that there needs to be more transparency on this,” the 41-year-old replied. “And I think that will happen. I don’t know what truly exists there, but I know this is something important to the president as well.”
Her comments appeared to directly contradict the official stance of the Trump administration. Just days earlier, the DOJ and FBI issued a joint memo stating the Epstein investigation was closed, there was no client list, and that no further disclosures were “appropriate or warranted.”
Lara’s remarks suggest otherwise.
“I believe anything they’re able to release—so long as it doesn’t endanger witnesses or minors—they’ll try to get out sooner rather than later,” she told Johnson.
The timing couldn’t be worse. Trump has spent the last week urging supporters to move on from the Epstein scandal, even telling followers Saturday not to “waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”
But Lara Trump didn’t seem aligned with that messaging.
“I think people will see more transparency on this very soon,” she added. “I think maybe it’s been slow-rolled for reasons we’ll understand later.”
Lara tried to tamp down the controversy, insisting there’s no deliberate effort to hide information: “To everybody out there who’s worked up about it, there’s no great plot to keep this information away that I’m aware of.”
Still, her comments risk deepening distrust among Trump’s base, which has erupted in fury over the DOJ’s conclusion that Epstein died by suicide and was not hiding a “client list” of elite abusers.
Lara, a former Republican National Committee co-chair, left that post in December amid speculation of a Senate run in Florida. While she ultimately withdrew her name, she resurfaced as a Fox News host in February and is now a top contender for a Senate seat in North Carolina.
Whether her off-script remarks will earn her points with the MAGA faithful—or draw ire from within Trump’s inner circle—remains to be seen. But as the Epstein fallout continues to spread, one thing is clear: Trumpworld is far from united on how to handle it.