Fox News hosts were in damage control mode Thursday after Elon Musk lit a political firestorm by dragging Donald Trump into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal — a move that left the network scrambling for a defense.
In a wild post on X, Musk didn’t hold back. He claimed Trump was in the still-hidden “Epstein Files” and suggested that’s “the real reason” the documents haven’t been released. The accusation hit a nerve at Fox, where Trump loyalty runs deep.
Rather than confront Musk’s claims head-on, top hosts immediately tried to shift the focus. Sean Hannity was quick to bring up Bill Clinton.
“Wasn’t it Donald Trump who booted Epstein out… because he was one of the first people to realize just how horrible Epstein really was?” Hannity said. “I guess if Donald Trump felt that Epstein had something on him, he probably wouldn’t have kicked him out of his club.”
Then he went all-in on deflection: “Now, Democrats and the media – I’m just thinking out loud here – I truly wonder, is Bill Clinton in those files also? If I was a betting man, I know where I’d put my money.”
This reaction wasn’t out of nowhere. For years, Fox and right-wing media have pounced on Epstein’s ties to high-profile Democrats, especially Clinton. But Musk’s claim flipped the script — and now MAGA world doesn’t know how to react.
Watch:
Meanwhile, Hannity’s primetime colleague Jesse Watters tried to brush it off, saying, “Elon’s calling the president a pedophile. Wow! I don’t think Musk has seen the Epstein Files and if Trump was in them, Biden probably would have released them.”
He doubled down, claiming Trump was “the only one who kicked Epstein out” and “cooperated with the victims’ attorneys.” Watters even tried to spin it as a win: “Now Democrats are demanding the release of the Epstein Files.”
Still, the drama between the two MAGA powerhouses has clearly rattled the network. Watters floated the idea that “guys get over stuff” and said the feud might blow over. “Both men are patriots and hopefully they will do the right thing,” he added.
See the clip below:
Elsewhere on the network, afternoon host Will Cain took a harder line. “Elon Musk — he seems to be unstable right now on X,” Cain said. “If I were to believe that [Trump was in the files], why would Joe Biden not have used them in trying to get elected over Donald Trump?”
Later, Cain added, “What is this truth-teller today exposing about the guy yesterday, if everything is true that Elon is saying?”
Even Trump’s go-to morning show Fox & Friends tried to downplay the claim. “The Epstein file thing was way over the top and just crazy to say that Trump was in the Epstein files,” Brian Kilmeade said. “I mean, sometimes when people get drunk. They do crazy things. But this is a total escalation by Elon Musk.”
The hosts kept insisting that Trump and Musk would “patch it up,” with Lawrence Jones comparing them to feuding alpha males: “I got a friend like this. I love him to death. But when we fight – I don’t know what gets over us.”
Watters offered his own bizarre metaphor: “Guys sometimes will punch you in the face, and the next night you’re having beer; sleep with your girlfriend, and you patch things up.”
In short, Fox didn’t deny Musk’s bombshell — they just tried to spin it, dodge it, or change the subject.
But not everyone at the network was optimistic. Laura Ingraham ended the night with a grim takeaway: “I talked to an insider today who said it is irreparable.”
Musk took the MAGA movement’s biggest taboo — Epstein — and pointed it straight at Trump. Fox News didn’t have a playbook for that. So, like always, they turned to their favorite scapegoat: What about Bill Clinton?
