Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg thinks the controversy over child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein might be the issue that tears apart the MAGA base. In an interview on The Peoples Cabinet podcast, he pointed out the irony at the heart of the current uprising from conservatives over the presidents refusal to release documents from the investigation into Epstein. Do you think that value of accountability is whats bothering the MAGA base with this Epstein thing so much? host Dan Koh asked, referring to the presidents long friendship with Epstein. Related Pete Buttigieg says politicians have no business making decisions about trans athletes He also emphasized the need for compassion for all parties involved in the debate. Look, hes exempted himself from all kinds of accountability throughout his career, Buttigieg responded. But this one does stand out, I think, because Look, if hes breaking a promise about taxes, if hes breaking a promise by saying hes not going to cut Medicaid, and then he cuts Medicaid, which he did, thats bad. But Medicaid was always something that Democrats cared about more. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today But the Epstein thing is an issue he campaigned on, Buttigieg continued, driving home the point that it was the right that made this case a political issue in the first place. He made this big deal about Im gonna come in and were gonna release these on day one.'Theres that event with [Attorney General] Pam Bondi waving around the binders, still dont know what the hell was in these binders, but they went so much further than just saying, Oh, yeah, Ill do the right thing on that, the same way hes saying, Im gonna bring peace to the Middle East or whatever. Maybe even his supporters didnt actually believe him on that.On this, I think they believed him because he said he would, Buttigieg said. And that whole worldview is based on the idea that there are powerful people who are involved with Jeffrey Epstein, and he was gonna fight them. But we all know for a fact that there were powerful people who were involved with Jeffrey Epstein, and he was one of them. This is not a controversial or a complicated fact. Its not just footage of them, like, having their picture taken together someplace; its footage of them ogling women together, dancing. Buttigieg concluded by pointing out that many people in the GOPs base are probably taking the refusal to release the documents as a personal insult.So you add all that together, his response to the response has revealed just how gullible he wants to think his own base is, he concluded. And I think a lot of people look at that and say, Wait a minute, this is not just like you insulting the libs Its his supporters saying, Wait a minute, youre insulting me. And thats a whole different thing.Koh pushed Buttigieg to speculate about what is in the Epstein files, and he noted that its extraordinary that Republicans decided they would rather shut down the entire United States House of Representatives for two months rather than face a vote on this. Last week, House Speaker Mike Johjnson announced that the House would adjourn early in what was seen as an effort to stall Democrats attempts to make the Justice Department release the Epstein files. The House is scheduled to reconvene in September.Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors. While the medical examiner determined that his death was a suicide, many people, especially on the right, do not believe that it was, instead asserting that he was killed to keep him silent about the clients for whom he found children to sexually abuse. Many officials associated with Trump had spent years repeating the same rumors, andTrump himself said repeatedly in 2024 that the Epstein list of clients needed to be released.In February, Attorney General Bondi said that she was reviewing a lot of names related to the Epstein investigation and said that the Epstein list is sitting on my desk right now to review.But earlier this month, the Department of Justice released a memo that said there was no secret client list and reaffirmed the 2019 finding that Epstein died by suicide. Many Trump supporters were outraged that the rumored client list wouldnt be released, while many on the left speculated that the reason Bondi wasnt releasing it is because Trump himself or at least high-ranking members of his administration is on it.Trump had a decades-long friendship with Epsteinand joked about how his friend was fun and terrific andliked women on the younger side. Trump has also beenfound liable for sexual abuse by a jury, hasadmitted to sexually assaulting womenin the past, and hasadmitted to walking in on underage girlsas they changed clothes. He has been accused of sexual assault or other forms of sexual improprietyby at least 27 women.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.