PBS NEWSHOUR: NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter join William Brangham to discuss the latest political news, including the political fallout of the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM, PBS NEWSHOUR: Amy, I want to start with you. This Epstein case continues to roil the MAGA world. I mean, there’s a sizable chunk of the president’s base who believes that they have been betrayed, that there are other villains that need to be named and shamed and potentially prosecuted. Steve Bannon was out recently saying that he believes this handling of the Epstein case could cost the GOP 40 potential House seats in the midterms. Is it that big of an issue? AMY WALTER, COOK POLITICAL REPORT: Yes, it’s hard to believe that this is an issue that is going to continue to be as hot a year from now as it is today. So, whether it is going to have an influence on 2026, that does seem unlikely. What it does highlight, though, are a couple of things. The first is the role in which we call them like nontraditional media figures have in this newly constructed Republican Party. We call it MAGA. And the folks who are the most engaged in bringing in new members of MAGA are folks who aren’t on traditional media. They have podcasts, they have YouTube channels, and they have a lot of following. And those followers are the ones that they are spending their most time engaging with. Now, some of them may not end up showing up to vote for Donald Trump, but it is a – I think the point is that these folks have an undue influence within the party. The second is the degree to which the bind that keeps this party together, that keeps MAGA together is the idea that there are elites, there are institutions that have had like a choke hold on the American public and that it is the job of Trump and those who support him to unmask them. That has not happened in this Epstein case.

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