ATONEMENT

Regretful MAGA Diehard Begs for Forgiveness in Tearful Clip

The longtime Trump supporter said a moment in July 2025 finally changed her mind on the president.

A former die-hard MAGA supporter has begged for forgiveness from a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein.

Trisha Hope of Houston, Texas, was a fervent Donald Trump supporter until last year, when the president grew irritated by questions about his former friend, the disgraced financier and child sex trafficker.

NEVER SURRENDER

How Epstein Fought to Stop the Beast From Telling the Truth

Will Neal

“Sick. I feel sick,” Hope told CNN while visiting the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room, a traveling installation that gives a timeline of events and displays the millions of files released by the Department of Justice.

“I put my life on hold to support this man. I clearly didn’t understand who he was. I also feel a little ashamed that I didn’t do more to discover more about him. I should have looked harder.”

While at the exhibition, she was introduced to Dani Bensky, an Epstein survivor who has described being abused by him when she was 17. She had been an aspiring ballerina and was sent to Epstein’s New York City townhouse as a masseuse. She was abused for over a year, CNN reported.

It was a tearful encounter filled with hugs.

“[I’m] so sorry,” Hope said during the CNN mini-documentary. “I can’t imagine. There are people who care. A lot of people who care. They may just be learning, but they care.”

Bensky said she was grateful for Hope’s words, saying, “It means a lot.”

“I was a Trump supporter for a long time and, you know, I mean, really hardcore Trump supporter, 42 rallies. And I am so sorry for any pain,” Hope added.

“I’m so grateful that you took in that moment and were able to really see it for what it is,” Bensky replied.

“I am too. I am sorry we didn’t see you,” said Hope. “Thank you. And I won’t make that mistake again.”

Hope told CNN that her glass-shattering moment with Trump came in July 2025, during a televised Cabinet meeting.

Trump was asked by a reporter why there was a minute missing from the jailhouse security camera recording on the night Epstein killed himself in 2019.

“Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump, who has said he ended his friendship with Epstein in the mid-2000s, lashed out, avoiding the question.

It was the end of Hope’s relationship with the movement she has now disavowed.

“A light just went off,” she said.

Trump had said on the campaign trail that he was open to looking into the Epstein scandal in more detail were he to win the election.

When he got into office, he ducked and dodged releasing the Epstein files until Congress finally ordered it.

They were finally released, but long after the deadline had passed.

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Harry ThompsonNews Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.