Trump’s New Epstein Comments Contradict The Timeline & Raise Troubling Questions
Trump's claim that he stopped associating with Epstein after he "stole" girls, including Virginia Giuffre, from Mar-a-Lago contradicts the timeline of their friendship and raises new questions.
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Nothing makes a more compelling case for the Epstein files to be released than when President Trump opens his mouth.
On Tuesday, Trump made new comments that added fuel to the fire of suspicion surrounding his refusal to release the Epstein files. Trump’s remarks while aboard Air Force One contradict the timeline of his falling out with Jeffrey Epstein and conflict with the prior reasoning for the friendship ending. They raise troubling new questions about his knowledge of Epstein’s recruitment of young girls from Mar-a-Lago and whether he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking activities before they became public knowledge.
While aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, President Trump appeared to confirm that Jeffrey Epstein recruited young girls from Mar-a-Lago, including Virginia Giuffre, an underage victim of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who died by suicide in April of this year. He also says multiple people were "stolen" from his spas, indicating more young girls were taken. You can listen to the audio of the exchange here or watch the video published by Acyn here.
Let’s break down these remarks and why they’re so explosive.
Trump stood in the entryway of the press area on Air Force One, as he tends to do when taking questions. The troubling back and forth began with a reporter asking incisive questions about Trump’s previous remarks about Epstein poaching staffers from Mar-a-Lago. This time, prompting revelatory details.
A press pool reporter asked, “Just to button up on Mar-a-Lago. You're saying that Jeffrey Epstein poached two of your staffers. Who were they? Were they young?”
Trump jumped in before the reporter could complete their “were they young?” question, claiming, “I don’t want to say two or I don't want to say any number. You're talking about many years ago. But yeah, he took people, and because he took people, I said, ‘Don't do it anymore.’ You know, they work for me, and he took, uh, beyond that, he took some others. And once he did that, that was the end of him. I didn't like when they steal people. I don't like it.”
Another reporter came in with a vital follow-up, “Epstein has a certain reputation, obviously. I'm just curious, were some of the workers that were taken from you, were some of them young women?”
Trump replied, “Well, I don't want to say, but uh, everyone knows the people that were taken and, uh, it was the concept of taking people that work for me is bad, but uh, that story has been pretty well out there. And the answer is yes, they were… In the spa… Yeah, people that work in the spa. I have a great spa, one of the best spas in the world, at Mar-a-Lago. And people were taken out of the spa, hired by him. In other words, gone…”
Trump continued, “And uh, other people would come and complain, ‘This guy is taking people from the spa.’ I didn't know that. And then when I heard about it, I told him, I said, ‘Listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa. I don't want him taking people.’ And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again, and I said, ‘Out of here.’
Another journalist from the press pool jumped in with yet another key follow-up question: “Mr. President, did one of those stolen, um, you know, persons that include Virginia Giuffre?"
Trump responded hesitantly, “Uh, I don't know. I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people. Yeah. He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know. None whatsoever.”
I included Trump’s remarks in full to provide proper context for the contradictions that follow.
Let’s get into how Trump’s claims don’t line up with the timeline of his friendship with Epstein, contradict the previous reasoning for his falling out with Epstein, and raise new troubling questions about whether Trump knew about Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes in real-time.
First off, Trump’s use of the word “stole” is dehumanizing and appears to frame these young girls as property. Secondly, and more notably, Trump appears to confirm that Virginia Giuffre was recruited from Mar-a-Lago. It’s been public knowledge that Ghislaine Maxwell recruited Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago, according to Giuffre’s own account, but I think this is the first time Trump is confirming he was aware of it in real-time and is saying others were recruited from Mar-a-Lago.
The first question that comes to mind is how many of these people Epstein recruited from Mar-a-Lago were underage girls? How many was Trump aware of? Trump is claiming that Epstein taking girls from Mar-a-Lago was enough to break off the friendship, so was Trump aware of what Epstein was doing to these young girls before the investigation began? These are questions that deserve answers.
Another key thing to dissect from those remarks is Trump’s claim that Epstein’s recruitment of young girls, including Virginia Giuffre, from Mar-a-Lago, is the reason for his falling out with Epstein. But that claim doesn’t line up with the timeline or previously indicated reasoning for the end of their friendship. Trump continued to associate with and praise Epstein for years after Giuffre was recruited.
Also, Trump’s new claims about how Epstein’s poaching of Mar-a-Lago staffers was the real reason they had a falling out contradict previous reporting that Trump ended the Epstein friendship over a 2004 property bidding war. The New York Times also reported that Trump told associates that Epstein “acted inappropriately to the daughter of a member of Mar-a-Lago, and Mr. Trump felt compelled to bar him from the club.”
So let’s get into why Trump’s claim that Epstein’s recruitment of young girls like Virginia Giuffre is what disrupted the Epstein friendship doesn’t match up with previously known facts.
2000: 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre was recruited from Mar-a-Lago by Ghislaine Maxwell into Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, and sexually abused by Epstein, Maxwell, and Prince Andrew - according to Giuffre’s own testimony.
2002: Donald Trump praised Jeffrey Epstein to New York Magazine:
“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump booms from a speakerphone. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”
2003: According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump sent Epstein a birthday card, where he allegedly claimed the two men “have certain things in common” and wished that “every day be another wonderful secret.”
2004: Trump and Epstein had a falling out over their real estate bidding war.
2020: Trump wished Ghislaine Maxwell, who recruited Giuffre, “well” as she awaited trial for her sex crimes against children.
You see the problem? Trump is claiming that after Epstein recruited multiple people, including young girls, from Mar-a-Lago, he cut the friendship off. But Virginia Giuffre was lured into Epstein’s sex trafficking ring in the year 2000, and Trump went on to associate with Epstein for years, praising Epstein and stating that he liked young women in 2002, writing him a birthday card in 2003, and the friendship didn’t end until 2004, according to all available evidence.
So what’s the truth here? Did Trump really know in real-time that Virginia Giuffre was recruited? If so, was he aware that she became a victim of Epstein’s nefarious activities? If so, why didn’t he report it to the police? Also, how many other young girls were recruited from Mar-a-Lago? Trump has clearly indicated that Epstein's “stealing” young girls from Mar-a-Lago was a recurring habit and involved multiple people.
Countless questions need to be answered. Answers that could be in the Epstein files that Trump refuses to release.