President Donald Trump continues to face backlash from his MAGA supporters over his administration’s dealing with of the Jeffrey Epstein recordsdata.
The Justice Division and FBI mentioned in a short memo {that a} evaluation discovered no Epstein “shopper record” and confirmed the disgraced financier died by suicide in jail whereas awaiting trial on sex-trafficking costs.
The president has tried to shift focus away from the case, urging Legal professional Common Pam Bondi to launch “no matter she thinks is credible” earlier than happening to say with out proof your entire factor was what he calls a “Democratic hoax.”
Some Republicans have fueled the Epstein intrigue and conspiracies surrounding the case for years, with Trump himself weighing in a number of instances.
Here is what Trump has mentioned about Epstein throughout his first time period, on the marketing campaign path and now as stress builds on him to launch the Epstein recordsdata.
President Donald Trump attends the inaugural Pennsylvania Power and Innovation Summit on the campus of Carnegie Mellon College in Pittsburgh, July 15, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
2019: Trump distances himself from Epstein: ‘Not a fan’
After Epstein was arrested and charged with intercourse trafficking of minors in July 2019, Trump was requested about his 2002 feedback during which he referred to as Epstein “terrific” in a New York Journal story.
In response, Trump repeatedly mentioned he wasn’t a “fan” of Epstein.
“Properly, I knew him like all people in Palm Seaside knew him,” Trump informed reporters within the Oval Workplace. “I imply, folks in Palm Seaside knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Seaside. I had a falling out with him a very long time in the past. I do not assume I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn’t a fan. I used to be not, yeah, a very long time in the past, I might say perhaps 15 years. I used to be not a fan of his, that I can inform you. I used to be not a fan of his.”
In August 2019, after Epstein’s loss of life, Trump retweeted a put up that alleged Invoice Clinton was linked to Epstein’s loss of life.
When requested about his retweet in an interview, Trump mentioned “what we’re saying is we wish an investigation. I need a full investigation, and that is what I completely am demanding. That is what our legal professional common — our nice legal professional common — is doing.” The legal professional common on the time was Invoice Barr.
Pressed additional on if he actually believed the Clintons have been concerned, Trump did not shut it down.
“I do not know,” he mentioned, however inspired additional questions. “So you must ask: Did Invoice Clinton go to the island? That is the query. Should you discover that out, you are going to know lots,” Trump mentioned on the time.
Clinton has denied any information of Epstein’s crimes and has denied ever visiting Epstein’s non-public island.
2020: Trump urged Epstein could have been killed
In August 2020, through the thick of his reelection marketing campaign, Trump urged Epstein could have been killed whereas in federal custody.
The feedback went towards the findings of then-Legal professional Common Barr and the New York Metropolis health worker who dominated the loss of life a suicide.
Throughout an interview with Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, Trump was requested about Ghislaine Maxwell, an affiliate of Epstein who on the time of the interview had simply been arrested. She is at present serving a 20-year sentence for conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage women.
“Her boyfriend died in jail. And individuals are nonetheless attempting to determine how did it occur,” Trump mentioned. “Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do want her nicely. I am not searching for something dangerous for her.”
In August 2023, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, Trump was pressed additional on if he believed Epstein dedicated suicide or not.
“Do you assume it is potential that Epstein was killed?” Carlson requested.
“Oh, certain, it is potential. I imply, I do not actually imagine — I believe he most likely dedicated suicide,” Trump mentioned.
2024: Trump requested about Epstein on the marketing campaign path
In June 2024, Trump was requested if he would launch numerous recordsdata — together with the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination recordsdata and the Epstein recordsdata — throughout an interview with Fox Information.
“Would you declassify the Epstein recordsdata?” Fox Information’ Rachel Campos-Duffy requested. Trump responded, “Yeah, yeah, I might.”
That clip was circulated broadly on-line, together with by the Trump Warfare Room — the social media account of Trump’s marketing campaign operation. The account posted it to X with the caption: “President Trump says he’ll DECLASSIFY the 9/11 Information, JFK Information, and Epstein Information.”
However Trump’s full reply to the query wasn’t proven till it performed on Will Cain’s radio present.
Trump went on to say within the trade with Campos-Duffy: “I do not find out about Epstein a lot as I do the others. Definitely about the way in which he died. It might be fascinating to search out out what occurred there, as a result of that was a bizarre scenario and the cameras did not occur to be working, and so on., and so on. However yeah, I might go a great distance towards that one.”
On this Sept. 8, 2004, file picture, Jeffrey Epstein is proven in Cambridge, Mass.
Rick Friedman/Corbis by way of Getty Pictures, FILE
In September 2024, Trump made a extra agency pledge to launch Epstein recordsdata throughout a podcast with Lex Fridman.
Fridman, in dialog with Trump, mentioned “it is simply very unusual for lots of people that the record of shoppers that went to the island has not been made public.”
“It’s extremely fascinating, is not it? It most likely will likely be, by the way in which, most likely,” Trump mentioned.
“Should you’re in a position to, you will be –” Fridman began earlier than Trump jumped in.
“Yeah, I might actually check out it. Now, Kennedy’s fascinating as a result of it is so a few years in the past,” Trump mentioned. “They try this for hazard too, as a result of it endangers sure folks, et cetera, et cetera, so Kennedy could be very totally different from the Epstein factor however I might be inclined to do the Epstein. I might haven’t any downside with it.”
2025: Trump tries to dismiss Epstein recordsdata after DOJ, FBI memo prompts GOP backlash
For the primary a number of months of his administration, speak of the Epstein recordsdata was principally left to Trump officers, together with Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. In April, Trump mentioned he was unaware of when the recordsdata can be launched.
Then, after the DOJ and FBI launched their memo on July 7, Trump reacted to outrage from his MAGA base.
Trump tried to close down a query about Epstein throughout a Cupboard assembly the subsequent day, July 8, proper after the lethal flash flooding of the Guadalupe River.
“Are you continue to speaking about Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump shot again to a reporter. “This man’s been talked about for years. You are asking. We’ve got Texas, we have now this. We’ve got all the issues. And are folks nonetheless speaking about this man, this creep? That’s unbelievable.”
Trump then turned to defend Bondi in a prolonged social media put up on July 12, during which he mentioned his administration and his supporters ought to prioritize their focus elsewhere.
“We’ve got a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘egocentric folks’ are attempting to harm it, throughout a man who by no means dies, Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump wrote within the put up.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media after arriving at Joint Base Andrews, July 15, 2025, in Joint Base Andrews, Md.
Evan Vucci/AP
The story, although, did not die down and Trump solely appeared to develop extra angered by the pushback from his supporters.
On July 15, Trump appeared to place the onus on Bondi for what comes subsequent, saying she ought to launch “no matter she thinks is credible” on Epstein. Later that day, Trump mentioned he did not perceive the curiosity in Epstein.
“It is fairly boring stuff. It is sordid, nevertheless it’s boring, and I do not perceive why it retains going,” Trump mentioned. He added, “I believe actually solely fairly dangerous folks, together with pretend information, wish to maintain one thing like that going.”
The subsequent day, on July 16, Trump took to social media baselessly blaming Democrats for the recordsdata and people who he referred to as “previous supporters” of his for the fixation on Epstein.
“Their new SCAM is what we’ll endlessly name the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have purchased into this “b——,” hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote on his personal conservative social media platform.
“Let these weaklings proceed ahead and do the Democrats work, do not even take into consideration speaking of our unbelievable and unprecedented success, as a result of I do not need their assist anymore!” Trump added.
Trump doubled down on that declare within the Oval Workplace, calling it a Democratic “hoax.” When requested by ABC Information Chief White Home Correspondent Mary Bruce if the legal professional common informed him it was a hoax or what proof he’d seen of that, Trump replied:
“The legal professional common, no. I do know it is a hoax. It is began by Democrats,” Trump insisted. He added “some silly” and “silly” Republicans had fallen for it.
ABC Information’ Will Steakin contributed to this report.
