TW: Mentions details about s– t———- and abuse.
Donald Trump has been under immense pressure to release the infamous Epstein Files, which have caused enough controversy in America. Amid all the scrutiny, the 79-year-old has a different take on the issue altogether.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on November 17, he defended his recent reversal on releasing the Epstein files, claiming that some of his political rivals had more to worry about than he did.
“I believe that… some of the people mentioned are being looked at very seriously for their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. But they were with him all the time. I wasn’t. I wasn’t at all,” Trump insisted. “What I don’t want is for Epstein to distract from the great success of the Republican Party,” the President noted.
According to The Daily Beast, the clip went viral within minutes, and many condemned Donald Trump lying upfront once again. The President has been photographed with Epstein on several other occasions, including at Mar-a-Lago in 1997 and 2000, as well as at multiple Victoria’s Secret events in New York in 1997.
Donald Trump says House Republicans “should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.” pic.twitter.com/cuBX7J3Odp
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 17, 2025
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, a longtime critic of Donald Trump and his political ideologies, fired back by posting a screenshot from a 1992 NBC News video showing Trump and Epstein laughing together at a Mar-a-Lago party.
The video, which was recorded in November, captured the two socializing and living the “fun big city life. ” For the unversed, Jeffrey Epstein was a wealthy financier who rose from being a college dropout and teacher to running a firm that only managed money for billionaires.
He soon became part of the elite circle in the city, which allegedly included names of big-shot men, including President Trump. In 2005, Epstein was accused by several underage girls of s—– abuse, leading to a controversial plea deal in 2008 that let him avoid life-changing federal charges in exchange for a shorter time in prison.
NOT EVERYTHING IS TRIBAL FOLKS
It is ok to acknowledge both Clinton & Trump were involved with Epstein. pic.twitter.com/mNS57DwjpS
— GenXGirl (@GenXGirl1994) November 12, 2025
In 2019, he was re-arrested on more charges. He was found dead at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan in August 2019 under mysterious circumstances. At the time, Trump was a New York real estate mogul often seen at Epstein’s lavish parties. One such picture showed Trump and Jeffrey Epstein staying in a castle during a visit to the U.K.
Meanwhile, in February 2000, Trump appeared alongside then-girlfriend Melania Knauss ( now Trump), Epstein, and Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now serving a prison sentence for s-x trafficking.
When Maxwell was arrested in 2020, Trump said, “I just wish her well,” prompting widespread backlash. In later interviews, he has dismissed his connections and claimed ignorance about their alleged offences.
Yet, Jeffrey Epstein’s old email from 2019, claiming that Trump “knew about the girls,” has been featured on a Times Square billboard paid for by the anti-Trump group Home of the Brave.
The group said Trump and his allies are “working overtime to overlook the fact that he’s in the Epstein files, was friends with Epstein for decades. The duo reportedly had a fallout in the mid-2000s before Epstein was convicted for his crimes, as per The Daily Beast.
Furthermore, on Sunday night, Trump urged House Republicans to vote this week to release the Epstein files. In a Truth Social post. He claimed “we have nothing to hide,” calling the controversy a “Democrat hoax.”
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump confirms he would sign the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law if it passes Congress
“We have nothing to do with Epstein—the DEMOCRATS do. All of his friends were DEMS…”
A vote on releasing the files is set for this week, after @RepThomasMassie… pic.twitter.com/AhETmD1rxm
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 17, 2025
Previously, when people slammed General Attorney Pam Bondi, accusing her of misleading the public after she said that the Epstein files were on her desk, and later the administration dismissed them, Trump came to defend her.
However, other people, like Georgia’s Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have also questioned why Trump’s administration has resisted releasing the Epstein files.
