President Trump said Tuesday he knew alleged child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach, Florida but the two had a falling out “a long time ago” and that he was “not a fan.”
“Well I knew him, like everybody in Palm Beach knew him. And when people in Palm Beach knew him, he was a fixture in Palm Beach,” Trump told reporters in the White House. “I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him for 15 years. Wasn’t a fan. I was not. You know, a long time ago. I’d say maybe 15 years.”
Trump’s legal team has previously denied he and Epstein, who was arrested over the weekend and charged Monday with conspiracy and sex trafficking, were friends. Trump said in 2002 he had known Epstein for more than a decade and described him then as a “terrific guy.” “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,” Trump said in 2002.
“I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. I was not a fan of his,” Trump said Tuesday.
Trump banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago resort “because Epstein sexually assaulted an underage girl at the club,” according to documents filed in court by Bradley Edwards, an attorney who has represented a number of Epstein’s alleged victims. That claim has still not been confirmed by Trump.
Epstein has been closely associated with former President Bill Clinton, who flew on Epstein’s private jet, nicknamed “the Lolita Express,” dozens of times. Trump also reportedly flew on Epstein’s plane at least once.
When asked his opinion of Clinton in a 2015 Fox News appearance, Trump replied, “Nice guy, uh, got a lot of problems coming up, in my opinion, with the famous island, with Jeffrey Epstein. A lot of problems.”
Clinton released a statement Monday night saying that he “knows nothing” about Epstein’s alleged crimes.
Epstein was also associated with other celebrities and powerful figures, including Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Prince Andrew attended numerous parties with Epstein, and at least one alleged underage victim claims that Prince Andrew had sexual encounters with her at Epstein’s behest.
