President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he had expelled Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago years ago, after a protester interrupted his Ohio rally by raising allegations about the two men’s past association.
Trump was campaigning at Ohio University for Republican Senate candidate Jon Husted and gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy when a man in the audience shouted, “Trump went on Epstein’s plane.”
The protester was booed as Trump supporters began chanting “USA, USA.” He was escorted from the building while the president continued speaking.
Once the disruption had subsided, Trump addressed the accusation directly.
“I threw Jeffrey Epstein out of my club like 20 years ago,” Trump said. “That was a great thing I did.”
“I threw Epstein the hell out of Mar-a-Lago,” he added, asserting that documents released by his administration had “totally exonerated” him in connection with the investigation into the disgraced financier.
Trump then claimed Epstein had been associated with “all of the friends of the Democrats,” adding: “That’s what they do. They’re sick, weak people.”
Trump previously told Our News Outlet that his relationship with Epstein deteriorated after the financier recruited several employees from Mar-a-Lago.
President Donald Trump repeated his claim that he barred financier Jeffrey Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after a protester raised allegations about Epstein’s ties to the president
The unidentified man was removed from the campaign event after interrupting Trump’s remarks
Trump has repeatedly denied committing wrongdoing in relation to Epstein
“Everyone knows the people that were taken,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in July while returning from a five-day trip to Scotland. “People were taken out of the spa hired by him.”
He said he had not initially known about the staff poaching, but confronted Epstein after learning of it. “I told him, I said, Listen, we don’t want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa,” Trump recalled. “And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, out of here.”
At least one woman, however, has alleged that Trump was involved in Epstein’s sexual abuse.
The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, spoke with FBI agents four times between August and October 2019. She first contacted authorities after Epstein’s arrest that year, alleging that a man named “Jeff” had raped her in Hilton Head, South Carolina, in the early 1980s, when she was about 13.
She told investigators that she did not know the man’s identity at the time. Years later, she said, a friend sent her a photograph of Epstein from a news report, leading her to conclude that he was the person she remembered.
During a later interview, the woman made additional allegations. She claimed Epstein had arranged for her mother to be imprisoned, assaulted her and facilitated sexual encounters with other men.
She also alleged that, sometime between the ages of 13 and 15, Epstein took her to either New York or New Jersey. There, in what she described as a very tall building with large rooms, he introduced her to Trump.
According to the woman, Epstein and Trump used the phrases “fresh meat” and “untainted” when referring to girls.
Trump previously said his relationship with Epstein ended after Epstein recruited several Mar-a-Lago employees
Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 12, 2000
She said other people were in the room but that she could not remember who they were. According to interview notes, Trump asked them to leave before making a remark to the effect of, “Let me teach you how little girls are supposed to be.”
The woman then alleged that Trump unzipped his trousers and forced her head down toward his penis.
She said she bit him, after which he pulled her hair and struck her on the side of the head.
The woman alleged that Trump ordered others to “get this little b***h the hell out of here,” prompting the people who had left the room to return. The FBI files do not explain how the encounter ended or how she ultimately left.
The outcome of the FBI’s inquiry into the allegations remains unclear. The woman was also ruled ineligible for the Epstein Victims’ Compensation Program, which issued more than 130 settlements.
There is no indication that Epstein ever lived in South Carolina, and no evidence has emerged that he and Trump knew each other in 1983—at least four years before Trump has said they first met.
Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing related to Epstein.
The Department of Justice said in January that some documents released as part of the federal investigation included “untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”
President Trump attends the rally at Ohio University on Wednesday
Trump is campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of next week’s midterm elections as scrutiny intensifies amid the war in Iran
As Trump works to mobilize Republican voters ahead of next week’s midterm elections, the renewed focus on Epstein comes amid heightened scrutiny over the war in Iran. The president has urged supporters to vote as though he were personally on the ballot.
Republicans are confronting serious political headwinds, including voter concerns about the economy, stubborn inflation and Trump’s low approval ratings. Those pressures have given Democrats an opening to make significant gains or potentially retake control of Congress.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted through October 26 found that Trump’s approval rating stood at 32 percent, while 66 percent of respondents said they disapproved of his performance.
After accounting for voters who initially remained undecided, Democrats led Republicans 53 percent to 44 percent among likely voters on the generic congressional ballot.
A majority of those surveyed said the cost of living was a major concern.
