President Donald Trump continues to struggle with the political fallout from his past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — a connection that has lingered into his second term and remains a source of controversy.
Despite efforts by White House staff to steer him away from the topic, Trump, known for tightly managing his public messaging, can’t seem to let the matter rest. Instead, he continues to bring it up, drawing fresh attention and fueling ongoing questions. It’s a cycle of self-inflicted wounds — and in a strange twist, a form of the transparency Trump championed on the campaign trail.
His most recent remarks, made aboard Air Force One on July 29 during a conversation with reporters, added another layer of confusion to an already murky narrative.
Trump claimed that he had banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago because Epstein had “stolen” young female employees from the spa located at the private Florida club.
Let’s momentarily set aside the troubling implication of referring to young women as if they were property. What stands out is that this now marks the third different account Trump has offered about why he distanced himself from Epstein — and the inconsistencies are starting to pile up.
Initially, Trump’s explanation centered on a dispute with Epstein over a real estate deal in 2004 — a competitive bid for a Palm Beach mansion that reportedly soured their relationship.
More recently, as the scandal surrounding Epstein has intensified, White House aides claimed Trump had cut ties with Epstein because he was simply “being a creep.”
Now, we have this latest version — that Epstein was poaching young spa workers from Mar-a-Lago.
One of Epstein’s most well-known accusers, Virginia Giuffre, was first recruited in 2000 by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate. Trump mentioned Giuffre by name during his latest press briefing on Air Force One.
That’s notable timing, considering that just two years later, in a 2002 interview with New York Magazine, Trump referred to Epstein as a “terrific guy” who “likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
It’s difficult to ignore how unsettling those words sound now, especially as the scandal increasingly turns on the very question of how close Trump was to Epstein’s abusive operation.
If Epstein was truly seen as dangerous or “a creep” as early as 2000, then why did Trump appear to publicly praise him in 2002?
The contradictions in Trump’s evolving story only deepen public scrutiny — and it’s a storm that shows no signs of passing quietly.
