‘I was never friendly with Jeffrey Epstein’: Trump makes stunning claim despite what he said about him in 2002

President Donald Trump recently claimed that he was never “friendly with Jeffrey Epstein,” which goes against what he said about the deceased sex trafficker before. The relationship between the two men has been getting a lot of attention recently, so it’s surprising that the president is now saying they were never close.

In 2002, the president praised Epstein during an interview. “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” the president said back then. “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. No doubt about it, Jeffrey enjoys his social life,” he added, according to Mediaite.

That quote makes the president’s current denial hard to believe. Despite what he said twenty years ago, President Trump now insists he had no connection to Epstein. This strong denial comes as the Department of Justice continues to release files about Epstein’s activities.

Trump’s denial comes as thousands of Epstein files mention his name

The DOJ was legally required to make all Epstein-related material public by December 19, except for the names of victims. However, in the latest release, the DOJ failed to block out nude images of young women or teenagers, which is a serious privacy breach for the victims.

The files contain disturbing and unverified claims, and they mention President Trump by name more than 5,300 times. Seeing your name appear over 5,300 times in official documents like this would make anyone defensive, which likely explains the fierce response. Despite Trump’s repeated appearances in Epstein documents, he maintains the files clear his name.

The president used his social media platform to address the controversy. He said he was not only unfriendly with Epstein, but also that Epstein and “a SLEAZEBAG lying ‘author’ named Michael Wolff” worked together to damage his reputation or his presidency. He even suggested he plans to sue those who have tied him to Epstein.

The president also denied ever visiting Epstein’s private island, which was allegedly used for underage sex trafficking. He claimed that “almost all of these Crooked Democrats, and their Donors, did” visit the island. “So much for the Radical Left’s hope against hope, some of whom I’ll be suing,” he wrote. The Justice Department has faced criticism over how they handled Trump-Epstein photo evidence in the released files.

Despite the current denials, the historical record shows a clear relationship beyond just knowing each other. Flight logs confirm that President Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane at least eight times during the 1990s.

The president is also involved in a $10 billion lawsuit against a publication over a story claiming he sent a lewd 50th birthday message to Epstein in 2003. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for sex and served an 18-month prison sentence under a deal arranged by Alex Acosta, who later served as Secretary of Labor in President Trump’s first term.