‘Get away with things’: With Epstein’s letters in the headlines, let’s recall Trump’s proud confession of invading women’s dressing rooms

Many of Donald Trump‘s explicit comments over the years have resurfaced, especially what he told Howard Stern in 2005 about his time owning the Miss Universe Organization. This comes as controversy swirls around Donald Trump’s alleged explicit birthday drawing for Jeffrey Epstein, as reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

“They’re standing there with no clothes”

In 2005, Trump told Stern on The Howard Stern Show, referring to the beauty pageants he ran, “I’ll go backstage before a show and everyone is getting dressed. No man is anywhere… they’re standing there with no clothes… I sort of get away with things like that.”

At first, many thought Trump meant teens, but in fact, his comments were primarily about Miss Universe and Miss USA, with contestants over the age of 18, not making what he said much better. Still, former Miss Teen USA contestants did independently allege in 2016 that Trump walked in on them changing.

The remarks sparked renewed attention and criticism in 2016 during Trump’s presidential campaign, especially after BuzzFeed News and other outlets resurfaced the clip in the wake of the Access Hollywood tape scandal.

The “Access Hollywood” tape

In that now-infamous Access Hollywood recording, also from 2005, Trump boasted about sexually assaulting women, saying, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.” The Stern show comments were cited as further evidence of a pattern of misogynistic and predatory behavior, particularly given the context: young women participating in beauty pageants, many of whom were teenagers at the time.

Several former contestants corroborated Trump’s backstage behavior, claiming he would enter the changing areas unannounced while they were in various states of undress.

Then, as now, with the reported Epstein letter, Trump dismissed the Miss Teen USA comment and the Access Hollywood tape as a politically motivated attack.

The WSJ Epstein report

Both the Stern and Access Hollywood comments circulated again after The Wall Street Journal reported on July 17, 2025, that Trump allegedly sent Epstein a lewd birthday card in 2003, featuring a crude sketch of a naked woman and a suggestive message reading, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”

The card, which reportedly bore Trump’s stylized “Donald” signature and was said to be part of a leather-bound album maintained by Ghislaine Maxwell and later reviewed by federal investigators. The Journal did not publish the image but cited multiple law enforcement sources who confirmed its existence and authenticity.

Trump immediately denied sending the card and called the Journal’s report “fake news” and “defamatory,” threatening to sue the newspaper, its parent company, News Corp, and Rupert Murdoch personally.

The controversy follows the July 15 release of a DOJ memo by Attorney General Pam Bondi, which concluded that no “Epstein client list” had been found and reaffirmed the official stance that Epstein died by suicide. The memo undercut Bondi’s earlier claims — made in conservative media appearances — that such a list existed and would be released.

The backlash from Trump loyalists prompted further internal conflict, with reports that FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino considered resigning in protest. Facing mounting pressure, Trump has since directed Bondi to seek the unsealing of grand jury transcripts related to the Epstein investigation — a legal move that may take months to resolve.