President Donald Trump spoke to reporters on Monday about his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein while standing alongside U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Turnberry, Scotland. The president was asked why he had kicked the disgraced financier out of his Mar-a-Lago club years ago.
According to Mediaite, Trump called the topic “such old history” but went on to explain the reasons behind their falling out. He said Epstein had done something inappropriate by hiring people who worked for Trump’s business. The president warned Epstein not to do it again, but when it happened a second time, Trump said he threw him out of Mar-a-Lago.
During his explanation, Trump made an unusual comment about turning down invitations to Epstein’s private island. “I never had the privilege of going to his island,” Trump said. “And I did turn it down. But a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn’t want to go to his island.”
Trump explains the real reason he cut ties with Epstein
The president gave specific details about what led to the end of his friendship with Epstein. According to Trump, the issue was not related to any criminal behavior but rather a business dispute over staff members.
“He hired help. And I said ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He stole people that worked for me. I said, ‘Don’t never do that again.’ He did it again. And I threw him out of the place, persona non grata. I threw him out, and that was it,” Trump explained to the media.
After discussing Epstein, Trump quickly shifted the conversation to other political figures who had connections to the financier. He brought up former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, claiming that Clinton had visited Epstein’s island “28 times.” Trump emphasized that he had never visited the island himself and had turned down invitations to go there.
The White House had previously given limited information about the Trump-Epstein relationship. Last week, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung had only said that ‘The President kicked him out of his club for being a creep,’ following Trump’s pattern of making light of serious scandals in his public statements.” Trump’s Monday comments provided more detail about what he described as a staff poaching incident that ended their business and personal relationship.
The president’s remarks came as questions continue to surround the connections between various public figures and Epstein, amid Trump’s recent conflict with his own MAGA supporters over the release of more Epstein-related documents, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Published: Jul 28, 2025 01:03 pm