Trump Sidesteps Epstein Controversy for Third Day, Ignores Media and Public Events

Donald Trump has spent the past three days dodging questions about convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The president cleared his White House schedule of public events and avoided reporters before leaving for Florida over the weekend.

The move comes just days after new emails surfaced suggesting Trump may have known more about Epstein’s activities than he has admitted. Normally eager for TV cameras, Trump has kept his distance from the spotlight when it comes to this topic.

Trump and Epstein were once close friends. Epstein died in 2019 while in jail on charges of sex trafficking minors.

Instead of facing reporters, Trump has taken to social media. On Friday morning, he criticized “weak” Republicans calling for accountability over Epstein’s crimes. He wrote:

“The Democrats are doing everything in their withering power to push the Epstein Hoax again, despite the DOJ releasing 50,000 pages of documents, in order to deflect from all of their bad policies and losses, especially the SHUTDOWN EMBARRASSMENT, where their party is in total disarray, and has no idea what to do.”

He added:

“Some Weak Republicans have fallen into their clutches because they are soft and foolish. Epstein was a Democrat, and he is the Democrat’s problem, not the Republican’s problem!”

The White House strategy reflects Trump’s frustration. Officials had hoped to celebrate the end of the government shutdown without Epstein’s scandal resurfacing. But insiders say they are preparing for a bigger firestorm next week. A significant number of Republicans are expected to break ranks to support a bipartisan bill requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files.

In an effort to stop the bill, Attorney General Pam Bondi, her deputy Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel met with GOP Congresswoman Lauren Boebert in the situation room. Boebert is among the Republicans expected to side with Democrats on the measure.

Trump’s quiet schedule on Friday followed the release of explosive emails on Wednesday. The messages show Epstein mentioning Trump by name multiple times over the past 15 years. One email claimed Trump “spent hours” at Epstein’s house with one of his victims, later identified as Virginia Giuffre.

Another email stated Trump “knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop,” referring to Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who helped recruit victims. Yet another message shows Epstein at Trump Tower five days after Trump’s 2016 election, contradicting Trump’s long-standing claim that he stopped speaking to Epstein in the mid-2000s.

The White House insists the emails “prove nothing.” Meanwhile, the president has kept a low profile. He avoided questions Wednesday night during an Oval Office ceremony officially ending the government shutdown. On Thursday, after signing an executive order to help young people transition out of foster care, he and the First Lady quickly left the room, ignoring shouted questions about Epstein and his victims.

Among Epstein’s victims is Giuffre, who, like some attendees at Trump’s foster care event, spent years moving through foster homes. Giuffre met Epstein through Maxwell, thinking they were “nice people” who could help her. Instead, she told the BBC in 2019, she was abused and “passed around like a platter of fruit” among Epstein’s high-profile friends, including the now ex-Prince Andrew.

Featured image via Youtube screengrab