President Donald Trump addressed questions Monday regarding his past association with Jeffrey Epstein, stating during a joint press event in Scotland with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer that he rejected an invitation to Epstein’s private island, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.
Trump contrasted his actions with those of former President Bill Clinton, who allegedly flew to the island 28 times.
“I never went to the island, and Bill Clinton went there supposedly 28 times,” President Trump said.
“I never went to the island, but Larry Summers, I hear, went there. He was the head of Harvard, and many other people—very big people. Nobody ever talks about them.”
Trump criticized the media for failing to highlight the involvement of high-profile individuals connected to Epstein, claiming there has been a consistent effort to deflect attention from politically favored names.
During his remarks, Trump reiterated his past decision to permanently ban Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. “I don’t want to waste your time by explaining it,” Trump said.
“But for years, I wouldn’t talk to Jeffrey Epstein. I wouldn’t talk because he did something that was inappropriate. He hired help, and I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He stole people that worked for me. I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again. I threw him out of the place—persona non grata. I threw him out, and that was it. I’m glad I did, if you want to know the truth.”
The former president also responded to a recent Wall Street Journal report alleging he sent Epstein a drawing of a naked woman. Trump rejected the claim outright.
“I don’t do drawings of women,” Trump said. “And also, Epstein was a very controversial guy. I was at a very high position, you know, pretty much all my life… who would do a controversial drawing?… Now with that being said they say there were many letters done by many people.”
When asked whether he had considered issuing a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, Trump said he has not discussed it with anyone and has not made a decision.
“I’m allowed to give her a pardon. Nobody’s approached me with it, nobody’s asked me about it,” Trump said. “It’s in the news, about that, that aspect of it. But right now it would be inappropriate to talk about it.”
The comments came as the Epstein case continues to attract public scrutiny, particularly concerning the involvement of powerful political, academic, and financial figures who had relationships with the disgraced financier.
