Trump says he turned down an offer to visit Jeffrey Epstein's private island

The Australian

29-07-2025

Donald Trump says he turned down an offer to travel to Jeffrey Epstein's private island, where the convicted sex offender was known to have abused underage girls, describing it as 'one of my very good moments.'
The US President was forced to explain – on the world stage – the nature of his own relationship with the disgraced financier, who committed suicide in 2019 at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Elements of the MAGA base have turned on Mr Trump after his administration refused to release the files from the investigation into Epstein and dismissed the existence of a 'client list', with the President describing the issue as a 'hoax'.
Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Turnberry resort on the west coast of Scotland, Mr Trump explained that he fell out with Epstein and banned him from his Mar-a-Lago resort because he 'stole people that worked for me'.
He also made clear that he never travelled to Epstein's private island in the US Virgin Islands.
'I never went to the island,' Mr Trump said. 'And Bill Clinton went there supposedly 28 times. I never went to the island, but (former US Treasury secretary) Larry Summers I hear went there … and many other people that are very big people. Nobody ever talks about them. I never had the privilege of going to his island. And I did turn it down.
'In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island.'
Mr Trump has become increasingly frustrated at the ongoing interest in his connections with Epstein and the interest in the 'Epstein files', declaring 'I haven't been overly interested in it. It's a hoax that's been built up way beyond proportion'.
The President said that if there was anything that reflected negatively on him in the Epstein files, the previous administration would have released it all before the last election.
'Those files were run by the worst scum on Earth,' Mr Trump said. 'They were run by (former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James) Comey. They were run by (former US attorney-general Merrick) Garland. They were run by (former president Joe) Biden. And all of the people that actually ran the government including the autopen.
'Those files were run for four years by those people. If they had anything I assume they would have released it. If they had anything why didn't they use it when I was killing Joe (Biden)? … If there was anything in there, they would have used them for the election.'
Mr Trump said people were not buying into the issue, arguing that his poll numbers had gone up since his handling of the Epstein matter had come into public focus.
He also continued to reject the substance of a report carried in The Wall Street Journal that said he penned a bawdy letter for an album marking Epstein's 50th birthday and contributed what also appeared to be the hand-drawn outline of a naked woman.
The letter was reported to have concluded: 'Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.'
Mr Trump, who is suing The Wall Street Journal for $US10bn ($15.3bn) over the story, continued to defend himself and declared that 'I don't do drawings'.
'I'm not a drawing person … I don't do drawings of women, that I can tell you. They say there's a drawing of a woman and I don't do drawings of women,' he said.
'Also, Epstein was always a very controversial guy. I was at a very high position. Pretty much all my life in all fairness. I've been doing this for a long time. I had the top show on television. I have the number one bestsellers. I had everything, right? And I was a very successful business guy. Who would do a controversial drawing?
'Now, with that being said, they say there were many letters done by many people.'
Asked why he banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago resort at Florida's Palm Beach, Mr Trump said it was 'such old history. Very easy to explain. But I don't want to waste your time by explaining it'.
'For years I wouldn't talk to Jeffrey Epstein. I wouldn't talk. Because he did something that was inappropriate,' Mr Trump said. 'He hired help. And I said to him, '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. And I threw him out of the place, persona non grata … I'm glad I did, if you want to know the truth.'
In Florida, lawyers for Mr Trump asked a federal judge to expedite a deposition of Rupert Murdoch in the President's $10bn defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal, citing the media baron's advanced age.
His legal team asked District Judge Darrin Gayles to compel an 'expedited deposition'. Judge Gayles gave lawyers for Mr Murdoch until August 4 to respond. Read related topics: Donald Trump