Latest news with #FireandFury:InsidetheTrumpWhiteHouse
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Epstein Sent This Final Eerie Message Hours Before He Died: Author
Jeffrey Epstein sent an eerie message to author Michael Wolff the night before he died. In a new episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, the Trump biographer says he had known Epstein for years before he died by suicide while in detention in 2019. The convicted sex trafficker asked Wolff in 2014 if he would be interested in writing a book about him, but the author declined. 'I believe that I got the last message from him before he died,' Wolff told host Joanna Coles. 'And this came through one of his lawyers on a Friday evening. He died on Saturday morning.' 'His message to me hours before this happened was—and it was just in response to me asking how he was—and he said, 'Still hanging around.'' Epstein was found hanged in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on Aug. 10, 2019. A 2023 report by the Department of Justice determined that he died by suicide. The disgraced financier's death has since become a magnet for conspiracy theories, with many believing that his death was, in fact, a homicide. President Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail to release the infamous 'Epstein files.' On Monday, however, the Justice Department dashed those hopes when it said it found no evidence that Epstein kept a list of his clients or that he was murdered. The memo set off a firestorm in MAGA World, with many Trump loyalists torching Attorney General Pam Bondi to deliver on the much-hyped files. For Wolff, the truth behind Epstein's death is likely to remain a mystery. 'He could not, as described, have killed himself,' Wolff said. 'As the circumstances presented, he could not have been murdered.' Asked by Coles for his theory on how Epstein died, Wolff simply responded: 'I don't know.' Those who buy into the theory that Epstein was murdered believe that he was killed to shield the reputation of his alleged clients. Epstein was famously well connected, with court filings showing that he rubbed shoulders with everyone from Prince Andrew to former President Bill Clinton. By Epstein's own account, one of his closest friends was Trump himself. In 2017, Wolff interviewed Epstein about the president while researching his book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. 'I was Donald's closest friend for 10 years,' Epstein said in the tapes obtained exclusively by the Daily Beast last year. Though Trump's camp blasted the tapes as 'false smears' and 'election interference,' Trump has spoken on the record about his friendship with Epstein. 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,' Trump told New York magazine in 2002. 'He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' In a statement provided to the Daily Beast, Trump's communications director, Steven Cheung, said: 'Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s--t and has been proven to be a fraud. He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.' Wolff recalled that during the 2016 election, Trump's campaign chief Steve Bannon jokingly told Epstein, 'You were the only person I was afraid of.' 'Bannon felt that the one person who had the goods on Donald Trump was Jeffrey Epstein,' Wolff said. When contacted for comment about Wolff's claims, David Schoen, Bannon's attorney, stated: 'I certainly have no comment on anything Michael Wolff said on your podcast other than to say, if Wolff said it, I would assume it was a lie because from my experience he surely seems to prefer to lie rather than tell the truth when given the option. 'Jeffrey Epstein had no 'goods' on Donald Trump,' Schoen continued, 'and I can assure you this is a subject on which I can speak with authority.' The Daily Beast has reached out to Steve Bannon for comment. New episodes of The Daily Beast Podcast are released every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Follow our new feed on your favorite podcast platform at and subscribe on YouTube to watch full episodes.
Daily Mirror
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Jeffrey Epstein's chilling final message sent hours before his death uncovered
A prophetic note was handed to author Michael Wolff just hours before thr disgraced paedophile financier, who had been friends with Prince Andrew, was found dead in his cell Jeffrey Epstein sent a final eerie message to a close confidant, saying he was 'just hanging around' hours before taking his own life. The prophetic note was handed to author Michael Wolff before the paedophile, who had been friends with Prince Andrew, was found dead in his cell. The writer claimed the disgraced financier contacted him through a lawyer on the night before he was found hanged in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York in August 2019. 'I believe that I got the last message from him before he died,' Wolff said. 'And this came through one of his lawyers on a Friday evening. He died on Saturday morning. His message to me hours before this happened was, and it was just in response to me asking how he was, and he said, 'Still hanging around.'' The convicted sex trafficker, who was close to Prince Andrew and many other powerful men, knew Wolff well and had asked him in 2014 if he would consider writing a book about him. The author declined. A 2023 report by the US Department of Justice concluded Epstein died by suicide, but the circumstances surrounding his death have long fuelled conspiracy theories, with critics insisting he may have been murdered to silence him. Donald Trump, a former friend of Epstein, vowed during his White House campaign to release the so-called 'Epstein files'. But on Monday, the Justice Department said there was no evidence Epstein kept a list of clients or that he had been murdered, sparking fury among Trump's base. The news triggered a backlash from MAGA supporters, who targeted Attorney General Pam Bondi for failing to deliver on promises that the full truth would be revealed. For Wolff, who spoke on The Daily Beast Podcast, Epstein's death remains a mystery. 'He could not, as described, have killed himself,' he said. 'As the circumstances presented, he could not have been murdered.' Asked for his own theory, he added: 'I don't know.' Suspicion that Epstein's death was a cover-up has continued, with many alleging he was silenced to protect powerful associates named by his victims. Among those linked to Epstein were Andrew, former President Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. In 2017, Wolff interviewed Epstein while researching his book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. Epstein reportedly told him: 'I was Donald's closest friend for 10 years.' Although Trump's team dismissed the claim as 'false smears' and 'election interference,' the former president has publicly acknowledged knowing the Wall Street financier. In a 2002 interview with New York Magazine, Trump said: 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.' Responding to Wolff's comments, Trump's communications director Steven Cheung launched a blistering attack on the author. He told the Daily Beast: 'Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s*** and has been proven to be a fraud. "He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain." Wolff also claimed that Steve Bannon, Trump's former campaign chief, once joked to Epstein. The closure of the FBI's investigation into Epstein came just weeks after Elon Musk claimed Trump's name appeared in the long-awaited files on the sex offender, which will no longer be released.
Hindustan Times
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Donald Trump on his awkward nickname for Melania at Iowa event: ‘It reminds me I'm president'
President Donald Trump and his wife Melania have never exactly seemed like a picture-perfect couple. But a closer look at how they live as husband and wife shows just how distant their relationship appears to be. During a casual speech in Iowa on Thursday, Donald Trump shared an awkward detail — the nickname he uses for Melania Trump.(AP) Michael Wolff's book 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House' reveals that the Trumps were the first couple since John and Jackie Kennedy to sleep in separate bedrooms at the White House, according to an Irish Star report. Also Read: Barron Trump reportedly earned $40 million from dad's crypto business. How much is he worth now? Trump's nickname for Melania During a speech in Iowa on Thursday, Trump shared an awkward detail — the nickname he uses for Melania. It was at the 'Salute to America' event in Des Moines where Trump first made a mistake while talking about soccer; made several strange claims; and even talked about hosting a UFC match at the White House. He eventually got around to mentioning military recruitment but quickly went off-topic again. 'I remember saying to our great First Lady...' he said before suddenly adding, 'I call her 'First Lady,' isn't it terrible?' He went on to say, 'I'm saying 'Good night, First Lady, my darling,' because it reminds me that I'm president, that's why.' 'Wanted own bedroom' According to Wolff, Trump asked for a lock on his bedroom door so neither Melania nor the Secret Service could come in and he could eat cheeseburgers in peace and watch three TVs at once. There have long been reports that Melania 'can't stand' Trump and asked for her own bedroom in the White House. After refusing former First Lady Jill Biden's offer of tea, questions swirled about where Melania would live if Trump returned to the White House — Florida, New York, or Washington D.C.? One of her reported conditions for return to Washington was having her own space. Though she previously said she wasn't nervous about being First Lady again, sources told Radar Online that Melania's choice to live separately from Trump — along with their son Barron — is not new. Also read: Sleeping in separate bedrooms strengthens relationship? 'It was no secret that Donald stayed in the White House master suite and Melania occupied a two-room suite on the third floor during their first-go round there,' a source told Radar Online. 'They'll now basically go back to something along those very same lines — if not in the very same rooms.' A Trump spokesperson denied claims about their sleeping arrangements, according to the publication. Also Read: Musk hints at 3rd party after 'Big Beautiful Bill' passes. Here's what Tesla CEO posted Shared routine before bed Even though the couple reportedly don't share a bedroom, sources say they still have a nightly routine together: dinner and a talk. 'They did not share a bedroom, but they ate dinner together every night,' insiders have been quoted as saying.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Rages at Claim War on Harvard Is Revenge for Rejection
Donald Trump blew up on Truth Social over a claim from author Michael Wolff that his crusade against Harvard is personal. Wolff, author of several books about the president, claimed on The Daily Beast Podcast last week that Trump 'didn't get into Harvard' and suggested he's now targeting the university in part because he holds a 'grudge.' 'He needs an enemy,' Wolff said earlier in the podcast. 'That's what makes the show great. The Trump show. He picks fantastic enemies, actually. And Harvard, for all it represents, fits right into the Trump show,' he said. 'Going after Harvard has proved to be an incredibly reliable headline,' he added. 'So he's on the money. So he's done what he set out to do. Dominate headlines.' Trump has gone after the university with gusto, freezing its federal funding, threatening its tax-exempt status and moving to block it from enrolling international students. The president claimed Wolff's story is 'totally FALSE' and insisted he never applied to the Ivy League school. 'Michael Wolff, a Third Rate Reporter, who is laughed at even by the scoundrels of the Fake News, recently stated that the only reason I'm 'beating up' on Harvard, is because I applied there, and didn't get in,' Trump raged on his social media platform Monday. 'That story is totally FALSE, I never applied to Harvard,' Trump continued. 'I graduated from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania. He is upset because his book about me was a total 'BOMB.' Nobody wanted it, because his 'reporting' and reputation is so bad!' Trump's education has been colored by claims from family members that he was a 'brat' and that his sister 'did his homework for him.' His higher education began at Fordham University in 1964. He studied for two years at the Bronx Catholic private school before transferring to the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at Penn. He graduated from the Ivy League university with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1968. His late sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, told her niece Mary Trump that she 'drove him around New York City to try to get him into college.' She said he attended Fordham briefly 'and then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take his exams.' Those claims were denied by the widow of Joe Shapiro, the man who was said to have taken the test for Trump. The president's father and brother also helped him to get into the school through a connection, The Washington Post reported in 2019. Trump has long boasted of his time at the Wharton school, claiming it was one of the 'hardest school to get into' and that he graduated top of his class, a claim that the evidence suggests is dubious at best. Trump has had a long-running beef with Wolff, who wrote Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House and Siege: Trump Under Fire, among other titles. In February, Trump called Wolff's latest book, All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America, a 'total FAKE JOB, just like the other JUNK he wrote.' 'He called me many times trying to set up a meeting, but I never called him back because I didn't want to give him the credibility of an interview,' Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. Even before Wolff floated the claim that the president was snubbed by Harvard, speculation ran rampant over the reason for his vendetta. A White House spokesperson shot down the idea that Trump was rejected from the school, telling USA Today last week, the president 'didn't need to apply to an overrated, corrupt institution like Harvard to become a successful businessman and the most transformative President in history.' Trump has accused Harvard of liberal bias and antisemitism, using those claims to justify his offensive. According to Wolff, a running joke in White House circles held that Trump's war on the prestigious school stemmed from the rejection of another Trump: his youngest son, Barron. The narrative apparently made its way to first lady Melania Trump, whose spokesperson issued a statement last Tuesday calling the claim that Barron applied to Harvard 'completely false.' The 19-year-old recently finished his freshman year at New York University, where he studied at its Stern School of Business.
Hindustan Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Are Trump and Melania separated? Biographer makes bold claim, White House responds
Journalist and author Michael Wolff has claimed that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are essentially "separated," citing her extended absences from the White House. Appearing on The Daily Beast podcast Tuesday, Wolff responded to reports that Melania has spent fewer than two weeks at the White House since Trump's second inauguration on January 20. "They clearly do not in any way inhabit a marriage as we define marriage," Wolff said, suggesting further, 'I think maybe we can more specifically say they live separate lives. They are separated. The President of the United States and the First Lady are separated.' White House Communications Director Steven Cheung slammed Wolff in a statement to The Independent, calling him 'a blithering idiot' and claiming he has been 'widely discredited due to his blatant lies and fabrications.' 'He is an imbecile of the highest order and his Trump Derangement Syndrome-addled brain has caused him to lead a miserable existence devoid of reality,' Cheung said. Wolff is the author of several best-selling books on Trump, including 2018's 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.' His latest book, 'All Or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America,' was published in February this year. Wolff's comments came just days after The New York Times reported that Melania had spent fewer than 14 days at the White House since the start of Trump's second term. Katherine Jellison, a historian and first lady expert, told the Times: 'We haven't seen such a low-profile first lady since Bess Truman, and that's going way back in living human memory, nearly 80 years ago.' Also Read: Donald Trump takes over first lady duties, redesigns Rose Garden and greets tours as Melania MIA Before her husband's return to the presidency, Melania signaled that she would be dividing her time between Washington, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, and New York City, where their son Barron is now a freshman at NYU. "I will be in the White House. And when I need to be in New York, I will be in New York. When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach,' Melania said in a Jan. 13 interview on Fox & Friends. 'My first priority is to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife." While largely absent from day-to-day political life, Melania has made a few public appearances during her husband's second term. Most recently, she and Trump traveled together to Rome for Pope Francis's funeral on April 26. She also attended the White House Easter Egg Roll on April 21.
