Latest news with #MelaniaKnauss
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘He's a lot of fun to be with': Trump and Epstein were close friends for 15 years
It was a friendship that spanned three different decades. To Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein was a 'terrific guy'. Epstein believed himself to be Trump's 'closest friend', and praised the future president as 'charming'. The relationship would eventually break down, the men falling out over a bidding war on a property in Florida. And after Epstein was convicted of child sex offences in 2008, Trump distanced himself from the financier, claiming he was 'not a fan' and wondering, in recent days, why his supporters would 'waste time and energy' on demanding that FBI and Department of Justice files on Epstein be released. But photos, videos and anecdotes paint a picture of a close friendship, of two middle-aged men who repeatedly partied together both alone and with their partners, including with Melania Knauss, who would go on to become Trump's third wife. '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.' Trump's insight into Epstein's predilections would be proved true in macabre fashion, when Epstein was found guilty in 2008 of sexually abusing girls aged between 14 and 17 years old. When Epstein was charged with sex trafficking of minors, in 2019, Trump attempted to play down their relationship, insisting: 'I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him.' Trump said the pair had fallen out years earlier, and claimed: 'I was not a fan of his.' But during the 15 years that the men were friends, there were plenty of incidents that displayed Trump and Epstein's closeness. The New York Times reported that in 1992, George Houraney, a Florida-based businessman, had organized a 'calendar girl' competition at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private members' club where he would later live full-time. Houraney flew more than two dozen women to Mar-a-Lago, but he had a surprise when they arrived. 'I arranged to have some contestants fly in,' Houraney told the Times. 'At the very first party, I said, 'Who's coming tonight? I have 28 girls coming.' It was him and Epstein.' Houraney said he was surprised. 'I said: 'Donald, this is supposed to be a party with VIPs. You're telling me it's you and Epstein?'' It ended up being just Trump and Epstein. Back then, Trump made no secret of the friendship. He was pictured with Epstein at events and parties from New York to Florida. Video from a party at Mar-a-Lago in 1992 shows the pair in conversation as a dance track booms through the speakers. Trump whispers something into Epstein's ear, prompting Epstein to bend over laughing. The tape was aired by NBC News during Trump's first term as president, and the news channel reported that it showed both Trump and Epstein pointing out women, while at one point Trump gestures to a woman and says: 'Look at her, back there … she's hot.' In 1993 Stacey Williams, then a professional model, visited Trump at Trump Tower with Epstein. On arrival, she would later tell the Guardian, Trump put his hands 'all over my breasts', waist and buttocks while Trump and Epstein smiled at each other, in what she believed was a 'twisted game' between the two men. 'It became very clear then that he and Donald were really, really good friends and spent a lot of time together,' Williams said in 2024. Karoline Leavitt, then a spokesperson for Trump's election campaign, described Williams's accusations as 'unequivocally false. It's obvious this fake story was contrived by the Harris campaign.' What is undeniable is that the men maintained their relationship through the 1990s. They were photographed at Mar-a-Lago, and the same year were pictured together at a Victoria's Secret Angels event in New York. The relationship endured. Photos show Trump and Epstein with Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell at an event in 2000. Maxwell would be sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for procuring teen girls for Jeffrey Epstein for him to abuse – when she was charged with the crimes Trump responded: 'I just wish her well, frankly.' The Wall Street Journal also reported on Thursday that Trump allegedly wrote Epstein a birthday card as part of a 50th birthday album organized by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. The letter was fashioned in the shape of a woman's body, and consisted of an imaginary dialogue between the two, the Journal said. 'Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey. Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it. Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?' it read, with Trump's signature squiggled as it were pubic hair on the outline of the body. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Trump once believed Epstein to be a terrific guy, but he wasn't the only one who talked up the friendship. Years later Epstein would tell the journalist Michael Wolff that he had been Trump's 'closest friend for 10 years', in audio tapes published on Wolff's Fire and Fury podcast last year. Epstein also told Wolff that Trump liked to 'fuck the wives of his best friends', and said the first time he slept with Melania Trump was on Epstein's plane. Trump's camp claimed that Wolff was engaging in 'false smears' and 'election interference'. The close friendship wouldn't last. The relationship soured in 2004, according to reports, after the pair became embroiled in a bidding war over a property in Palm Beach. In 2019, after Epstein was arrested, he said he had not spoken to Trump for 15 years. And despite his own close relationship with Epstein, Trump would go on to criticize others for the same thing, with Bill Clinton a particular source of deflection. Trump even shared a conspiracy theory that the former president was involved in Epstein's death – ironically sparking more intrigue in the case. Trump told reporters days after Epstein died: 'The question you have to ask is, did Bill Clinton go to the island? Because Epstein had an island. That was not a good place, as I understand it, and I was never there.' Trump adds: 'So you have to ask, did Bill Clinton go to the island? That's the question. If you find that out, you're going to know a lot.' Clinton has denied going to Little St James island, which Epstein owned and later became synonymous with his crimes. Trump now finds himself in a mess that is partly of his own making. The 'Epstein didn't commit suicide' conspiracy theory in which he dabbled quickly spread among rightwing commentators and media figures – many of whom demanded that documents related to Epstein's associates be released. When the Department of Justice failed to do so last week, it caused a rarely seen rift between Trump and his supporters, with Trump trying to brush off the saga, and his supporters angry at a perceived lack of transparency. When Trump was elected in 2024, his supporters believed they were getting an administration that was anti-swamp and pro-open government, the kind of government that holds back no secrets. But looking back at Trump's statements on the Epstein files during the campaign, the president appeared to be leaving himself wriggle room. Asked in an interview in September if he would declassify 'the 9/11 files' and 'the JFK files', Trump said yes. He is then asked if he would declassify 'the Epstein files', and initially said yes, but added: 'I think that [declassifying the Epstein files], less so, because you don't know – you don't want to affect people's lives if there's phoney stuff in there, because there's a lot of phoney stuff with that whole world.' That wavering hasn't helped Trump, however, as he has attempted to quash his supporters' rebellion. In a cabinet meeting last week the president expressed surprise that people were 'still talking' about Epstein, later pleading with his base to 'not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about'. How wrong he was. It turns out loads of people care about Jeffrey Epstein – particularly the people who support Trump. It was something Trump addressed on Wednesday, when he explicitly attacked his supporters in a post on Truth Social. 'My PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker,' Trump wrote. He added: 'I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any president in our country's history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the fake news and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein hoax. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' Trump revels in his relationship with rank-and-file rightwing Americans, a relationship that has benefited him to the tune of two presidential terms and hundreds of millions of dollars. For the past decade it has seemed as if that relationship could endure any scandal, any broken promise. But now, for the first time, Trump is finding cracks in his support. That past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the 'terrific guy' turned 'creep', could prove to be the president's undoing.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘He's a lot of fun to be with': Trump and Epstein were close friends for 15 years
It was a friendship that spanned three different decades. To Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein was a 'terrific guy'. Epstein believed himself to be Trump's 'closest friend', and praised the future president as 'charming'. The relationship would eventually break down, the men falling out over a bidding war on a property in Florida. And after Epstein was convicted of child sex offences in 2008, Trump distanced himself from the financier, claiming he was 'not a fan' and wondering, in recent days, why his supporters would 'waste time and energy' on demanding that FBI and Department of Justice files on Epstein be released. But photos, videos and anecdotes paint a picture of a close friendship, of two middle-aged men who repeatedly partied together both alone and with their partners, including with Melania Knauss, who would go on to become Trump's third wife. '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.' Trump's insight into Epstein's predilections would be proved true in macabre fashion, when Epstein was found guilty in 2008 of sexually abusing girls aged between 14 and 17 years old. When Epstein was charged with sex trafficking of minors, in 2019, Trump attempted to play down their relationship, insisting: 'I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him.' Trump said the pair had fallen out years earlier, and claimed: 'I was not a fan of his.' But during the 15 years that the men were friends, there were plenty of incidents that displayed Trump and Epstein's closeness. The New York Times reported that in 1992, George Houraney, a Florida-based businessman, had organized a 'calendar girl' competition at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private members' club where he would later live full-time. Houraney flew more than two dozen women to Mar-a-Lago, but he had a surprise when they arrived. 'I arranged to have some contestants fly in,' Houraney told the Times. 'At the very first party, I said, 'Who's coming tonight? I have 28 girls coming.' It was him and Epstein.' Houraney said he was surprised. 'I said: 'Donald, this is supposed to be a party with VIPs. You're telling me it's you and Epstein?'' It ended up being just Trump and Epstein. Back then, Trump made no secret of the friendship. He was pictured with Epstein at events and parties from New York to Florida. Video from a party at Mar-a-Lago in 1992 shows the pair in conversation as a dance track booms through the speakers. Trump whispers something into Epstein's ear, prompting Epstein to bend over laughing. The tape was aired by NBC News during Trump's first term as president, and the news channel reported that it showed both Trump and Epstein pointing out women, while at one point Trump gestures to a woman and says: 'Look at her, back there … she's hot.' In 1993 Stacey Williams, then a professional model, visited Trump at Trump Tower with Epstein. On arrival, she would later tell the Guardian, Trump put his hands 'all over my breasts', waist and buttocks while Trump and Epstein smiled at each other, in what she believed was a 'twisted game' between the two men. 'It became very clear then that he and Donald were really, really good friends and spent a lot of time together,' Williams said in 2024. Karoline Leavitt, then a spokesperson for Trump's election campaign, described Williams's accusations as 'unequivocally false. It's obvious this fake story was contrived by the Harris campaign.' What is undeniable is that the men maintained their relationship through the 1990s. They were photographed at Mar-a-Lago, and the same year were pictured together at a Victoria's Secret Angels event in New York. The relationship endured. Photos show Trump and Epstein with Melania Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell at an event in 2000. Maxwell would be sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for procuring teen girls for Jeffrey Epstein for him to abuse – when she was charged with the crimes Trump responded: 'I just wish her well, frankly.' The Wall Street Journal also reported on Thursday that Trump allegedly wrote Epstein a birthday card as part of a 50th birthday album organized by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. The letter was fashioned in the shape of a woman's body, and comprised of an imaginary dialogue between the two, the Journal said. 'Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey. Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it. Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?' it read, with Trump's signature squiggled as it were pubic hair on the outline of the body. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Trump once believed Epstein to be a terrific guy, but he wasn't the only one who talked up the friendship. Years later Epstein would tell the journalist Michael Wolff that he had been Trump's 'closest friend for 10 years', in audio tapes published on Wolff's Fire and Fury podcast last year. Epstein also told Wolff that Trump liked to 'fuck the wives of his best friends', and said the first time he slept with Melania Trump was on Epstein's plane. Trump's camp claimed that Wolff was engaging in 'false smears' and 'election interference'. The close friendship wouldn't last. The relationship soured in 2004, according to reports, after the pair became embroiled in a bidding war over a property in Palm Beach. In 2019, after Epstein was arrested, he said had not spoken to Trump for 15 years. And despite his own close relationship with Epstein, Trump would go on to criticize others for the same thing, with Bill Clinton a particular source of deflection. Trump even shared a conspiracy theory that the former president was involved in Epstein's death – ironically sparking more intrigue in the case. Trump told reporters days after Epstein died: 'The question you have to ask is, did Bill Clinton go to the island? Because Epstein had an island. That was not a good place, as I understand it, and I was never there.' Trump adds: 'So you have to ask, did Bill Clinton go to the island? That's the question. If you find that out, you're going to know a lot.' Clinton has denied going to the Little St James island, which Epstein owned and later became synonymous with his crimes. Trump now finds himself in a mess that is partly of his own making. The 'Epstein didn't commit suicide' conspiracy theory in which he dabbled quickly spread among rightwing commentators and media figures – many of whom demanded that documents related to Epstein's associates be released. When the Department of Justice failed to do so last week, it caused a rarely seen rift between Trump and his supporters, with Trump trying to brush off the saga, and his supporters angry at a perceived lack of transparency. When Trump was elected in 2024, his supporters believed they were getting an administration that was anti-swamp and pro-open government, the kind of government that holds back no secrets. But looking back at Trump's statements on the Epstein files during the campaign, the president appeared to be leaving himself wriggle room. Asked in an interview in September if he would declassify 'the 9/11 files' and 'the JFK files', Trump said yes. He is then asked if he would declassify 'the Epstein files', and initially said yes, but added: 'I think that [declassifying the Epstein files], less so, because you don't know – you don't want to affect people's lives if there's phoney stuff in there, because there's a lot of phoney stuff with that whole world.' That wavering hasn't helped Trump, however, as he has attempted to quash his supporters' rebellion. In a cabinet meeting last week the president expressed surprise that people were 'still talking' about Epstein, later pleading with his base to 'not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about'. How wrong he was. It turns out loads of people care about Jeffrey Epstein – particularly the people who support Trump. It was something Trump addressed on Wednesday, when he explicitly attacked his supporters in a post on Truth Social. 'My PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker,' Trump wrote. He added: 'I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any president in our country's history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the fake news and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein hoax. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' Trump revels in his relationship with rank-and-file rightwing Americans, a relationship that has benefited him to the tune of two presidential terms and hundreds of millions of dollars. For the past decade it has seemed as if that relationship could endure any scandal, any broken promise. But now, for the first time, Trump is finding cracks in his support. That past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the 'terrific guy' turned 'creep', could prove to be the president's undoing.
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Donald Trump tried to pursue Princess Diana as his 'ultimate trophy wife' - but he only gave her 'the creeps'
Donald Trump has a complicated history when it comes to women. He married Ivana Trump in 1977 and stayed with her for over a decade until his affair with model Marla Maples came to light. Once their divorce was finalised in 1990, Trump continued his relationship with Maples and the pair had a daughter, Tiffany, together in 1993 before marrying later the same year. The couple remained married for three years before separating in 1997, citing differing world views. As his second divorce played out in court, Trump met the Slovenian-American model Melania Knauss at a party in New York City in 1998. He would propose to Melania at the Met Gala in 2004 and marry her in a seaside church in Palm Beach, Florida in 2005, making her both his third wife and the future First Lady of America. And let's not forget Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress who claimed she had a one-night stand with the businessman in 2006. Trump was later found guilty of 34 felony counts stemming from a $130,000 hush money payment he made to Daniels in the run up to the 2016 Presidential Elections. But Trump himself has admitted to only having 'one regret in the women department'. Writing in his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback, he said: 'I never had the opportunity to court Lady Diana Spencer. 'I met her on a number of occasions,' he continued. 'I couldn't help but notice how she moved people. She lit up the room with her charm, her presence. She was a genuine princess – a dream lady.' It has been reported that Trump attempted to pursue Diana as his 'ultimate trophy wife' after her highly-publicised divorce from Prince Charles in 1996. In a Sunday Times column, former BBC journalist and friend of Diana, Selina Scott recalled huge bouquets of flowers arriving at her Kensington Palace home. This was the same tactic he used when wooing first wife Ivana. 'Trump clearly saw Diana as the ultimate trophy wife,' Scott wrote. 'As the roses and orchids piled up at her apartment she became increasingly concerned about what she should do. 'It had begun to feel as if Trump was stalking her.' Over a private dinner, the princess confided in Scott. '"What am I going to do?" she asked. "He gives me the creeps." '"Just throw them in the bin," I advised. Diana laughed.' 'When she died in Paris in 1997, Trump [reportedly] told friends his biggest regret was that they hadn't dated. 'He said that he always thought he had a chance of romance and would have had a "shot' with her".' Although Trump only met Diana a handful of times, the businessman found it hard to move on after she passed away. In a 1997 radio interview with Howard Stern a few months after Diana's funeral, Trump said he would have 'nailed' her - but suggested he would have had her tested for HIV first. 'Why do people think it's egotistical of you to say you could've gotten with Lady Di?' Stern asked his guest. 'You could've gotten her, right? You could've nailed her?' 'I think I could have,' Trump replied. The two men then acted out a hypothetical scenario in which Trump demanded Diana get tested before they have sex. 'Hey Lady Di, would you go to the doctor?' Stern joked, People Magazine reported. 'Go back over to my Lexus, because I have a new doctor,' Trump added, as if addressing the late princess. 'We wanna give you a little check-up.' Broadcaster Howard Stern and Donald Trump at a party in New York city in 2000 In another interview with Stern in 2000, Trump doubled down on his claim that he would have slept with Diana 'without even hesitation'. Discussing his top ten hottest women on the radio show, Trump placed Diana third but only after putting his ex-wife Ivana in second place and Melania in the gold-medal position. Remembering the People's Princess, Trump described her as 'crazy' but said that was just a 'minor detail'. 'I tell you what, I think she's magnificent,' Trump told Stern. 'Lady Di was truly a woman with great beauty. 'I've seen her a couple of times. She was really beautiful, and people didn't realise she was that beautiful. She was supermodel beautiful. 'She had the height, she had the beauty, she had the skin, the whole thing.' His comments toward Diana make it all the more impressive that Prince William managed to observe decorum on meeting the American president during his state visit in 2019, at the re-opening of Notre Dame de Paris in December 2024 and yet again at the funeral of Pope Francis in April 2025. But perhaps the prince always knew what his late mother truly thought of Trump, as previously revealed by Earl Charles Spencer. Trump meets Prince William at the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in 2024 In 2023, Trump was gearing up to release a new book which he said featured letters from world leaders, politicians, and celebrities - including Princess Diana - who all wanted to 'kiss his a**'. In a cut-throat response, Earl Spencer tweeted: 'Surprised to hear that Donald Trump is apparently claiming that my late sister Diana wanted to "kiss his a***", since the one time she mentioned him to me – when he was using her good name to sell some real estate in New York – she clearly viewed him as worse than an anal fissure.'
