It was an offhand comment at first, almost buried in a broader conversation aboard Air Force One. But it didn’t take long for President Donald Trump’s latest remarks about Jeffrey Epstein to ignite renewed public curiosity. For years, the ties between the two men have been a topic of speculation, scrutiny, and shadowy headlines. But now, Trump is providing his own version of what drove a wedge between them—and the story involves his Florida estate, a luxury spa, and young women allegedly “taken” from under his employment.
While returning from a five-day visit to Scotland—where he inaugurated a new golf course—Trump sat with reporters and unexpectedly expanded on a subject that has long hovered at the edges of controversy: his past relationship with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I have a great spa, one of the best spas in the world, at Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said. Then came the twist: “And people were taken out of the spa, hired by him.”
The implication was immediate and chilling. According to Trump, Epstein had deliberately targeted and recruited young women who worked at Mar-a-Lago, some of whom were allegedly drawn into his now-infamous trafficking network. “Everyone knows the people that were taken,” Trump continued. “And it was the concept of taking people that work for me… that’s bad.”
This, Trump said, was the turning point. While their social circles had once overlapped in elite society gatherings, including at Trump’s own Palm Beach estate, the president claims this incident prompted him to permanently sever ties with Epstein.
“I told him, I said, ‘Listen, we don’t want you taking our people,’” Trump recounted. “Whether it was spa or not spa, I don’t want him taking people. And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, ‘Out of here.’”
One of the most disturbing revelations came when Trump named a specific person: Virginia Giuffre. “I think she worked at the spa,” Trump said. “I think so. I think that was one of the people. Yeah, he stole her.”
Giuffre, formerly Virginia Roberts, has been one of the most public faces in the years-long legal battle surrounding Epstein and his network. She’s the woman who later accused Britain’s Prince Andrew of sexually abusing her when she was only 17—a claim that the prince has denied but which led to a highly publicized legal settlement in the United States. Her involvement with Epstein reportedly began when she was just 16 years old, after being approached by Ghislaine Maxwell—Epstein’s longtime associate—at Mar-a-Lago. Giuffre had been working at the club as a spa attendant at the time, where her father also served as a maintenance worker.
Trump’s comments came not only as a retrospective but amid renewed public attention on Epstein’s legacy and the ongoing scrutiny of who may have been connected to his crimes. Earlier in July, a memo from the Justice Department and FBI concluded that Epstein most likely died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019—effectively quashing theories of murder or assassination—and that no definitive “client list” of abusers had been recovered. Yet speculation continues to swirl.
During the same conversation with reporters, Trump emphasized that he had long since distanced himself from Epstein. “For years I wouldn’t talk to Jeffrey Epstein,” he said. “Because he did something that was inappropriate.” He also made a point to assert: “By the way, I never went to the island.”
The “island” he referred to was Little Saint James in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the now-notorious private location where many of Epstein’s alleged crimes against underage girls were said to have taken place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aymOs5wRYGI
Meanwhile, another chapter in the saga is still unfolding. Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epstein’s trafficking ring, recently met with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for two days of questioning. Maxwell’s attorney has begun publicly advocating for a presidential pardon or commutation of her sentence—something Trump claimed he has not been approached about.
“Nobody’s asked me about it,” he told reporters. But the mere mention of Maxwell’s name and her potential release added fuel to an already volatile narrative.
As always with Trump, critics will question the timing and motivation behind these revelations. The former president, who is once again at the center of intense media attention, has faced three weeks of political blowback over the DOJ’s findings. Yet by naming Giuffre and detailing the circumstances that led him to cut Epstein out of his inner circle, he appears to be attempting to rewrite—or at least clarify—his role in one of the darkest scandals to have rocked elite circles in recent American history.
What remains unclear, however, is how this new version of events will be received—by the public, by legal observers, and by those who continue to search for a fuller picture of the truth.
