President Donald Trump is still putting his foot in his mouth as he tries to spin his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal, for which his administration has been under fire for refusing to fully disclose any evidence.
While trying to generate positive headlines for his golf course and trade deals during his trip to Europe, Trump made some comments Monday that put the Epstein scandal back in the spotlight.
When asked about the scandal, Trump tried to claim that he never visited Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The island was reportedly where Epstein carried out his alleged sex trafficking and abuse of underage girls.
“I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down,” Trump said.
Trump’s assertion, of course, makes it clear that he was at the very least close enough to Epstein to be offered a visit to the island. The two were friends for years, as has extensively been documented.
Since the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump sent a lewd birthday note to Epstein, which included a drawing of a naked woman, he has been trying to spin the story.
“I don’t do drawings. I’m not a drawing person. I don’t do drawings,” Trump said before immediately contradicting himself by saying, “Sometimes people say people say, ‘well you drew a building’ and I’ll draw four lines and a little roof, you know for a charity, so—”
And since Trump first tried to distance himself from the Journal’s report, several drawings that he’s made over the years—including for charity auctions—have surfaced. By his own definition, Trump is a “drawing person.”
He also asserted that he has the power to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, his former party companion. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for assisting Epstein in trafficking and exploiting underage girls.
“I’m allowed to give her a pardon,” Trump said.
Related | Trump won’t rule out pardoning notorious sex offender he partied with
Attempting to project political power, Trump claimed that the Epstein scandal is good for him and that his polling has increased since the story surfaced. This is completely false.
Trump’s approval has fallen since the Epstein scandal began, and it’s particularly notable that his support among Republicans is down on this issue—which has historically been his area of strength.
The Epstein story isn’t going away, and Trump is going to have to keep dealing with it. And no matter how hard he tries, his spin is clearly not working.