Trump Claims Epstein 'Stole' Teen Victim From Mar-a-Lago Spa, Sparking Feud

Trump's Claims About Ending Friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

During a recent trip aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump shared details about his decision to end his long-standing friendship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. He claimed that the reason for cutting ties was because Epstein "stole" young women working at the Mar-a-Lago spa, including Virginia Giuffre, who was 17 years old at the time.

Trump made these remarks while returning from a five-day trip that combined a golf holiday and tariff summit in Scotland. When asked about his previous comments suggesting he had banned Epstein from his Palm Beach club due to hiring away employees, Trump confirmed that Epstein had taken workers from Mar-a-Lago. He emphasized that he had warned Epstein not to poach staff, but Epstein continued despite the warning.

“He took people that work for me, and I told him, don’t do it any more. And he did it. I said, stay the hell out of here,” Trump stated. When pressed on whether Giuffre, who worked as a pool locker-room attendant at Mar-a-Lago, was among those taken by Epstein, Trump confirmed she was one of them.

“I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people,” Trump said. “And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.”

Giuffre later revealed to the BBC that she met Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s accomplice, at Mar-a-Lago in 2000. Maxwell offered her an interview to train as a massage therapist, which led to Giuffre being recruited and groomed by Maxwell. She was ultimately raped by Epstein on multiple occasions after being ostensibly hired as a “masseuse” by the pedophile.

This new claim from Trump contradicts his previous statements about why he ended his relationship with Epstein. Previously, he cited Epstein’s 2009 conviction for soliciting underage prostitutes as the reason for cutting off contact. Trump and his allies have often used the end of their friendship to distance him from Epstein, who was arrested in March 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and died in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial.

The final weeks of Trump’s presidency have been marked by controversy over his administration’s handling of requests to release documents related to Epstein and Maxwell. Maxwell is currently serving a two-decade sentence in a Florida prison for sex trafficking charges.

Trump has consistently denied any connection to Epstein’s lifestyle, claiming they had already ended their friendship before the allegations against the financier emerged in 2006. He also sued The Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, over an article that reported he sent a “bawdy” birthday card message to Epstein for his 50th birthday. Trump called the report false and defamatory.

During a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Trump criticized the bipartisan push for the release of Epstein-related documents, calling it a “hoax that’s been built up way beyond proportion.” He accused Democrats of fabricating the issue for political gain and suggested that the files were mishandled by former officials like James Comey, William Barr, and Joe Biden.

“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,” Trump said, referring to Epstein’s notorious island. “I turned it down. I didn’t want to go to his island.”

Despite his claims of distance from Epstein, Trump’s statements continue to draw scrutiny, especially as the legacy of the financier’s crimes remains a subject of intense public interest and legal proceedings.