U.S. President Donald J. Trump in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. Kenny Holston/Pool via REUTERS
President Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, have done their best to downplay their longstanding friendships with the late Jeffrey Epstein. Yet a Trump biographer with numerous inside sources recently wrote that Epstein not only confirmed his decades-long bond with the two — he was convinced Trump might kill him to keep that bond quiet.
Epstein was later found dead in his prison cell from a supposed suicide in 2019, shortly after he was arrested on various charges related to his abuse of minors.
"I had tried to encourage, and then to push, Epstein to talk publicly about Trump, including to release photographs he had of Trump with the young women in constant attendance at Epstein’s house," journalist Michael Wolff wrote on his Substack on Tuesday. "'I may be a pedophile, but I don’t have a death wish,' said Epstein, cavalier about his situation and yet seemingly also clear-eyed."
Wolff described how Epstein and Trump were close friends until 2004, at which time they had a falling out when each claimed the other had behaved like a bad friend over a real estate deal both wished to pursue. Wolff posits that Epstein may have suspected Trump of ratting him out based on the activities they allegedly engaged in together.
"Epstein saw himself as the story behind the story. The man who knew too much," Wolff wrote, adding "I believe that Epstein understood the wholly unique position he was in: he had led a depraved life—one which the president of the United States had participated in." He described Epstein as deeply afraid of Trump, particularly in the 2016 campaign as it dawned on him that Trump could become president and be frightened of the dirt Epstein had on him.
"At the same time, you can’t evaluate Epstein’s friendship with Trump, his obsession with him, and his fear, without seeing it in the context of the steps Trump’s government took against him—and of Epstein’s unlikely, if not implausible, end," Wolff wrote. "Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean you aren’t being followed."
It is confirmed that Trump and Epstein were longtime friends, as they openly discussed their bond and were recorded partying together by NBC News during that phase in their lives.
Trump later distanced himself from the financier, claiming they had not spoken in fifteen years following their falling out. However, investigative reports and flight logs continued to reveal extensive social overlaps between the two men, keeping public scrutiny alive regarding the true depth of their relationship before Epstein's death.