President Donald Trump rebuked a reporter Tuesday after being asked about the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, as some within Make America Great Again (MAGA) circles criticized the administration’s outright rejection of conspiracy narratives tied to the disgraced financier.
During a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, a reporter questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding a recent Justice Department and FBI memo that found “no credible evidence” to support claims that Epstein blackmailed influential individuals. That memo also upheld the conclusion that Epstein died by suicide in custody in 2019.
Trump stepped in before Bondi could respond to the question. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?" he asked the reporter.
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"This guy’s been talked about for years. We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things… and are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.”
The president’s refusal to address the issue, which some key members of his administration have discussed for years, has raised eyebrows.
CNN reporter Aaron Blake wrote on the social platform X: "This is very discordant next to the Trump allies and even admin officials who have built this up as a massive conspiracy supposedly involving powerful people being involved in sex trafficking."
Former advisor to Barack Obama, Tommy Vietor, said: "Trump seems VERY p----d and defensive that he got asked about Jeffrey Epstein. It's almost like he has something to hide... No one tell him that @Kash_Patel and @dbongino spent years breathing life into the Epstein conspiracy narrative!"
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Attorney Aaron Parnas wrote: "He sounds really scared about the Epstein files."
Content creator David Doel shared a statement from Jeffrey Epstein in which he had claimed he was Trump's "closest friend," and wrote: "It’s just so obvious that it’s exhausting. Reporters are being way too timid with this, they should be quoting Epstein’s own words to Trump at every opportunity and in every report."
Political consultant Ally Sammarco wrote: "This is genuinely the biggest coverup in history."