President Trump angrily tried to shut down a reporter who inquired about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
The president’s reaction on Tuesday did little to quell the curiosity of critics who continue to insist Epstein kept a “client list” that could include Trump. It came a day after the Justice Department claimed no such list exists and stated no further information on the matter would be released.
“Are people still talking about this guy? This creep?” Trump fumed during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. “That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste the time?”
The president urged reporters to instead focus on the flooding in Texas that killed more than 100 people in recent days and leave his old friend alone.
“It just seems like a desecration,” Trump groused.
Epstein’s alleged connection to powerful figures in politics, business and entertainment has been the lifeblood of right-wing conspiracy theories since the 66-year-old Brooklyn native was taken into custody and later took his own life.
Trump, who was known to party with Epstein, told New York magazine in 2002 that Epstein was a “fun” guy who liked women as much as he did — and liked them young. But the president has been charged with no impropriety in connection to the late sex offender.
The Trump administration’s failure to produce the so-called “Epstein files” has caused a rift among the MAGA faithful who have demanded damning information to support their many conspiracy theories regarding Epstein.
Billionaire businessman and internet conspiratorialist Elon Musk was Trump’s biggest donor during the 2024 presidential election, but he’s since become a Trump critic, insisting there’s an Epstein client list and that Trump’s name is on it.
Musk continued his criticism of Trump on Tuesday.
“How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?” Musk asked on social media.
Epstein & Trump At Mar-A-Lago
Davidoff Studios/Getty Images Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., in 1997. (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
Attorney General Pam Bondi helped fuel rumors of a client list in February when she told Fox News that the file was sitting on her desk to be reviewed. She later clarified she was referring to Epstein’s comprehensive Department of Justice file.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino also upset conspiracy theorists in May by confirming Epstein died by suicide, despite suspicion from social media sleuths that his death was caused by a “deep state” determined to protect the powerful.
Originally Published: July 8, 2025 at 6:42 PM EDT
