During a closed-door meeting in Scotland on July 28, 2025, President Donald Trump startled British officials by directly confronting the Jeffrey Epstein controversy—clearing himself while pointing the finger at powerful Democrats.
Speaking alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump said:
“I never went [to Epstein’s island]. Bill Clinton, they say, went 28 times. I never went. But Larry Summers, I hear, was there… along with many other big names. Nobody ever talks about them.”
Trump went on to recall his own falling out with Epstein years ago. “I threw him out, made him persona non grata, after he tried to take my staff,” he said.
Addressing older reports linking him to Epstein, Trump dismissed rumors of a drawing he supposedly sent. “I don’t do drawings of women—that I can tell you,” he remarked.
The President described the scandal as a “hoax that’s been exaggerated,” while noting that it would be “inappropriate” to weigh in on the possibility of pardons for Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
His words landed heavily, shifting the focus of the Epstein conversation away from himself and back onto his political opponents.
