Trump Claims He Wasn’t ‘Friendly With Jeffrey Epstein’ – But Once Said ‘He’s a Lot of Fun To Be With’

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was never “friendly with Jeffrey Epstein,” despite previously saying the deceased sex trafficker was “a lot of fun to be with.”

The Department of Justice has released some of its files about Epstein, even though it was required by law to make public all Epstein-related material by Dec. 19, except for victims’ names, which are supposed to be redacted. In the latest release of files, the DOJ failed to redact nude images of young women or teenagers.

Trump’s name appears in the files more than 5,300 times, and in some cases includes disturbing and unverified claims. The president denies wrongdoing.

On Monday, despite all available evidence – and Trump’s own past comments – the president claimed he was in no way “friendly with” Epstein.

“Not only wasn’t I friendly with Jeffrey Epstein but, based upon information that has just been released by the Department of Justice, Epstein and a SLEAZEBAG lying ‘author’ named Michael Wolff, conspired in order to damage me and/or my Presidency,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, before suggesting he will sue those who tied him to Epstein. He also denied going to Epstein’s private island, which was alleged to have been a hub for underage sex trafficking.

“So much for the Radical Left’s hope against hope, some of whom I’ll be suing,” he continued. “Additionally, unlike so many people that like to ‘talk’ trash, I never went to the infested Epstein island but, almost all of these Crooked Democrats, and their Donors, did.”

But in a 2002 interview with New York magazine, Trump heaped praise on Epstein.

“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy,” Trump said. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life.”

Six years later, in 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for sex and received a light, 18-month prison sentence in a deal arranged by then U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, who later served as Secretary of Labor in Trump’s first term.

Trump is currently suing The Wall Street Journal for $10 billion after it ran a story alleging that Trump sent a lewd and cryptic 50th birthday message to Epstein in 2003. The message contains a doodle of a woman’s torso with a fictional dialogue between Trump and Epstein. The president denies sending the well-wishes.

According to flight logs, Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane at least eight times during the 1990s.

Trump’s denying he was friendly with Epstein is just the latest in the president’s ever-shifting story about their relationship.

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