President Trump on Friday morning at the White House told reporters they need to worry less about his connection to Jeffrey Epstein and focus on others, like former President Bill Clinton and ex-Harvard President Lawrence Summers.
“They don’t talk about them, they talk about me,” the president said about the media and its coverage of Epstein. “I have nothing to do with the guy.”
A moment later, President Trump claimed Clinton went to the convicted sex offender’s island 28 times; he said that deserves much more scrutiny than his relationship with Epstein. “I never went to the island,” the president added.
The president offered other topics for reporters to focus on as well, including “how well the country is doing” and “how Barack Hussein Obama led a coup.” His comment about Obama comes two days after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the ex-president promoted a “contrived narrative” that Russia helped Trump win the 2016 election.
President Trump’s comments on Friday come after he has been dealing with criticism over his administration’s handling of Epstein. Earlier this month, the Justice Department and FBI said there was no incriminating Epstein client list to release or proof Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals — which led to pushback from many pro-MAGA commentators.
To point to a few notable examples, Tucker Carlson called out Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying “you’re not going to shout me down” for asking “pretty reasonable questions.” And The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh also said he will not drop the issue, even though the president would like conservative commentators to do so.
“I want to make this very clear to those on the right, including the president himself, who are telling us to just drop the subject and move on. We can’t drop it,” Walsh said on his podcast.
Trump last week ordered Attorney General Bondi to “produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.”
He also sued the Wall Street Journal for $10 billion for libel, after the paper reported Trump sent Epstein a “bawdy” birthday note in 2003. The president has denied sending the note: “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women.” He added, “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
To watch a longer clip of the president talking to reporters about Epstein and other topics on Friday, watch below via MSNBC:
