Donald Trump is well-versed in creating controversy, and his recent comments on Jeffrey Epstein have stirred up significant debate.
Trump’s association with the deceased financier has come under intense scrutiny following the announcement by the FBI and Department of Justice that no further files related to the convicted criminal would be released.
The president has pledged full transparency regarding investigations into the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as other matters of public concern.
While Trump has declassified documents related to these historical figures, there is growing public demand for transparency in the investigations concerning Jeffrey Epstein.
The Trump administration has made a few Epstein-related files available, yet there remains avoidance of addressing his connections to the president.
Given these circumstances, the President of the United States has faced numerous questions about Epstein and was recently asked about Epstein’s island.
The financier owned Little Saint James, a small private island in the United States Virgin Islands, which BBC News reported was listed for sale at $125 million in 2022.
“Never went to the island,” Trump asserted to reporters. “And Bill Clinton went there, supposedly, 28 times.”
Trump further claimed he hadn’t spoken to Epstein ‘for years,’ explaining: “I wouldn’t talk because he did something that was inappropriate.”
He added that although he was invited to visit the island, he ‘turned it down.’
Trump stated: “I never had the privilege of going to [Epstein’s] island. And I did turn it down. A lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island.”
“In one of my very good moments I turned it down,” the president remarked.
His choice of words was met with criticism, as Trump seemed to suggest that visiting Epstein’s island, where some of the convicted abuse took place, would have been a ‘privilege.’
Jimmy Fallon is among those who criticized the president for his remarks regarding Epstein’s island.
During The Tonight Show, Fallon played a part of the president’s interview, joking: “Trump’s staff was like, ‘A simple no would’ve been fine.'”
He continued: “Trump said he was invited to the island but didn’t want to go. I get it — it’s so annoying when you get invited to a destination crime scene, isn’t it?”
One critic described Trump’s statement as ‘the most disgusting moment of his presidency.’
They expressed their outrage on Twitter: “NEVER HAD THE PRIVILEGE? There is no coming back from this. Anyone who supports him now is as disgusting as he is.”
“I’m so tired of being embarrassed by this administration,” another person commented following Trump’s controversial remarks.
“Only evil people would consider it a privilege,” another critic suggested.