In a moment that stunned observers, Donald Trump casually described Jeffrey Epstein as having “stole” victim Virginia Giuffre, framing her trauma in words that have ignited fierce backlash and renewed scrutiny.
Aboard Air Force One on July 29, 2025, returning from Scotland, President Trump elaborated on his fallout with Epstein, claiming the financier repeatedly poached young spa employees from Mar-a-Lago. “He stole her,” Trump said when asked if Giuffre—a teenage locker-room attendant recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000—was among them. He added, “And by the way, she had no complaints about us, none whatsoever.”
Giuffre, Epstein’s most prominent accuser who died by suicide in April 2025 at age 41, alleged Maxwell targeted her at Trump’s club, leading to years of trafficking and abuse. She secured a multimillion-dollar settlement from Prince Andrew and helped convict Maxwell, now serving 20 years.
Giuffre’s family swiftly condemned Trump’s phrasing as dehumanizing. “She wasn’t stolen—she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trump’s property,” they stated. “‘Stolen’ seems very impersonal. It feels very much like an object, and the survivors are not objects.” They questioned what Trump knew about Epstein and Maxwell’s actions, noting the recruitment occurred years before their reported rift.
Critics highlighted timeline inconsistencies: Giuffre’s recruitment was in 2000, yet Trump praised Epstein as a “terrific guy” in 2002 and reportedly banned him later, around 2007, over inappropriate behavior.
Trump’s comments, amid ongoing Epstein file releases under his administration, underscore lingering questions about elite connections. While he distanced himself, emphasizing the poaching led to Epstein’s Mar-a-Lago ban, survivors’ advocates demand fuller transparency. Giuffre’s legacy of courage contrasts sharply with the casual framing of her predation as mere employee theft.
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