In July 2025, aboard Air Force One returning from Scotland, President Donald Trump offered his most explicit account yet of the fallout with Jeffrey Epstein, claiming the convicted sex offender “stole” young female spa employees from Mar-a-Lago—including teenage Virginia Giuffre. “He stole her,” Trump said when asked if Giuffre, then a 16-year-old locker room attendant in 2000, was among them. He described warning Epstein after the first poaching incident, only to ban him permanently after a repeat offense.
This narrative recasts the rupture as a business grievance over staff recruitment, rather than knowledge of Epstein’s predatory behavior. Trump insisted he acted decisively upon complaints: “I didn’t like it… and we threw him out.” Yet the timeline raises scrutiny—Giuffre was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell on Mar-a-Lago grounds in 2000, years before the alleged ban, and Trump praised Epstein in 2002 as a “terrific guy” who liked women “on the younger side.”
Giuffre, Epstein’s most prominent accuser who died by suicide in April 2025, alleged Maxwell groomed her into years of abuse and trafficking. She consistently exonerated Trump in testimony, denying any misconduct by him. Trump’s phrasing, however, provoked outrage from her family. “She wasn’t stolen—she was preyed upon,” they stated, emphasizing Maxwell targeted their 16-year-old sister on Trump’s property. Brother Sky Roberts added, “Stolen seems very impersonal… she’s a person, a mom, a sister.”
Critics argue the “poaching” frame minimizes grooming and trafficking, reducing a vulnerable teen’s exploitation to employee theft. It shifts focus from potential awareness in elite Palm Beach circles—where Epstein operated openly—to a petty dispute. Supporters highlight Trump’s early distancing and Giuffre’s absolving statements, viewing his candor as proof of intolerance for Epstein’s actions.
The remarks evolved prior explanations: aides once cited Epstein as a “creep,” or a real estate rivalry. No evidence links Trump to Epstein’s crimes, and flight logs show no island visits. Still, the casual language—amid ongoing Epstein file releases and Maxwell’s pardon lobbying—reopens wounds for survivors’ families.
As partial, redacted files emerged in December 2025 under transparency laws, Giuffre’s relatives renewed calls for full disclosure. Trump’s account underscores lingering questions: when did he know of Epstein’s patterns, and why frame predation as mere poaching? In a case defined by power and secrecy, such rhetoric risks dehumanizing victims while deflecting accountability.
These revelations remind us that elite associations carry lasting shadows, especially when narratives prioritize convenience over the grim reality of trafficking.
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