Legal insiders and victim advocates have described President Donald Trump’s recent comments about Virginia Giuffre as “utterly shocking” and dehumanizing, intensifying scrutiny over his past ties to Jeffrey Epstein. In remarks aboard Air Force One in July 2025, Trump claimed he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after the financier repeatedly “stole” young female employees from the club’s spa, specifically confirming Giuffre as one of them. “He stole her,” Trump said of Giuffre, who was a teenage spa attendant recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000.
Giuffre, a central figure in the Epstein sex-trafficking scandal who accused Epstein, Maxwell, and others of abuse, died by suicide in April 2025 at age 41. Her family swiftly condemned Trump’s language, stating it was “shocking” to hear him describe their sister as “stolen” like an object. “She wasn’t stolen; she was preyed upon at President Trump’s property,” her brother Sky Roberts told CNN, emphasizing that Maxwell targeted the then-16- or 17-year-old Giuffre. The family further questioned whether Trump knew about Epstein and Maxwell’s criminal activities, citing his 2002 quote calling Epstein a “terrific guy” who “likes them on the younger side.”
Legal experts note Trump’s admission inadvertently corroborates Giuffre’s long-standing account of being recruited from Mar-a-Lago, raising uncomfortable questions about what club management knew. Trump’s team insists he acted decisively by expelling Epstein for “being a creep” to female staff and denies any wrongdoing by the president. Yet insiders argue the proprietary phrasing—”stole” from “my” club—reduces a trafficking victim to property, undermining efforts to humanize survivors.
As pressure mounts for full release of Epstein files, Trump’s remarks have fueled bipartisan calls for transparency, with critics warning they risk retraumatizing victims’ families while highlighting lingering ambiguities in his Epstein fallout timeline.
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