00:00For years, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal was something Donald Trump pushed into the center
00:07of American politics.
00:12I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach, but I wish her well, whatever
00:17it is.
00:18I don't know the situation with Prince Andrew, just don't know, not aware of it.
00:22Picture in Palm Beach.
00:24I had a falling out with him a long time ago, I don't think I've spoken to him for 15 years.
00:28I wasn't a fan.
00:30I was not, yeah, a long time ago, I'd say maybe 15 years, I was not a fan of his.
00:37He talked about it in interviews.
00:39He posted about it online.
00:42He called for investigations and demanded that the whole truth come out.
00:47And every time he mentioned it, he made sure to point at his rivals, especially the Clintons.
00:54To Trump, the Epstein case wasn't just a crime story.
00:59It was proof that the country's powerful elite were hiding something dark.
01:05We have nothing to do with Epstein, the Democrats do.
01:08All of his friends were Democrats.
01:10You look at this Reid Hoffman, you look at Larry Summers, Bill Clinton, they went to his island
01:16He used it to fire up crowds, attack political enemies and show that he was unafraid to take
01:27on anyone, even the rich and connected.
01:31But now, everything has flipped.
01:34The scandal Trump once used as a weapon is coming back toward him louder than ever.
01:42Trump and Epstein first crossed paths in the flashy world of 1980s and 90s New York.
01:49Trump even once called Epstein a terrific guy who liked beautiful women on the younger side.
02:05I've known Jeff for 15 years, terrific guy.
02:10He's a lot of fun to be with.
02:12It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the
02:17younger side.
02:19No doubt about it, Jeffrey enjoys his social life.
02:26For Trump's critics, that quote has always been a red flag.
02:31For his supporters, it was just an offhand comment from decades ago.
02:36Trump says the two eventually had a falling out.
02:40He claims he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago for inappropriate behavior toward a young girl.
02:46He insists he wasn't close to Epstein at all and denies ever going to Epstein's island.
02:53Fixture in Palm Beach.
02:55I had a falling out with him a long time ago.
02:57I don't think I've spoken to him for 15 years.
02:59I wasn't a fan.
03:01I was not.
03:02Yeah, a long time ago.
03:03I'd say maybe 15 years.
03:05I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you.
03:07I was not a fan of his.
03:10When Trump entered politics, the Epstein scandal became part of his message.
03:16He demanded investigations.
03:18He pushed the idea that others, especially Bill Clinton, were hiding something.
03:24He talked about flight logs, private planes, and secret connections.
03:30And people listened.
03:31The more he talked, the more headlines the scandal produced.
03:35This year, everything changed.
03:38As Congress debated releasing more unredacted Epstein files, all eyes turned unexpectedly
03:45toward Trump himself.
03:46Now the black book is under your direct control.
03:50So why haven't you released the names of Epstein's co-conspirators in the rape and sex trafficking
03:55of young women and girls?
03:57We have released more material than anyone else before.
04:00The Biden administration, Obama administration had the exact opportunities to release this
04:03material and they never did.
04:05Prohibiting future investigations.
04:11We are working with Congress to produce more than any administration ever has material on
04:15Epstein.
04:16Suddenly, the same scandal Trump promoted was now including him in the headlines.
04:22I suffered so much pain.
04:25So much pain.
04:26I was 14 years old.
04:27I was 16 years old.
04:28I was 16.
04:2917.
04:3014 years old.
04:31Commentators called it pro-etic, critics called it karma.
04:37One Bloomberg article even said Trump had been caught in his own trap.
04:43Instead of retreating, Trump went on the offensive.
04:46He demanded the full release of unclassified Epstein files.
04:51He called for new DOJ probes focused mainly on Clinton and Epstein's financial network.
04:58He dismissed the new mentions of his name as political tricks.
05:04His message was simple.
05:06If you want the truth, release everything.
05:10We have nothing to do with Epstein, the Democrats do.
05:13All of his friends were Democrats.
05:15You look at this Reid Hoffman, you look at Larry Summers, Bill Clinton.
05:20They went to his island all the time and many others, they're all Democrats.
05:24All I want is I want for people to recognize a great job that I've done on pricing, on affordability
05:31because we brought prices way down, but they're going way lower on energy, on ending eight wars
05:38and another one coming pretty soon, I believe.
05:42We've done a great job.
05:43And I hate to see that deflect from the great job we've done.
05:49So I'm all for it.
05:50You know, we've already given 50,000 pages.
05:52You do know that.
05:54Unfortunately, like with the Kennedy situation, with the Martin Luther King situation, not to
06:00put Jeffrey Epstein in the same category, but no matter what we give, it's never enough.
06:05You know, with Kennedy, we gave everything and it wasn't enough.
06:08With Martin Luther King, we gave everything and it's never enough.
06:13We've already given, I believe the number is 50,000 pages, 50,000 pages.
06:20And it's just a Russia, Russia, Russia hoax as it pertains to the Republicans.
06:25I believe that many of the people that we, some of the people that we mentioned are being
06:32looked at very seriously for their relationship to Jeffrey Epstein, but they were with him all
06:38the time.
06:39I wasn't.
06:40I wasn't at all.
06:41And we'll see what happens.
06:42What I just don't want Epstein to do is detract from the great success of the Republican Party.
06:51To his supporters, this showed confidence.
06:54To his critics, it looked like panic disguised as strength.
07:00The reaction across America is split.
07:03Polls show no major drop in Trump's support.
07:07His base remains loyal.
07:10But online conversations are louder than ever.
07:15One thing is clear.
07:17The Epstein scandal has pulled Trump back into a spotlight he thought he could control.
07:23But this time, he isn't the one steering the story.
07:26In politics, scandals often work like boomerangs.
07:30You throw them hard at your enemies and sometimes they swing back.
07:35For years, Trump aimed the Epstein scandal at others.
07:39He amplified it.
07:41He weaponized it.
07:42He made it part of his brand.
07:44Now the same scandal, the same names, the same accusations, the same documents is cycling back
07:51toward him.
07:53One thing is undeniable.
07:55The Epstein scandal that Trump once fuelled is now burning right at his doorstep.
08:01And the world is watching to see what happens next.
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