Trump Went ‘Nuclear’ at Blundering Cabinet Ally Over His Epstein Interview

In it, Lutnick—himself a billionaire financier—recounted how, when he lived next door to Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion in New York City, the pedophile gave him a tour of the house and showed him and his wife a massage table. Lutnick told the Post’s Miranda Devine that he then decided never to be “in the room” with that “disgusting person” again.

Lutnick added that Epstein likely kept tapes of scores of massage-receiving wealthy associates, dubbing him “the greatest blackmailer ever.”

His remarks infuriated Trump, according to a confidant quoted by The Atlantic, because they revived an issue the White House has long labored to bury amid bipartisan demands for transparency.

But the grubby matter has exploded into the open again with Wednesday’s email release.

In one April 2011 message to Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein called Trump “the dog that hasn’t barked,” adding that a victim “spent hours at my house with him” and “he has never once been mentioned.”

In a January 2019 email to author Michael Wolff, Epstein wrote, “Of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.”

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say the emails, drawn from documents obtained from Epstein’s estate, raise fresh questions about the relationship between the two men and about the administration’s decision to backtrack on a promise to fully release Epstein-related records.

With the swearing in of new Rep. Adelita Grijalva, the House is expected to move on legislation demanding the administration release all Epstein materials.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and labeled Democratic scrutiny a hoax.

But Trump’s issues with Lutnick are not limited to his Epstein comments, according to The Atlantic, and there are mounting frustrations over his performance.

On CNBC this fall, the commerce secretary pitched a marquee Japan pact as so generous it was “off the rails,” asserting Tokyo had effectively given Trump $550 billion to spend at his discretion.

But Japanese officials quickly pushed back, saying they retained approval rights over investments. To compound the confusion, the administration mistakenly raised certain tariffs on Japan in August during the rollout, which was “extremely regrettable,” the deal’s chief negotiator said. A Japanese lawmaker blasted Washington as “randomly shooting… like-minded countries from behind.”

Inside the West Wing, tempers flared. “Howard is telling the president things that just aren’t true… You just can’t do that,” a Trump confidant told The Atlantic, which also quoted a senior official as saying Trump’s “ire wasn’t just directed at Howard, but also at the Japanese negotiators.”

Officials highlighted other issues, including how Lutnick “will actively move the goalposts with foreign countries days after Trump says we have a deal,” as well as berating allies and bickering with colleagues. Lutnick, the report claims, is the Trump economic adviser who is the “bottleneck” because he “doesn’t understand the issues.”

The Atlantic also recounted how April’s “Liberation Day” 10 percent universal import tax was so sweeping it included Antarctic islands—an error Australia’s trade minister called “clearly a mistake.” Lutnick defended the breadth of the tariffs as plugging “ridiculous loopholes.”

For now, Lutnick’s job is safe—thanks to “loyalty and money,” according to one confidant of the pair quoted by The Atlantic. Like Trump, he’s a tariff hawk, and he has raised tens of millions of dollars for his long-standing friend and ally.

White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai said Lutnick remains “invaluable” to the administration and credited him with helping secure deals with Japan, the European Union, and South Korea.

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Commerce Department for comment.

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