President Trump on Wednesday called bipartisan demands to release the Epstein files a “Democrat hoax,” moments after survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse demanded he stop calling it that and made direct, impassioned appeals for his support in their fight.
“There have been survivors of Jeffrey Epstein speaking at a press conference on Capitol Hill, they’re calling for these case files, these documents to be released,” a reporter told Trump during his press conference with Karol Nawrocki, Poland’s far-right president. “Thomas Massie, who is sponsoring a discharge petition to get the House to vote on the release of these documents, says he doesn’t think you’re implicated in these files, but many of your friends and donors may be. He says that’s why the Justice Department is redacting them and slow-walking the release. Is the Justice Department protecting any friends or donors, sir?”
Trump on Epstein Files: This is a Democrat hoax. They’re trying to get people to talk about something that is totally irrelevant… pic.twitter.com/DneRnStSMd
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 3, 2025
Trump immediately dismissed the victims and their claims, something he’s done since this devastating story took over the news cycle earlier this summer.
“So this is a Democrat hoax that never ends,” Trump said. “You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation; we gave ’em everything. Over and over again, more and more and more. And nobody’s ever satisfied. From what I understand—I could check—but from what I understand, thousands of pages of documents have been given. But it’s really a Democrat hoax. Because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president.”
The victims, who find this all extremely relevant, had asked the president to stop calling it a hoax at their own press conference moments earlier. Haley Robson also addressed him directly.
“Mr. President Donald J. Trump, I am a registered Republican, not that that matters because this is not political. However, I cordially invite you to the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a hoax,” said Robson, when asked about Trump’s repeated dismissal of the case. “We are real human beings. This is real trauma.… We’re here in person. To say that it’s a hoax is just not … please humanize us. I would like Donald J. Trump and every person in America and around the world to humanize us, and to hear us for what we have to say.”
Epstein survivor: “Mr President Donald J Trump, I am a registered Republican — not that that matters, because this is not political. However, I cordially invite you to the Capitol to meet me in person so you can understand this is not a hoax.” pic.twitter.com/IDx31NApUj
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 3, 2025
“I don’t want to send a direct message to [President Trump]; I’m already scared enough,” added Marina Lacerda, who came out for the first time publicly as one of Epstein’s victims, detailing her abuse from the ages of 14 to 17. “Just pass the vote, listen to us. This is not a hoax. Like, it’s not gonna go away. Like I said in my speech earlier, we are not gonna be silenced anymore. We will be speaking moving forward; wherever we need to be we will be, and we need to pass this.”
Trump’s dismissal of this is despicable and could very well backfire as the Epstein files return to the news cycle. The “thousands of pages of documents” the Justice Department and House Republicans have released are full of old, redacted information, and even duplicate pages to make it seem like a bigger dump. Rather than release the files in full, Trump and his Justice Department have done everything in their power to avoid giving these abused women the transparency they promised them and every American.
“[Epstein] abused not only me but countless others, and everyone seemed to look away,” said Chauntae Davis, another survivor who was abused by Epstein for four years. “The truth is, Epstein had a free pass. He bragged about his powerful friends, including our current president, Donald Trump. It was his biggest brag, actually.”
The post Trump Reacts After Epstein Survivors Demand He Stop Calling It a Hoax appeared first on New Republic.
