The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman pointed out to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins the stark paradox at the heart of Donald Trump’s response to the Epstein controversy — namely, that the president himself is helping to keep it alive.
Collins noted that Trump White House officials and the president’s allies are “surprised” they haven’t been able to shut the scandal down, given their usual ability to shift the narrative.
Haberman suggested that Trump’s unsolicited admissions about his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — including his recent claim that Epstein “stole” employees from his Mar-a-Lago resort — are fueling continued interest and scrutiny, including from his MAGA base who are demanding the release of federal files on the disgraced financier.
Trump “can’t find a way to stop talking about it, and also doesn’t wanna keep talking about it,” Haberman said.
The longtime Trump reporter also warned that his use of the word “stole” would likely “land very poorly with a lot of women — and certainly a lot of women who were victims of Jeffrey Epstein.”
