President Donald Trump clashed with “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent Norah O’Donnell during a Sunday interview after she read portions of the alleged would-be assassin’s manifesto.
Cole Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, Calif., faces charges of using a firearm in a violent crime and assaulting a federal officer after he allegedly tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night. Trump took umbrage at Allen’s supposed characterization of him in the document, which the suspect reportedly sent to his family minutes before he exchanged gunfire with U.S. Secret Service agents.
“I am a citizen of the United States of America. What my representatives do reflects on me,” Allen wrote. “And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
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“Well, I was waiting for you to read that, because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people. Horrible people,” Trump said after O’Donnell asked for his reaction to the manifesto. “Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.”
“Do you think he was referring to you?” O’Donnell asked, with an agitated Trump responding, “I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all— stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated. Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let’s say [disgraced financier and child sex offender Jeffrey] Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, ‘You know, I’ll do this interview.’”
“I read the manifesto. You know, he’s a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things,” Trump said. “You shouldn’t be reading that on ’60 Minutes.’ You’re a disgrace. But go ahead, let’s finish the interview.”
Epstein had extensive ties to celebrities, politicians, and executives, even after his conviction as a sex offender. Among those who were known to have been close with him were L Brands founder Lex Wexner, director Woody Allen, and Prince Andrew. Victims of Epstein told NBC News reporter Hallie Jackson during a Sept. 3, 2025, panel they had no knowledge of any wrongdoing by Trump, while the attorney who represented some of Epstein’s victims, Bradley Edwards, described Trump as someone who aided his efforts.
“The only thing that I can say about President Trump is that he is the only person who in 2009, when I served a lot of subpoenas against a lot of people … he is the only person that picked up the phone and said, ‘Let’s just talk, I’ll give ya as much time as you want, I’ll tell ya what you need to know,’” Edwards said in a 2018 video. “And [Trump] was very helpful in the information that he gave and gave no indication whatsoever that he was involved in anything untoward whatsoever.”
In a memoir released in October 2025, roughly six months after she committed suicide, Virginia Giuffre did not accuse Trump of misconduct.
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