President Donald Trump doubled down on his decision to wish accused sex-trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell “well” this week in an interview.
Asked by Axios if he regrets his response to a July question about Maxwell, who is accused of child sex trafficking with Jeffrey Epstein, Trump responded, “Her friend or boyfriend was either killed or committed suicide in jail. She’s now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well, I’d wish you well. I wish a lot of people well. Good luck. Let them prove somebody was guilty.”
Moments later, he added, “Her boyfriend died in jail and people are still trying to figure out how did it happen? Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well, I’m not looking for anything bad for her. I’m not looking for bad for anybody.”
Trump continued, “Her boyfriend died — he died in jail. Was he killed? Was it suicide? I do, I wish her well.”
Here’s that exchange:
Trump tells #AxiosOnHBO that he stands by his comments wishing alleged child sex trafficker and Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell well.
— Axios (@axios) August 4, 2020
“I wish her well. I'd wish you well. I'd wish a lot of people well.” pic.twitter.com/1MRxyqzCLk
Trump’s remarks to Axios follow the White House spin in late July when press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News, “What the president was noting was that the last person who was charged in this case ended up dead in a jail cell and the president wants justice to be served for the victims in this case and he prefers this to play out in a courtroom.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tries to explain Trump's well wishes for Ghislaine Maxwell pic.twitter.com/lP7qb7ePnz
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) July 23, 2020
Trump and Epstein were videotaped watching women at a 1992 party.
A decade later, Trump said, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life,” according to New York Magazine.
But the president and Epstein later reportedly had a falling out and Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago.
