Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein: a 15-year friendship marked by parties and private trips

Donald Trump organised a party with only women and one male guest: his financier friend Jeffrey Epstein. This was reported by the New York Times, which recounts the long friendship between the current President of the United States and the controversial financier

Donald Trump organised a party reserved for women only with one male guest: financier Jeffrey Epstein. This was reported by the New York Times, which reconstructed in detail the long friendship between the current president of the United States and the controversial billionaire who died in prison in 2019.

Trump and Epstein reportedly socialised regularly for almost 15 years. According to the reconstruction, they attended exclusive dinners together at Epstein’s New York residence on the Upper East Side and parties with cheerleaders and models at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club in Florida. They also shared flights between Palm Beach and New York on the financier’s private jet.

‘I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. He’s a fantastic guy,’ Trump told New York Magazine in 2002. ‘They say he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are young. Jeffrey enjoys life,’ he added.

According to the newspaper, the two met in the early 1990s when Epstein bought a property not far from Mar-a-Lago. With similar backgrounds and careers built in Manhattan, Trump and Epstein had, according to the newspaper, a lot in common: both were skilled at cultivating their public image and known for their socialite circles.

In 1992, an NBC News camera filmed them together at a party at Mar-a-Lago attended by the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders. In one passage of the video, Trump appears laughing with Epstein after whispering something to him and pointing to some women.

A few months later, again at Mar-a-Lago, a party was held in connection with a “calendar girl” contest. According to the event’s promoter, entrepreneur George Houraney, Epstein was the only other man present besides Trump. “I was expecting a party with important people,” Houraney said, “but there were only the two of them”.

On the same occasion, Jill Harth, Houraney’s partner and companion, accused Trump of harassment. In a lawsuit, she claimed that she was forcibly taken into a room, kissed and touched without consent. The complaint was later withdrawn in 1997.

Trump and Epstein were seen together again in 1997 at a Victoria’s Secret party in Manhattan. The brand was controlled by Leslie Wexner, a tycoon who gave Epstein extensive power over his finances and philanthropic activities.

According to court documents, Trump flew at least seven times on Epstein’s Boeing 727 in the 1990s, travelling between Florida and New Jersey.

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(Photo: © AndKronos)