Fact Check: Did Epstein video play in the background at Trump's meeting with oil execs?
PAM BONDI, RELEASE THE FILES! pic.twitter.com/QU91h23E7x
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) January 11, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: A short video shared by the press office of California Governor Gavin Newsom shows President Donald Trump reacting to footage of himself alongside Jeffrey Epstein during a recent meeting with oil company executives.
The video has been linked to the renewed calls for the release of Epstein files. Let us examine the accuracy of the video.
Claim: Video shows Donald Trump reacting to Epstein footage
On Sunday, January 11, the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of Newsom’s press office shared a video that appears to show Trump, turning back during a meeting with oil executives and looking at a projection of an old video depicting him alongside Epstein.
The video uses real footage from a White House meeting involving Trump, JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In the clip, Trump approaches what appears to be a glass door displaying the projected video, peers at it, and makes remarks such as, "Wow, what a view," implying inappropriate behavior tied to longstanding allegations involving Epstein.
The 18-second-long video was accompanied by the caption: “PAM BONDI, RELEASE THE FILES!”
Fact Check: The video is digitally altered for satire
🚨 JUST IN: In a HILARIOUS moment, President Trump tells the room of oil executives, 'HOLD ON, I need to look at my beautiful ballroom' 🤣
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 9, 2026
"☝️I gotta look at this myself! *Gets up*"
"Wow." *Staring* "What a view! This is the door to the ballroom!"
"If the fake news wants to… pic.twitter.com/AjXcDglpvG
Although the footage of the meeting is authentic, the video appearing in the background is digitally altered and superimposed.
According to a fact check by Grok, the clip is not genuine. “It is a digitally manipulated satirical edit intended as political commentary, combining elements from multiple unrelated sources to mock Trump in the context of the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein files controversy and his past comments about women,” the chatbot said.
In the original footage, Trump paused the discussion and asked attendees to admire the lavish ballroom he had renovated.
In the video, which later went viral, Trump gestures with his finger towards the camera and says, “I gotta look at this myself.” He then walks toward the ballroom door, pauses, and adds, “Wow. What a view! This is the door to the ballroom.”
Ongoing demand for release of the complete Epstein files
The post from the California governor’s press office connects the video to calls for Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the complete Epstein files as mandated under the 2025 Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Although Trump appears in some previously released Epstein-related documents as an acquaintance of the disgraced financier, no evidence of wrongdoing by the president has emerged from those records.
In the most recent release of over 6,000 page documents, identifying information of victims was redacted.
Lawmakers say that the effort is ongoing. Committee Democrats have said additional records are still expected from Epstein’s estate, as well as from banks and financial institutions that handled his accounts. They have pledged to release new material as it gets produced.
