‘I threw Jeffrey out’: Trump invokes Epstein at Ohio rally, claims he was ‘totally exonerated’
CHILLICOTHE, OHIO: President Donald Trump on Wednesday, October 28, invoked Jeffrey Epstein during a campaign rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, after a heckler interrupted his remarks ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
Trump immediately defended his past relationship with the late financier, claiming he had expelled Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club and saying he had been “totally exonerated."
Trump made the remarks amid renewed scrutiny of his administration’s handling of government files related to Epstein’s case and following past criticism over a birthday letter Trump allegedly wrote to him.
Trump was campaigning for Republican candidates in Ohio, including Senator Jon Husted, who is facing a competitive race against Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Trump addresses Epstein ties after Ohio rally heckling
The interruption came minutes into the rally at the Shoemaker Center in Chillicothe, where Trump was promoting Republican candidates just days before Election Day.
After the protester was removed, Trump addressed the disruption and referred to the heckler’s mention of Epstein.
Trump is protested minutes into his Ohio rally: "TRUMP WENT ON THE JEFFREY EPSTEIN PLANE!" https://t.co/aW7NFeX04u
— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 28, 2026
“So that guy, he’s right out of the radical left playbook,” Trump said, before adding that the protester had mentioned Epstein.
Trump then defended his handling of the late financier, who died in 2019. The president said he had removed Epstein from his Florida club years earlier.
“I threw Jeffrey Epstein the hell out of Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said. He also recalled the incident as something he considered a positive action, saying, “that was a great thing I did; I must tell you.”
🚨 President Trump just SHUT DOWN a paid protester screaming about Epstein at his Ohio rally "I threw Jeffrey Epstein OUT of my club like 20 YEARS AGO because I thought he was a WHACK JOB." "I threw Jeffrey Epstein the HELL out of Mar-a-Lago. And I was the one that was TOTALLY exonerated from him." Both of these points are VERIFIED facts.
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) October 28, 2026
Trump also described Epstein as a Democrat and asserted that he had been cleared of wrongdoing connected to him. “I threw Epstein out of a club like 20 years ago because I thought he was a wackjob,” Trump said.
Trump added that he was “totally exonerated from him” and called protesters disrupting his recent rallies “sick, weak people.”
He also alleged that some protesters were “professional protestors. They get money.”
Trump has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing relating to Epstein’s crimes.
However, his past association with the financier has continued to attract attention, particularly after The Wall Street Journal reported in July 2025 that Trump had allegedly sent Epstein a birthday letter in 2003.
Trump has strongly disputed the reporting.
Trump backs Jon Husted in competitive Ohio Senate race
The Ohio appearance marked Trump’s third visit to the state as he sought to build support for Husted and other Republicans on the ballot.
Husted is facing Brown, a former Democratic senator, in a closely contested race that could influence the balance of power in the Senate.
Recent polls have shown a tight contest. A NetChoice/Echelon Insights poll put Husted and Brown level at 47% each, while Suffolk University and InsiderAdvantage polls showed Brown leading by three percentage points, with 47% to Husted’s 44%.
Trump also addressed former President Barack Obama’s campaigning for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
Referring to Obama’s past support for Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, Trump argued that those efforts had not resulted in victories.
“He was really, oh, and then he lost,” Trump said of Obama’s involvement in Clinton’s campaign. “He then got involved with Kamala, and he lost. And he lost."
