JD Vance says emails show Trump and Epstein 'hated' each other, calls it 'a pretty good thing'

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance branded Jeffrey Epstein a “s*****g” while insisting the disgraced financier and President Donald Trump hated each other's guts.

Speaking at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia ahead of the midterm elections, Vance took aim at a long-running narrative tying Trump to Epstein.

He also defended Trump’s earlier dismissal of Epstein-related files as a “hoax.”

JD Vance explains Trump's 'hoax' dismissal

“What he was talking about was this Democratic idea that he's connected to Epstein,” Vance said, adding, “The president said he knew Jeffrey Epstein and that he was a s*****g.”

Vance pointed to emails allegedly sent by Epstein (who was found dead in a New York City jail cell in 2019) as evidence of mutual animosity between the two men.

“What you see in those emails is that Jeffrey Epstein hated Donald Trump and Donald Trump hated Jeffrey Epstein,” Vance said. “In fact, one of the emails is about Donald Trump 'narcing' on Jeffrey Epstein to the local sheriff, saying this guy is a s*****g, you should go pick him up.”

Vance argued that Trump’s repeated use of the word “hoax” has been widely misunderstood, insisting the president wasn’t dismissing Epstein’s crimes or connections but rather the idea that the two men were close.

“So, when the president says, 'This is a hoax,' he's not saying it's a hoax that Epstein was a s*****g. He's not saying that it's a hoax that Epstein was connected to powerful people,” Vance said. “He's saying this Democratic idea that somehow he was Epstein's best friend, that is a hoax! And if you look at the emails, it's obvious that Jeffrey Epstein hated Donald J Trump.”

He also suggested that being disliked by someone like Epstein could be seen as a badge of honor.

“One of the best signs for whether you are a good person or not, for whether you are a decent human being, is if the worst people in the world hate your guts. The fact that Jeffrey Epstein hates Donald Trump is a pretty good thing for Donald J Trump,” Vance said.

A messy history and a courtroom sideshow

Trump and Epstein’s relationship dates back to the late 1980s, spanning social circles before unraveling in the early 2000s. The two reportedly had a falling out around 2004 and cut ties.

Things turned more serious in 2007. An allegation that led Trump to ban him from Mar-a-Lago resort. Epstein claimed in a 2019 email that he had never been a member of the Palm Beach club.

Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. He has not been accused of any crimes by law enforcement and has never been identified as the subject of an investigation.

Meanwhile, Vance’s remarks come on the heels of a dismissed lawsuit Trump filed against the publisher of the Wall Street Journal. The president had sued the outlet in a Florida federal court last summer, seeking at least $10 billion in damages.

The suit centered on a July 17 report claiming Trump’s name appeared in a “birthday book” gifted to Epstein in 2003, allegedly featuring a drawing of a woman’s body.

Trump called the alleged document “a fake thing” and denied that he wrote it. But District Judge Darrin Gayles wasn’t convinced, ruling that Trump came “nowhere close” to proving the paper acted with actual malice. The case was dismissed without prejudice.

Trump’s lawyers have indicated he plans to try again, with a deadline of April 27 to file an amended complaint.