New emails claim Epstein labeled Trump a ‘maniac’ showing signs of ‘early dementia’

Jeffrey Epstein mocked Donald Trump’s response to Michael Wolff’s book in a email, even questioning whether Trump showed signs of early dementia
PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO
Emails showed Jeffrey Epstein calling President Donald Trump a 'maniac' with 'early dementia,' saying he grew critical of Trump after he entered the White House (Chip Somodevilla, Rick Friedman/,Corbis via Getty Images)
Emails showed Jeffrey Epstein calling President Donald Trump a 'maniac' with 'early dementia,' saying he grew critical of Trump after he entered the White House (Chip Somodevilla, Rick Friedman/,Corbis via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Newly released emails reveal that Jeffrey Epstein privately referred to President Donald Trump as a “maniac” exhibiting signs of “early dementia.”

Epstein, once a friend of the president, had grown increasingly critical of Trump after he entered the White House, saying there was “not one decent cell in his body.”

Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, 1997. (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, 1997 (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)

Private emails reveal Epstein's strong criticism of Trump

Emails released by the House Oversight Committee reveal that Epstein repeatedly criticized Donald Trump during his first presidential term, often in exchanges with Thomas Landon Jr, a former New York Times finance reporter. 

Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, MA on 9/8/04. Epstein is connected with several prominent people including politicians, actors and academics. Epstein was convicted of having sex with an underaged woman. (Photo by Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)
Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, MA on 9/8/04. Epstein is connected with several prominent people including politicians, actors and academics (Rick Friedman/Rick Friedman Photography/Corbis via Getty Images)

In January 2018, referring to a statement Trump issued after a Michael Wolff book, Epstein emailed, “No questions donalds statement was goofy,” then asked, “Early dementia?” This comment came amid broader questions being raised about Trump’s health, including his mental capacity.

Epstein’s criticism grew even sharper in emails with Kathryn Ruemmler, the former principal deputy White House counsel to Barack Obama.

In a December 2018 email, Epstein advised Ruemmler: “You might want to tell your dem friends that treating trump like a mafia don, ignores the fact that he has great dangerous power. Tightening the noose too slowly, risks a very bad situation. Gambino was never the commander in chief there was little Gambino could do as the walls closed in. Not so with this maniac.”

Jeffrey Epstein emailed the Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem 
(screenshot/House Oversight Committee)
Jeffrey Epstein emailed the Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem (Screenshot/House Oversight Committee)

Epstein also claimed in another email that Trump was distant from everyone, echoing what he told Michael Wolff earlier. In a 2018 email to Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, he wrote: “Donald is close to no one. He talks to many people. He tells each one something different.”

Democrats and Republicans refuse to let Epstein issue die

While the released emails suggest Epstein became critical of Trump’s political agenda in his later years, he had been photographed smiling alongside Trump numerous times in earlier decades.

Meanwhile, Trump has asked the public and his supporters to stop demanding the release of documents concerning Epstein, describing their association as distant and irrelevant.

But many of his supporters, Democrats, and some Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, have refused to let the issue fade. New details have continued to emerge piecemeal, including the latest emails obtained from Epstein’s estate by House Democrats.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 03: (L-R) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-SC), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) look on during a news conference with alleged victims of disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein outside the U.S. Capitol on September 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Massie and Khanna have introduced the Epstein List Transparency Act to force the federal government to release all unclassified records from the cases of Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-SC), Rep Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep Ro Khanna (D-CA) look on during a news conference with alleged victims of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein outside the US Capitol on September 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Massie and Khanna have introduced the Epstein List Transparency Act to force the federal government to release all unclassified records from the cases of Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Those communications alleged that Trump “spent hours” at Epstein’s home with one of the individuals involved in the situation.

Another email alleged Trump “knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop,” referencing Ghislaine Maxwell, who was also entangled in how the organization operated. Trump has not ruled out a possible pardon for Maxwell.

Trump dismisses new bipartisan email release as hoax

Less than four hours after Democratic lawmakers first released the emails, Republicans released a tranche of more than 20,000 documents of private correspondence between Epstein and his associates.

None of these were emails between Epstein and Trump, but among the mundane topics were Epstein coordinating his private jet travel around Trump’s frequent trips to Mar-a-Lago, which triggered airspace restrictions. Importantly, some of the Republican-released emails offered insight into Epstein’s former friendship with Trump.

An email between Jeffrey Epstein and a reporter at The New York Times. 
(Screenshot/House Oversight Committee)
An email between Jeffrey Epstein and a reporter at The New York Times (Screenshot/House Oversight Committee)

Epstein offered Landon, the journalist, a photograph of Trump in his kitchen with young women wearing minimal clothing. Epstein asked the reporter, “would you like photos of Donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen.”

The reporter responded, “Yes!!!” Epstein then identified one of the women as “Hawaiian Tropic girl Lauren Petrella.” In another exchange, Epstein shared a link to an article about Norwegian businesswoman Celina Midelfart, describing her as “my 20-year-old girlfriend in ’93, that after two years I gave to donald.”

Trump responded to the latest release of emails, which originated from a bipartisan probe, by labeling it a Democrat-induced “hoax” on Truth Social. “The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they'll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they've done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” he posted.



It is also worth noting that since early 2019, Landon Thomas Jr has not been working with The New York Times after editors uncovered his failure to comply with ethical standards.

MORE STORIES

Newly released Epstein emails claimed Bill Clinton was 'never on the island,' denying he ever visited the estate amid a major document release
6 minutes ago
The 2016 emails between Jeffrey Epstein and Kathryn Ruemmler, former White House counsel to Obama, showed Epstein’s frustration with Bill Clinton
1 hour ago
Karoline Leavitt said that Trump had undergone an MRI in October at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as part of his routine examination
2 hours ago
A resurfaced email allegedly shows Jeffrey Epstein in contact with Donald Trump in 2017, according to newly released House Oversight Committee records
2 hours ago
Karoline Leavitt maintained that the newly released Epstein documents 'prove absolutely nothing except that President Trump did nothing wrong'
2 hours ago
Jennifer Aniston said Donald Trump is driving 'unthinkable' media shifts and suggested Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC suspension was influenced by his admin
2 hours ago
Donald Trump accused Democrats of using Epstein files to deflect from the shutdown and warned GOP not to get distracted
9 hours ago
Republicans accused Democrats of 'cherry-picking' Jeffrey Epstein emails to smear Donald Trump and released a trove of documents promising the truth
11 hours ago
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released emails showing that Epstein discussed Trump with Ghislaine Maxwell and journalist Michael Wolff
12 hours ago
Trump vows to sue the BBC for $1 billion, accusing the broadcaster of 'defrauding the public' by misrepresenting his Jan 6 speech
18 hours ago