President Trump hosted a calendar girl competition at Mar-A-Lago where Jeffrey Epstein was a guest, the New York Times reported.
The detail was first reported in 2019 by the New York Times and the outlet shared it again in a recent article about Trump's past friendship with Epstein.
Trump does not stand accused of any wrongdoing with Epstein, and Trump has always denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes. The former neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida socialized together for more than a decade before they grew estranged in 2004.
Their past friendship has fallen under scrutiny again as Trump confronts anger and skepticism over his administration's handling of the Epstein files.
Trump has dismissed the persistent interest in the story among MAGA supporters as a distraction and a "hoax" being pushed by Democrats.
That Trump led a playboy lifestyle in his younger days is no secret. A 1992 video filmed by NBC News shows Trump dancing with glamorous young women at a Mar-A-Lago party where Epstein was also present. At one point in the footage, which was released in 2019, Epstein doubles over with laughter from something Trump says to him.
That same year, Trump hosted a calendar girl competition where Epstein was reportedly the only guest.
"Months later, when Mr. Trump hosted a party at Mar-a-Lago for young women in a so-called calendar girl competition, Mr. Epstein was the only other guest, according to George Houraney, a Florida-based businessman who arranged the event," the New York Times reported.
Trump's rupture with Epstein came after Trump beat his friend's bid for a beachfront mansion in Palm Beach. But Trump later told people that he felt obligated to bar Epstein from Mar-A-Lago after learning that he acted inappropriately with the daughter of a club member.
"Brad Edwards, a lawyer who has represented many of Mr. Epstein’s victims, said. Mr. Trump told him a similar story in 2009," the Times noted.
Trump's relationship with Epstein unraveled around 2004, before Epstein's first arrest, which led to a notoriously lenient plea deal. In 2019, Epstein was charged a second time with sex trafficking.
“I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him,” Trump told reporters at the time. “I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don’t think I’ve spoken to him in 15 years. I wasn’t a fan.”
Trump is suing the Wall Street Journal for defamation after the newspaper published a bawdy letter that Trump allegedly sent to Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003. The letter features an imagined conversation between the two men written inside a sketch of a naked woman.
In an effort to calm his base, Trump has ordered attorney general Pam Bondi to request the release of grand jury materials in the Epstein case from a court in New York. But Trump predicted that "troublemakers" will never be satisfied with the government's answers.
"Even if the Court gave its full and unwavering approval, nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request. It will always be more, more, more," Trump said.
