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Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, News
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, News
US President Donald Trump has claimed he cut ties with 'sick pervert' Jeffrey Epstein years ago.
On Tuesday (18 November), the 79-year-old Republican sat down for a press conference meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office, where several White House reporters asked the pair several questions.
And one particular question sent Trump into a total spiral, given his shocking response.
"Mr President, why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now?" ABC's Chief White House Correspondent, Mary Bruce, asked.
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Without any hesitation, Trump launched into a scathing attack on Bruce and repeated his typical spiel he tends to spout when questioned on something he doesn't want to speak about, claiming the woman was a 'terrible reporter' as well as a 'terrible person'.
He also hit out over her not asking the question more 'nicely'.
Bear in mind, this comes just after Trump told another female journalist, Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey, 'quiet, piggy', when she similarly questioned him on the Epstein files on Monday (17 November).
He continued to rant over what he's dubbed the 'Democrat Hoax', before calling out the ABC reporter's 'crappy company', claiming the outlet's 'news is so fake' and 'so wrong'.
Beginning his response, Trump jabbed: "It's not the question that I mind, it's your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It's the way you ask these questions.
"You start off with a man who is highly respected, asking him a horrible, insubordinate, and just a terrible question. You could even ask that same exact question nicely.
"You're all psyched up. Somebody psyched you over at ABC. You're a terrible person and a terrible reporter."
He continued: "As far as the Epstein files, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert. But I guess I turned out to be right."
Trump's statements come a week after House Democrats released several emails from Epstein, including a 2019 exchange that claimed Trump 'knew about the girls'.
Trump, who socialised and partied with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before their fallout, has continuously denied any wrongdoing or any knowledge of Epstein's crimes, and the investigative material to date has yet to reveal any specific compromising details.
However, on Tuesday, the House of Representatives and the Senate voted to pass a bill that would require the Justice Department to publicly disclose 'all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative material' related to Epstein and his partner and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The late convicted sex offender died by suicide in his cell while awaiting sex-trafficking charges in 2019, while Maxwell is currently behind bars serving a 20-year sex-trafficking sentence.
The nearly unanimous bill passed the House 427-1, with the only 'no' vote from Republican US Representative Clay Higgins.
Trump went on to employ his usual deflection tactics, naming the likes of Bill Clinton, Larry Summers and Andrew Weissman and questioned why the reporter, who was in a press conference centred around Trump’s meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince, didn't 'even talk about those people'.
"You don't even talk about those people," he went on.
"You just keep going on the Epstein files. And what the Epstein is, is a Democrat Hoax to try and get me not to be able to talk about the 21 trillion dollars that I talked about today. It's a hoax.
"Now, I just got a little report, and I put it in my pocket of all the money that he's given to Democrats. He gave me none, zero, no money to me, but he gave money to Democrats. And people are wise to your hoax."
Trump then blasted: "And ABC is [...] your company. Your crappy company is one of the perpetrators. And I'll tell you something. I'll tell you something. I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and it's so wrong."
He went on to claim ABC's news is 'not credible' and that Bruce was 'not credible as a reporter'.
Trump rounded off his rant, stating: "But I think the way you ask a question with the anger and the meanness is terrible. You ought to go back and learn how to be a reporter.
"No more questions from you."