Despite repeated efforts by the president to downplay their connection, records and firsthand accounts point to a deep and complex bond. Their shared pursuit of women became a contest of power and self-image, where women themselves were treated as status symbols.
By Nicholas Confessore and Julie Tate
Dec. 18, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET
Jeffrey Epstein was once described by Donald J. Trump as “a terrific guy” who was “very fun to be with.” At other times, Mr. Trump has insisted they had no real association — no official ties, no social relationship, only occasional overlap at public events. He has alternately characterized Epstein as a mere business acquaintance, someone he barely knew, or even a person he disliked altogether.
Over the past 25 years, Mr. Trump and those speaking on his behalf have offered a series of inconsistent and often conflicting explanations of his relationship with Mr. Epstein. Their interactions, occasionally documented by photographers and television footage in elite social settings, appear to have ended sometime in the mid-2000s. Since Epstein’s death in a Manhattan jail during Mr. Trump’s first presidency, that relationship — and the unresolved questions surrounding what Mr. Trump may have known about Epstein’s sexual crimes — has come under renewed and intense scrutiny. It now threatens to overshadow Mr. Trump’s second term in office.
For this investigation, The New York Times spoke with more than 30 people, including former Epstein employees, survivors of his abuse, and others who encountered either Epstein or Mr. Trump. Reporters also reviewed newly obtained documents that shed additional light on the nature of their association.
The issue has unsettled Mr. Trump’s political base in an unprecedented way. Even some of his most devoted supporters have demanded answers about why his administration delayed the release of remaining federal records connected to Epstein. After months of resisting these demands — and amid rare open defiance from Republican lawmakers — Mr. Trump reversed course in November. He signed legislation mandating that additional Epstein-related documents be made public, with releases scheduled to begin this week.
