The key facts

  • Two protesters took turns interrupting Trump's speech in Ohio, shouting claims related to Epstein.
  • Trump said he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago 25 years ago and that he was 'fully exonerated'.
  • The interruptions come amid ongoing demands to release the Epstein case files.

Two interruptions at one rally

US President Donald Trump's rally in Ohio on Wednesday was interrupted twice by protesters raising the subject of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The first protester shouted 'Trump flew on Jeffrey Epstein's plane!' a few minutes into the speech; the crowd responded with boos, and the president reacted to the remark. Later, a second protester repeated the interruption. Reported by Anadolu.

Trump's response

Trump said he had expelled Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida more than two decades ago: 'I threw Jeffrey Epstein out of the club 25 years ago because I thought he was a creep. That was a great thing I did.' He denied that Epstein had flown with him and tried to link the financier to the Democrats: 'He never flew with me. You know who he flew with? All the Democrat friends. He was a Democrat.' Trump also said he had been 'fully exonerated' in connection with Epstein, and called the protesters 'paid protesters' and 'losers'.

Context: the Epstein files

The interruptions come amid ongoing public demands to release the Epstein files. Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal human trafficking charges and died the same year in a New York jail while awaiting trial; his death was ruled a suicide. The released files name a number of prominent figures, including Trump, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and former Prince Andrew, though mere mention in the documents does not indicate involvement in wrongdoing.