During a press conference at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland on Monday, July 28, 2025, alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files, dismissing demands for their release as a “hoax” orchestrated by his political opponents. Trump claimed he ended his friendship with Epstein years ago after the financier “stole people that worked for me,” stating, “I said, ‘Don’t ever do that again.’ He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata.” He further asserted he “never went to the island” and suggested the files, which he claimed were “run by my enemy,” contained potentially “fake” information, urging scrutiny of others like Bill Clinton, whom he claimed visited Epstein’s island 28 times, asserting that if the files contained incriminating evidence, “my enemies would’ve used it against me by now.”
Trump also touched on other pressing issues during the nearly hour-long press conference, blending diplomacy with personal grievances. On the Gaza humanitarian crisis, he contradicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim of no starvation, stating, “We have to get the kids fed,” and acknowledged Israel’s “lot of responsibility” for the crisis, pushing for unrestricted food aid. Regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine, Trump shortened his previous 50-day deadline for a ceasefire to “10 or 12 days,” threatening secondary sanctions if Russia fails to comply. He criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a “nasty person” who has “done a terrible job,” expressed disdain for wind turbines affecting his golf course views, and boasted about a recent U.S.-EU trade deal reducing tariffs to 15%.
