CNN's Jake Tapper trolls Trump in segment dripping with sarcasm
CNN anchor Jake Tapper mocked President Donald Trump after he denied the relationship he had with late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Tapper led his segment Monday with a reference to the letters, photos and other documented materials connected to Epstein and Trump, pointing out the rather frequent examples and evidence that they communicated and appeared at the same location together over the years.
"President Trump today, wanting to make it very clear he wasn't even friendly with Jeffrey Epstein. Really?" Tapper asked.
"President Trump earlier today attempting once again to distance himself from the dead pedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, calling Epstein a 'sleazebag' and more. But what are the revelations in the 3 million pages of Epstein files that are leading him to go on the attack?" Tapper asked.
Tapper was referring to Trump's unusual post on Truth Social Monday, where he attempted to go on the defensive and push back on his ties to Epstein, saying he never visited Epstein's island after Grammy Award host Trevor Noah made a joke referencing it. In retaliation, Trump threatened to sue the comedian during a late-night rant.
"The president claims he 'wasn't friendly with Epstein' writing 'additionally, unlike so many people that like to talk trash, I never went to the infested Epstein island. But almost all of these crooked Democrats and their donors did.' Now, President Trump's claim that he was never friendly with Jeffrey Epstein is simply a lie. It's not a secret. They were once friends. To illustrate, there are pictures. There is video. Even a 2002 interview with New York Magazine, where Trump said, 'I've known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side, no doubt about it. Jeffrey enjoys social life.'"
Tapper pointed out that many of these comments were made before Epstein's arrest and conviction.
"Now, we should note that was before Jeffrey Epstein was arrested a few years later. It sounds pretty friendly, though," Tapper pointed out. "And if you want to know why Trump is posting this now, look no further than the 3 million Epstein documents. The Justice Department was forced to release on Friday."
Tapper described why the most recent release was potentially top of mind for Trump.
"Trump's name appears in them. More than 1,000 times," Tapper said. "Some of the references to President Trump were benign. Others included newly disclosed, unverified sexual assault claims. Now, there's no public evidence that any of the allegations against President Trump contained in the new documents were deemed credible by the FBI."
He also added a caveat and presented why these allegations were notable.
"But let's also be clear about unverified allegations," Tapper said. "In general, critics suggest that the FBI may not have seriously looked into many of the allegations against many men that appear in the Epstein files. Why? Well, there have been other cases where women and girls made allegations against powerful men, and it initially went nowhere."
He reminded viewers of the allegations against USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing young athletes under the guise of medical treatment, and the length of time it took for the FBI to investigate the allegations despite the number of claims.
"An inspector general report on the Nassar case found that senior officials in the FBI's Indianapolis field office failed to respond to allegations against the doctor with the seriousness and urgency they deserved, and made errors when responding to those allegations," Tapper said. "This triggered a larger audit of the FBI's handling of tips on sex offenses against children. That audit says that out of the 327 case files that they audited, 42 incidents were flagged for further FBI review. In one instance, the report says, quote, the FBI did not take appropriate investigative action for over a year during this period. The suspect allegedly victimized at least one additional minor for a period of approximately 15 months. The FBI only taking action here after the inspector general brought it to the FBI's attention. The report saying the suspect was then indicted on federal charges. So no one should automatically assume that the FBI handles every tip perfectly."