A timeline of Trump’s interactions with Epstein and Maxwell reveals a long pattern of social proximity and one that stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s public downplaying of their friendship.

According to Michael Wolff, Donald Trump is desperately trying to find a big thing to distract everyone from Jeffrey Epstein. To achieve his goal, he is willing to throw Ukraine under the bus. In a Daily Beast podcast episode,

During a press conference on his recent visit to Scotland, U.S. President Donald Trump made a point of distancing himself from the late Jeffrey Epstein — who, he told reporters, was banned from Mar-a-Lago for trying to "steal" his employees.