PoliticsJeffrey Epstein Victim Claims He 'Bragged' About 'Close' Pal Donald Trump Despite POTUS Denying He Was 'Friendly' With Financier

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein's friendship began in the 1980s.
July 28 2026, Updated 1:05 p.m. ET
Lara Blume McGee, a victim of dead s-- trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, opened up about his friendship with Donald Trump in a new interview published on Tuesday, July 28.
Several of the disgraced financier's survivors spoke with Vanity Fair about their ordeal, with McGee, 47, sharing insight into the president's allyship with Epstein over the decades.
Lara Blume McGee Met Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein in 2000

Ghislaine Maxwell met Lara Blume McGee when the latter was 20-years-old in 2000.
McGee — who met Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 20 — told the outlet he "bragged about Donald Trump a lot."
"Epstein said they were close," the Arkansas native said, adding she recalled the convicted felon saying he could "call Trump right now."

Jeffrey Epstein also had ties to Bill Clinton.
"'We’re really good friends,'" she remembered Epstein stating. "He had Trump’s phone number, his office number, his secretary’s number."
McGee also revealed Epstein "talked a lot about Bill Clinton," adding: "Maybe because I’m also from Arkansas. He said, 'He has a lot of women in Arkansas,' and 'Bill would like you.' I answered, 'No, he wouldn’t. I am the exact same age as his daughter [Chelsea].'"
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Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump Met in the 1980s

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein had a falling out in the early 2000s.
Epstein and Trump, 80, first met in the late 1980s as they both ran in the same New York City and Palm Beach social circles.
The POTUS even gushed over the businessman in a 2002 interview for New York Magazine, telling the outlet at the time Epstein was a "terrific guy."
However, the pair's relationship soured by the early 2000s after the Celebrity Apprentice alum allegedly undermined Epstein in a Florida real estate deal worth millions of dollars.
Trump previously denied being "friendly" with the former schoolteacher and his administration even dropped over 3 million documents from the Epstein files earlier this year.
Lara Blume McGee Believed Ghislaine Maxwell Was a 'Great Mentor' at First

Donald Trump once called Jeffrey Epstein a 'terrific guy.'
McGee also shared with Vanity Fair how she first encountered Maxwell, 64, and Epstein, recollecting she met the British socialite at New York City's Bryant Park during Fashion Week in 2000.
"I could tell she was connected because she was moving around the room, and everybody knew her," McGee said. "She introduced herself and was very charming. She wanted to know where I was from, which agency I was with, and if I was modeling. I’m thinking, She’s befriending me. I looked at her, like, Wow, this could be a great mentor."
She added Maxwell introduced her to Epstein because he had connections to Les Wexner, the former head of Victoria's Secret. McGee explained one of her lifelong dreams was to be a model for the famed lingerie brand.
"As soon as he met me, Epstein was like, 'Oh, Les, he’ll love you! You’re perfect. Natural,'" McGee said. "Epstein showed great interest in me. I was the perfect victim for Epstein because I had daddy issues. He really honed in on my vulnerabilities."


