What to Know
A resurfaced clip shows how President Donald Trump tried to turn people’s attention toward the former Prince Andrew when questioned about Jeffrey Epstein more than 10 years ago. In recent years, amid concerns about Trump’s ties to Epstein, Trump has maintained that he ended his friendship with the convicted sex offender years ago. But people also have questions about what Trump knew about Epstein. The resurfaced clip in which Trump name-dropped Andrew isn’t exactly helping, as some people online have said it just makes him look even more “complicit.”
When asked about Epstein, Trump told a reporter to ask Prince Andrew.
During a Bloomberg Politics in 2015, Trump name-dropped Andrew when questioned about Epstein, according to reports from RadarOnline and the Daily Mail. At the time, Trump described Epstein’s island as “a cesspool” and said Prince Andrew would know more about it.
“Well I think he’s got a problem,” Trump said when asked about Epstein. “That island was really a cesspool, there’s no question about it. Just ask Prince Andrew, he’ll tell you about it.”
With the clip circulating on social media again, some critics have questioned how Trump knew the island was “a cesspool” though. One person on X questioned, “How did he know? Maybe because they both were extremely close with epstein.” Another person commented, “He seems to have a lot of inside information about said island.”
Trump exposing Prince Andrew 11 years ago. pic.twitter.com/xKuiVI1H8C
— Brad Zerbo (@BradCGZ) February 19, 2026
Both Trump and Prince Andrew are in the Epstein files.
Being mentioned in the files does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing. On Thursday, February 19, Andrew was arrested due to allegations of misconduct. He was “released under investigation” later that day. After the arrest, a reporter asked Trump if he thought Epstein associates based in the United States might also be arrested in the future. Instead of commenting on this directly, Trump shared his reaction to Andrew’s arrest. He also mentioned his own alleged innocence several times.
“Well, you know, I’m the expert in a way because I’ve been totally exonerated,” Trump claimed. “That’s very nice. So, I can actually speak about it very nicely. I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad.”
Trump also said Andrew’s arrest is “so bad for the royal family” and repeated that “it’s a very sad thing.” Then, Trump added, “It’s really interesting because nobody used to speak about Epstein when he was alive, but now, they speak. But I’m the one that can talk about it because I’ve been totally exonerated. I did nothing. In fact, the opposite. He was against me. He was fighting me in the election, which I just found out about through the last three million pages of documents.” OK, but who asked about this?
Unsurprisingly, people accused Trump of deflecting.
They were suspicious of his response — because why did he keep saying he’s been “exonerated?” And is “sad” really the right word to use when talking about Andrew getting arrested? “Why is it shameful that people are getting held accountable?” one person questioned. Several others questioned why Trump believes he’s been “exonerated.” “Just because he keeps saying it doesn’t make it true,” someone else wrote.
