U.S. President Donald Trump has been criticized for expressing sympathy for the impact the Jeffrey Epstein scandal had on Britain’s royal family without referencing Epstein’s victims.
The president was asked on Air Force One about King Charles III’s decision to strip his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, of his royal titles over Andrew’s friendship with late convicted sex offender Epstein.
“It’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the family,” Trump said. “That’s been a tragic situation, and it’s too bad. I mean, I feel badly for the family.”
MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow said on air on Monday: “To be clear, Trump is not talking about the families of the kids who were molested and raped by his friend, Jeffrey Epstein.
“He is talking about how sad he is that another one of Epstein’s friends got in trouble with his own family for being part of it.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Newsweek in a statement: “Democrats and the media—including Rachel Maddow—knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them while President Trump was calling for transparency, and is now delivering on it with thousands of pages of documents.”
Why It Matters
Charles was under mounting pressure in the United Kingdom to take decisive action against Andrew over his friendship with Epstein, in part after the publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl, in October.
What To Know
Giuffre’s book detailed her long-standing account of being trafficked to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands and allegedly being forced to have sex with Andrew by Epstein and Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, in 2001.
Newly disclosed emails also revealed that Andrew misled the British public about when he ended his friendship with Epstein during a 2019 interview with BBC’s Newsnight.
Andrew said he flew to New York in December 2010 and stayed at Epstein’s house because he wanted to do the honorable thing by breaking off the friendship in person. However, in February 2011, Andrew sent Epstein an email saying: “We’ll play again soon.”
Trump, though, has also been under pressure in America in recent months, including after describing the scandal as a “hoax” on Truth Social in September: “It’s time to end the Democrat Epstein Hoax, and give the Republicans credit for the great, even legendary, job that they are doing. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Trump has said he broke off his friendship with Epstein before Epstein’s federal crimes were uncovered. In July, he said this was because Epstein had stolen girls who worked at the spa in Mar-a-Lago: “I didn’t like it and we threw him out, we said we don’t want him at the place…I didn’t like it that he was doing that.”
What People Are Saying
Joe Walsh, a former Illinois representative and 2020 presidential candidate, said on X: “Not once has he [Trump] had compassion for the victims of these pedophiles, NOT ONCE!”
Not everyone, though, criticized Trump. Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, told Newsweek, “I think [Trump] has great respect for the king and the family. I think he was sharing some empathy for the king, given his relationship, and that’s where his focus was at the time.
“I don’t think it means that he doesn’t have empathy for those that were victims of Epstein. It’s just that he was concentrated on the king, and that comes down probably to his personal relationship.
“Trump has bypassed the bullet, the Epstein bullet. Everything else will be embers. This is not going to be a death blow to the president.”
What Happens Next
Andrew has been stripped of his titles and is now going through the drawn-out process of surrendering his lease on Royal Lodge, his 30-room mansion in Windsor. He will move to Sandringham, which is privately owned by King Charles.
Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Update 11/4/25, 11:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.