Public dissatisfaction with the transparency surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case is high, with polls indicating that most Americans, including a significant number of MAGA voters, are not content.
Amid this growing scrutiny over his administration’s handling of the Epstein child sex trafficking investigation, an old video has resurfaced, showing Donald Trump judging a beauty pageant where some contestants were as young as 14.
The footage is from the 1991 “Look of the Year” competition, organized by the Elite Model Agency, and depicts Trump as one of ten judges. In the video, young women and girls are shown parading before the judges to be evaluated on their appearance and “personality,” as described by the narrator.
A 2020 investigation by The Guardian revealed that the competition’s founder, John Casablancas, and others allegedly used the event to pursue sexual relationships with young, vulnerable models, some of whom were teenagers. While Trump was not implicated in these specific accusations, his conduct at similar events, as recalled by participants, has brought fresh concerns about his treatment of women.
Former contestants have described being “encouraged to parade downstairs, one by one, and dance for Trump” and the other judges.
“I knew in my gut it wasn’t right,” stated one model, who was 15 at the time of the competition. “This wasn’t being judged or part of the competition – it was for their entertainment.”
The video has gained new attention as Trump contends with the consequences of his administration’s release of just two pages of information from the Epstein investigation. These documents assert that the disgraced financier did not maintain a “client list” of influential figures, contrary to conspiracy theories that Trump himself has amplified among far-right circles.
Beyond his role as a judge, Trump also hosted the competition at his properties in New York in both 1991 and 1992. He has also been criticized for his actions during Miss Teen USA pageants, where former contestants claim he would enter their dressing rooms unannounced.
Trump has confirmed these accounts himself, boasting in later years that he could “get away” with such actions by claiming he was merely “inspecting” the premises as the pageant’s owner.
In 1992, Trump, who was a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein at the time, was filmed attending a party with him and several NFL cheerleaders. The widely circulated video shows the two men observing and making comments about the women. That same year, Trump also held a “calendar girl competition” at his Mar-a-Lago resort, an event that, according to a recent report by The New York Times, was attended only by Epstein.
In interviews from the early 2000s, Trump acknowledged Epstein’s preference for younger women, calling him “a terrific guy” and noting that he liked women “on the younger side.”
This pattern of disrespectful behavior towards women reportedly continued into his presidency. Some former White House staff members have described Trump’s interactions with women as “dangerous,” expressing that they were “nervous about what could happen” if he were left alone with female staffers.
Since the Justice Department released its brief statement on the Epstein case this July, Trump has shown increasing frustration with both journalists and his own online supporters who have questioned the lack of transparency. During the 2024 campaign, Trump had suggested he was willing to release the files and even accused the Biden administration of concealing them, using the issue for political gain.
This month, however, Trump has lashed out at his base, labeling MAGA supporters who are asking for more Epstein documents as “weaklings” colluding with his Democratic opponents.
A recent CBS News poll, conducted from July 16-18, reveals that 75 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the Trump administration’s management of the case. Notably, this includes 40 percent of self-identified MAGA supporters, indicating a significant and unusual fracture within Trump’s core base of support.