Donald Trump is contending with an internal revolt from his MAGA base concerning his administration’s response to the files of the infamous sex offender.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, referred to Donald Trump as a “rapist” while criticizing him for the internal MAGA conflict over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein documents.
“Well, who could have predicted that electing a rapist might complicate the release of the Epstein Files?” the congresswoman from New York posted on X this past Friday.
The Trump administration has encountered significant and public backlash, especially from within the MAGA movement, following its announcement that the Epstein files contained no client list and that there was no proof Epstein was murdered, thereby refuting two widely held conspiracy theories.
In a separate post on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez highlighted a WIRED article that claimed the “full raw” surveillance video from Epstein’s prison block on the night he died was probably altered.
The release of this footage by the Department of Justice was meant to quash speculation that it held secrets about Epstein’s death, which was officially declared a suicide.
During a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump deflected a journalist’s inquiry about the Epstein documents.
“Are we still on the topic of Jeffrey Epstein?” Trump was questioned. “This man has been a subject of discussion for years.”
“We’re dealing with Texas, we have all these other matters, and people are still discussing this guy, this creep? It’s unbelievable,” the president added.
Steven Cheung, the White House Communications Director, fired back at Ocasio-Cortez in a comment.
“AOC tries to act like she’s tough, but she’s really just an unhappy, insecure person compensating for a lifelong lack of confidence,” he stated. “She should seek professional help for her clear and advanced case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, which has damaged her tiny brain.”
The president has a history of attacking AOC, who stands as one of his most fervent critics in the House of Representatives. Just last month, he labeled her “stupid AOC” and “the dumbest member of Congress.”
In 2023, a jury in Manhattan found Trump civilly liable for the sexual abuse of writer E. Jean Carroll and awarded her a $5 million judgment.
According to New York’s penal law, the legal definition of rape is limited to nonconsensual penile penetration, which was not the specific act proven in the Carroll case.
Trump collected a $15 million settlement in 2024 from a defamation suit against ABC News after anchor George Stephanopoulos said on television that a jury had found Trump liable for “rape.”
Nevertheless, during Trump’s appeal of the Carroll verdict, a judge specified that the jury did, in fact, find that Trump had raped Carroll according to the common understanding of the term.
“The jury’s conclusion that Ms. Carroll did not prove she was ‘raped’ under the New York Penal Law’s definition does not negate their finding that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as the word is commonly understood by many people,” wrote Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in July 2023.
This is not the first time Ocasio-Cortez has labeled Trump a “rapist.” At a rally in April of this year, she declared, “If Donald Trump is looking for rapists and criminals in this country, he should start by looking in a mirror.”
The nature of Trump’s relationship with Epstein has been a subject of examination for years.
Even though Trump was pictured with Epstein well before his presidency, he has maintained that he never traveled on Epstein’s aircraft or went to his private island.
Epstein was awaiting his trial on federal charges of sex trafficking minors when he took his own life at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019.