US President Donald Trump’s Christmas message on Thursday turned combative as he lashed out at Democrats, critics and sections of the media, invoked convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and warned opponents to “enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to all, including the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein, gave him bundles of money, went to his Island, attended his parties, and thought he was the greatest guy on earth, only to ‘drop him like a dog’ when things got too HOT,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social.
He accused these individuals of having falsely claimed that they “had nothing to do with him, didn’t know him, said he was a disgusting person, and then blame, of course, President Donald J Trump.”
Trump said that he was “actually the only one who did drop Epstein, and long before it became fashionable to do so.”
In his post, he said, “When their names get brought out in the ongoing Radical Left Witch Hunt (plus one lowlife ‘Republican,’ Massie!), and it is revealed that they are Democrats all, there will be a lot of explaining to do, much like there was when it was made public that the Russia, Russia Hoax was a fictitious story - a total Scam - and had nothing to do with ‘TRUMP.’”
The US President also took aim at the media, singling out The New York Times.
“The Failing New York Times, among many others, was forced to apologise for their bad and faulty Election ‘Reporting,’ even to the point of losing many subscribers due to their highly inaccurate (FAKE!) coverage,” Trump wrote.
He added that “now the same losers are at it again, only this time so many of their friends, mostly innocent, will be badly hurt and reputationally tarnished. But sadly, that’s the way it is in the World of Corrupt Democrat Politics!!! Enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas!”
The post comes amid renewed scrutiny of Epstein’s links with powerful figures and ongoing political and legal debates over the release of documents related to him.
Trump and Epstein were friends for several years, but Trump has said that they fell out around 2004, years before Epstein was first arrested.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
The US Justice Department recently released nearly 30,000 additional pages of documents linked to Epstein, marking the largest disclosure so far in the long-running investigation.
The newly released files contain multiple references to Trump, including an email from a prosecutor noting flights Trump took on Epstein’s private jet during the 1990s.
Responding to the latest disclosure, the Justice Department said that some of the documents contained “untrue and sensationalist claims” against Trump that were submitted to the FBI before the 2020 US election.
The latest release follows criticism of an earlier tranche of records, some of which were briefly removed from the Justice Department’s online portal over concerns about protecting victims’ identities.
The files were later restored after authorities determined that no victims were depicted in the disputed material.
The newly released material also includes hundreds of video and audio files, along with surveillance footage from August 2019, the month Epstein was found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.