Jeffrey Epstein Tapes: ‘I Was Donald Trump’s Closest Friend’

In a bombshell audio archive set to send shockwaves through the final stretch of the presidential race, convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein can be heard describing himself as Donald Trump’s “closest friend” and boasting that Trump’s first sexual encounter with Melania happened aboard Epstein’s private jet—the same aircraft later dubbed the “Lolita Express.”

The never-before-heard recordings, captured by journalist and Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff in 2017, offer disturbing new insight into the nature of Trump and Epstein’s relationship—a connection that, until now, had largely been whitewashed or dismissed by Trump’s allies. In the audio, Epstein paints an unfiltered portrait of the president as a compulsive womanizer, manipulator, and opportunist with little moral restraint.

“He’s a horrible human being,” Epstein is heard saying. “He does nasty things to his best friends, best friends’ wives… He gains your trust so he can do bad things to you.”

Epstein’s Tapes: Power, Sex, and Betrayal

The 104-minute recording, exclusively reviewed by Wolff’s Fire and Fury podcast and shared with select outlets ahead of its release next week, is just one of nearly 100 hours Wolff says he recorded with Epstein over several years. The conversations were initially part of Wolff’s research for his Trump exposé, but after the recent resurfacing of groping allegations against Trump from a former Miss Switzerland, Wolff says he felt compelled to go public.

“These recordings are not just about Epstein,” Wolff told reporters. “They’re about who Donald Trump chose to surround himself with—and what that says about his character, especially now, as he tries to win back the presidency.”

In the most explosive claims, Epstein alleges that Trump enjoyed sleeping with the wives of his closest friends and even had a strategy to make it happen: He’d invite male associates into his office, ask invasive sexual questions, and secretly have their wives on speakerphone listening in. According to Epstein, this setup allowed Trump to later seduce the women by “pretending” their husbands had betrayed them.

“He always liked that game,” Epstein says on the tape. “He’d get the husband talking dirty, knowing the wife was listening, and later he’d use it to seduce her. He thought it was brilliant.”

“The First Time With Melania Was On My Plane”

Perhaps the most staggering moment in the recording is Epstein’s casual claim that Donald Trump and Melania’s relationship began on Epstein’s Boeing 727—the infamous jet later scrutinized for transporting underage girls to Epstein’s various properties.

“First time he slept with her was on my plane,” Epstein boasts. “He was proud of it. Called it a conquest.”

That claim—if true—contradicts statements made by the Trump campaign over the years regarding the origins of the former first couple’s relationship. Melania has never commented publicly on the early stages of her romance with Trump, and her name appearing in Epstein’s flight logs has long remained a matter of speculation.

The Trump campaign, already scrambling to contain the fallout, released a furious statement Saturday, calling Wolff “a disgraced gossip monger” and accusing him of “election interference on behalf of Kamala Harris.” They added, “President Trump hasn’t had any contact with Epstein in over 20 years, and kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago the moment he learned of inappropriate behavior.”

But Epstein’s own words tell a different story.

Asked how he knew such intimate details, he responded bluntly: “I was Donald’s closest friend for ten years.”

From Mar-a-Lago to Manhattan: A Long Friendship Reexamined

Epstein and Trump’s friendship spanned the flashy, high-rolling New York and Palm Beach scenes of the late ’80s and ’90s. They were often photographed together at parties, including a Victoria’s Secret event in 1997 where Trump was pictured alongside Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve and Epstein.

In a now-infamous quote from 2002, Trump told New York Magazine, “I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

Despite distancing himself after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, Trump’s name appeared numerous times in Epstein’s black book and flight logs. At least seven flights reportedly included Trump as a passenger. One log even listed Melania.

A Dark Glimpse Into Trump’s Private World

Beyond the sexual allegations, Epstein’s audio offers a bleak view of Trump’s personal psyche.

“He’s functionally illiterate,” Epstein claims. “Couldn’t read a balance sheet. He’d skim the gossip in Page Six but never touched a real book. He’s not a thinker—he’s a showman.”

The former financier, who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking, said Trump’s inner circle consisted of just three people: his daughter Ivanka, his secretary Rhona Graff, and his bodyguard Matthew Calamari.

“He screams at Rhona all day,” Epstein said. “He treats people like dirt, then wonders why no one likes him.”

Still, Epstein—ever the narcissist—couldn’t help but admire Trump’s ability to sell his own mythology.

“He’s charming, in a devious way,” he told Wolff. “He believes his own bulls—. He created this Trump character, and he lives in it full-time.”

Mixed Praise, but No Moral Compass

Although Epstein leaned left politically and claimed to have “Democratic friends,” he oddly praised parts of Trump’s presidency—particularly his stance on policing and his rollback of transgender protections.

“He gave the cops their weapons back. The transgender stuff, bathrooms—it’s all popular with middle America,” Epstein said. “He’s not stupid. He knows what plays.”

Yet even as he acknowledged Trump’s political skill, Epstein’s ultimate verdict was chilling.

“The moral compass just does not exist,” he said flatly. “Whatever gets him power, gets him sex, gets him headlines—that’s what matters.”

What Comes Next?

With less than a week before voters head to the polls, the Epstein tapes are already dominating headlines and cable news chyrons. Democrats have called for a congressional investigation. Trump’s critics say the audio reinforces decades of warnings about the president’s character.

“Whether or not the crimes are provable, the behavior is grotesque,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) in a Friday morning interview. “And the idea that this man is again seeking the presidency should terrify anyone who values decency, dignity, or democracy.”

Michael Wolff says more recordings are coming—and some, he teases, are “even more disturbing.”