President Donald Trump on Monday reaffirmed his intention to sue comedian Trevor Noah after Noah took aim at the president during his hosting duties at the Grammy Awards, joking about Trump and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump responded to a question from ABC senior political correspondent Rachel Scott, who asked whether he was serious about pursuing legal action against Noah. Scott referenced a Truth Social post Trump made around 1:00 a.m., in which he identified Noah as his next legal target.
“Yeah, well he said that I spent time on Jeffrey Epstein’s island,” Trump said. “I didn’t.”
Trump forcefully rejected Noah’s claim, repeating that he had nothing to do with Epstein. He also criticized Noah’s performance as host of the awards show, calling it “lousy,” while adding a jab at another frequent critic, saying it still wasn’t “as bad as Jimmy Kimmel,” a swipe at Jimmy Kimmel.
The president emphasized that Noah crossed a line by tying him to Epstein, insisting the allegation was false. “I have nothing to do with that. I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump said.
Noah’s joke came moments after Billie Eilish won Song of the Year. In his monologue, Noah congratulated Eilish before quipping that the award was something every artist wants “almost as much as Trump wants Greenland.” He then added that since Epstein was gone, Trump “needs a new island to hang out with Bill Clinton,” referencing former President Bill Clinton.
Trump pointed reporters to the release of 3.5 million Epstein-related files by the Department of Justice last week, which he said over the weekend “absolve” him of any improper behavior. On Monday, he said the DOJ should move on, arguing it has found damaging information on others, including Clinton and Bill Gates, but not on him.
“The Democrats are pushing it,” Trump said of the Epstein revelations. “And the problem is it’s turning out to be the Democrats that were with — and conspired with — Epstein.”
Trump also took aim at author Michael Wolff, accusing him of conspiring with Epstein to undermine his presidency. He referred to Wolff as a “sleaze bag” writer and cited newly released Epstein files detailing communications between the two.
According to those documents, Epstein asked Ken Starr in 2018 to help Wolff pursue indicting a “sitting pres.” Additional emails from 2015 and 2016 show Wolff discussing ways Epstein could use claims about Trump for political leverage.
Trump said over the weekend that he plans to sue Wolff over those ties. Wrapping up his remarks, the president raised his arms and marveled that he was back in the Oval Office despite what he described as Democratic efforts to conspire against him.
“They were working together to try and help me lose the election,” Trump said. “But this is the Oval Office, so I guess that didn’t work out too well.”
