MSNBC host Jen Psaki found herself in an uncomfortable moment on her Wednesday show when she appeared to call President Donald Trump a “predator” before immediately walking back her statement.
The incident occurred during a conversation with Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) about recently released emails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that mentioned Trump.
Psaki was discussing other individuals connected to Epstein when she made the controversial remark. “You’re talking about the other predators that are out there in addition to Trump,” Psaki said during the segment.
She quickly attempted to correct herself, adding, “Not that — I’m not saying he is. We don’t know all the details about that.”
The former White House press secretary continued her clarification, stating, “I just mean, in addition to what we’ve learned about Epstein and others, there’s other predators out there.”
Garcia responded by agreeing, “There are.”
The conversation took place one day after Democratic members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released tens of thousands of additional pages of documents from Epstein. The convicted sex offender died by suicide in 2019 while in federal custody.
The released emails included references to Trump. In one 2011 email to his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein discussed Trump’s interactions with one of his victims, whose name was redacted by Democratic lawmakers.
“I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him, has never once been mentioned,” Epstein wrote in the email. According to the White House, the unnamed individual referenced in the email was Virginia Giuffre.
Democratic lawmakers, including Garcia, have used these emails to argue that Trump maintained a closer relationship with Epstein than he has publicly acknowledged. The documents have become a focal point for Democrats seeking to scrutinize Trump’s past associations.
During his appearance on Psaki’s show, Garcia made serious accusations against the Trump administration. He claimed the president was concealing details about the Epstein case to protect men who allegedly participated in abuse connected to Epstein’s trafficking operation.
“We want to know the truth there. But there are powerful men right now walking free that have raped girls and that there have been no consequences. And it is outrageous that Donald Trump is hiding this, hiding the facts — that the Department of Justice is hiding the facts — and that Mike Johnson and Republicans are complicit in supporting what Donald Trump is doing,” Garcia stated.
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The White House swiftly responded to the document release, accusing Democratic lawmakers of selectively leaking information to damage Trump’s reputation. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement pushing back against the allegations.
“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump,” Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News.
Leavitt further clarified the identity of the unnamed victim mentioned in the emails.
“The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions,” she stated.
The press secretary emphasized Trump’s actions regarding Epstein decades ago.
“The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club decades ago for being a creep to his female employees, including Giuffre,” Leavitt added.
