Trump-Epstein Images Projected on Hotel Ahead of White House Correspondents’ Dinner
President Donald Trump’s past connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was thrust back into the spotlight this weekend after a video highlighting their relationship was projected onto the Washington Hilton, the hotel hosting the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Journalist Aaron Parnas shared a two-minute clip on X on Friday, saying the video was being displayed on the side of the building where Trump is expected to attend the dinner. Reuters also published a photo showing an image of Trump and Epstein projected onto the hotel in Washington, D.C.
The dinner, set for Saturday night, marks Trump’s planned return to the event for the first time as president, drawing renewed attention given his long-running clashes with the media.
The source of the projection remains unclear, but it appears intended to bring fresh focus to Trump’s past friendship with Epstein at a time when public attention around the case had faded.
Trump and Epstein were known to be friends for years before eventually falling out. Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who used his ties to wealthy and powerful figures to abuse and exploit young women and girls.
Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Authorities ruled his death a suicide.
Trump had initially pushed back against calls to release Justice Department files related to Epstein, at one point dismissing the issue as a Democratic hoax. He later agreed to release the files after pressure from within his own party.
However, the Justice Department’s slow and heavily redacted release of those records sparked criticism, with some accusing officials of trying to shield Trump and others saying it created divisions within his MAGA base.
According to the clip shared by Parnas, the video montage featured photos and footage of Trump with Epstein, along with heavily redacted pages from the Epstein files.
It also included a 2019 email Epstein reportedly sent to author Michael Wolff, in which he referred to Trump as “the dog that hasn’t barked.”
The video ended with a photo of Trump and Epstein alongside the message: “END THE COVER-UP.”
The renewed attention also follows comments from First Lady Melania Trump earlier this month, when she publicly denied any ties to Epstein.
She called the claims “unfounded and baseless lies” and said, “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”
Melania added that while she and Trump may have attended some of the same social events as Epstein in New York and Palm Beach, she was never personally friends with him.
Earlier this week, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog also announced it would review how the department handled the release of the Epstein files, including how records were collected, reviewed, and redacted before being made public.
Trump’s attendance at the White House Correspondents’ dinner is notable because he skipped the event throughout his first term, breaking a long-standing tradition of presidents attending.
He had previously attended during Barack Obama’s presidency and was famously present during Obama’s 2011 speech mocking him over the birther conspiracy.
Last month, Trump said he had originally boycotted the dinner because the press had treated him unfairly, but later announced on Truth Social that he would attend this year’s event, calling it an honor and promising to make it the “greatest” dinner ever.
White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang welcomed the decision, saying the group looked forward to hosting him and continuing the dinner’s long tradition of celebrating journalism and the First Amendment.
