President Donald Trump addressed Jeffrey Epstein claims on stage after a protester disrupted his Ohio rally with a pointed accusation. The president revisited his history with the late sex offender and defended himself in an extended response.
Donald Trump’s Ohio rally remarks follow a protester’s accusation about Jeffrey Epstein
A protester disrupted President Donald Trump’s rally in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Wednesday by shouting about his flights on Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane, The Daily Beast reported. Trump, 80, was speaking at a rally for Sen. Jon Husted when the protester yelled from the stands. Event security removed the man as the crowd booed.
The protester identified himself as Rob Potylo, a musical comedian and political activist known as “Robby Roadsteamer.” He later shared his account on social media. “Just got Trump in Chillicothe Ohio!” he wrote on X. He added that he “sang The Epstein Plane song” and “gave him the finger then got attacked.”
Trump responded on stage by addressing the Epstein remarks directly. “I threw Jeffrey Epstein out of the club like 20 years ago because I thought he was a whackjob,” he said. “That was a great thing I did, I must say.” He continued by claiming Epstein associated with Democrats. “He never came up with me. You know who he came up with? All of the friends of the Democrats,” Trump said.
However, Trump himself was registered as a Democrat from August 2001 until September 2009, according to New York City Board of Elections records. Separately, a January 2020 email from an assistant U.S. attorney said flight records listed Trump as a passenger on Epstein’s private jet at least eight times between 1993 and 1996. The email did not accuse Trump of any crime.
White House spokesperson Lauren Bis defended the president, stating that Trump had been “totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.” She also highlighted his signing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. However, the Justice Department has not announced such an exoneration, and authorities have not accused Trump of criminal wrongdoing connected to Epstein. A New York Times analysis identified more than 5,300 released files referencing Trump and related terms. In 2024, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had “never” been on Epstein’s plane.
