Donald Trump Axios interview: President repeats baffling Ghislaine Maxwell comment

During his wild interview with Australian reporter Jonathan Swan, Donald Trump was given the chance to clear up one of his weirder comments.

Most of the reaction to Donald Trump’s wild interview with Axios has focused on what he said about coronavirus, and for good reason.

Mr Trump claimed the virus “is under control” in the United States. He shrugged off America’s mounting death toll, saying, “It is what it is,” and insisted it was possible to “test too much”. When interviewer Jonathan Swan tried to bring up the number of deaths per capita the US had suffered, the President protested: “You can’t do that.”

What I’m saying is that there was a heck of a lot to unpack on the subject. You can read about it in more depth here.

But a smaller moment later in the interview is worth mentioning as well.

RELATED: Australian reporter corners Trump in crazy interview

RELATED: Jonathan Swan becomes a viral star after grilling Trump

Donald Trump during his interview with Swan. Picture: Axios on HBO

Swan has been widely praised for the interview. Picture: Axios on HBO

You might recall that a fortnight ago, during a White House briefing, Mr Trump was asked a fairly innocuous question about underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged chief accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Mr Trump responded by saying he wished her well, an answer that baffled pretty much everyone.

RELATED: Trump wishes accused sex abuser Ghislaine Maxwell well

Swan asked him about that. And instead of clearing up his meaning – say, by sending his well wishes to Epstein and Ms Maxwell’s alleged victims – the President doubled down.

“Ghislaine Maxwell has been arrested on allegations of child sex trafficking. Why would you wish such a person well?” Swan asked.

“Well first of all, I don’t know that. But I do know-” Mr Trump started to say.

“She has. She’s been arrested for that,” Swan interjected.

“Her friend or boyfriend was either killed or committed suicide in jail,” the President continued.

“She’s now in jail. Yeah, I wish her well. I’d wish you well. I’d wish a lot of people well. Good luck! Let them prove somebody was guilty. I mean, do you know that she’s guilty?”

“Oh, so you’re saying you hope she doesn’t die in jail. Is that what you mean by ‘wish her well’?” Swan asked.

“Her boyfriend died in jail, and people are still trying to figure out, how did it happen? Was it suicide, was he killed?” said Mr Trump.

“And I do wish her well. I’m not looking for anything bad for her. I’m not looking bad for anybody. And they took that and they made it such a big deal. But all it is, is her boyfriend died. He died in jail. Was he killed, was it suicide? I do. I wish her well.”

Trump on:

—Hillary: “Corrupt. Nasty”
—John Lewis: “I don’t know”
—Obama: “Worse than ISIS”
—Biden: “Disastrous”
—Press: “Enemy of the People”
—Don Lemon: “Dumb”
—Nurses: “Deranged”
—Protesters: “Anarchists”

Ghislaine Maxwell: “I really do wish her well.”pic.twitter.com/QUyHlzMrVZ

— Andrew Wortman (@AmoneyResists) August 4, 2020

This is not the first time Mr Trump has indulged in the conspiracy theory that Epstein might have been murdered, even though the medical examiner ruled his death a suicide.

In the immediate aftermath of the disgraced financier’s death, the President shared posts online suggesting Bill and Hillary Clinton orchestrated it.

Ms Maxwell allegedly helped Epstein procure and sexually abuse underage girls. She’s currently in jail in New York, and has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges.

Mr Trump’s original comments on her case came when a reporter asked him to speculate on whether she would reveal the names of powerful men involved in the sex ring in return for a deal from prosecutors.

RELATED: Maxwell could snitch on ‘big names’ to save herself

“Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison, and a lot of people want to know if she’s going to turn in powerful people. I know you’ve talked in the past about Prince Andrew, and you’ve criticised Bill Clinton’s behaviour. I’m wondering, do you feel that she’s going to turn in powerful men? How do you see that working out?” the reporter asked.

“I don’t know, I haven’t really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly,” Mr Trump replied.

“I have met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach. And I guess they (Maxwell and Epstein) lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.

“I don’t know the situation with Prince Andrew. I’m just not aware of it.”

“I just wish her well,” Trump says of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was arrested earlier this month and charged with facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sexual exploitation and abuse of minor girls.

— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) July 21, 2020

Trump says he wishes Ghislaine Maxwell, charged with sex trafficking minor girls, well.

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) July 21, 2020

For those following: The correct answer to the question about whether Maxwell will turn in powerful men should have been “I hope that she cooperates fully so all those who have abused women and children are brought to justice.” Not “I wish her well.”

— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) July 21, 2020

Why does Trump wish Ghislaine Maxwell “well?” Does he not know what she’s accused of?

— Joy Behar (@JoyVBehar) July 21, 2020

Prosecutors have accused Ms Maxwell of “conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors”, alleging she both “facilitated” and “participated in” his crimes.

“Maxwell enticed minor girls, got them to trust her, and then delivered them into the trap that she and Jeffrey Epstein had set,” said the Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss.

“She pretended to be a woman they could trust. All the while, she was setting them up to be abused sexually by Epstein and, in some cases, Maxwell herself.”

New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea added: “The heinous crimes these charges allege are, and always will be abhorrent for the lasting trauma they inflict on victims.”

RELATED: How Ghislaine Maxwell avoided arrest for so long

RELATED: Maxwell’s alleged threats against Epstein victims

Ghislaine Maxwell. Picture: Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Several of Epstein’s victims have publicly described the role Ms Maxwell allegedly played in his sex ring.

In 2017, a legal case filed by Sarah Ransome described Ms Maxwell as his “highest ranking employee”, saying she managed his sex life, recruited young girls and helped conceal the activity from law enforcement.

Ms Ransome alleged Ms Maxwell and Epstein had threatened to hurt her and ruin her career if she refused to have sex with their associates.

In a 2015 deposition, Virginia Giuffre alleged Ms Maxwell approached her at her place of work – the Mar-a-Lago spa – in 2000, and recruited her to be a “masseuse”. Ms Giuffre was 16 at the time.

“We can train you. We can get you educated. You know, we can help you along the way if you pass the interview. If the guy likes you, then you know, it will work out for you. You’ll travel. You’ll make good money. You’ll be educated, and you’ll finally get accredited one day,” Ms Maxwell promised her.

In her own deposition, Ms Maxwell conceded her job involved hiring “all sorts of people” to work in Epstein’s six homes, but rejected any suggestion of misconduct.

“A very small part of my job was, from time to time, to find adult professional massage therapists for Jeffrey. As far as I’m concerned, everyone who came to his house was an adult professional person,” she said.

Ms Giuffre told a much more sinister story.

She alleged in court documents that the first time she met Epstein, Ms Maxwell instructed her to “take off my clothes and to give oral sex” to him.

She was later allegedly forced to engage in sex acts with a number of men, and she has said Prince Andrew was one of them.

“My whole life revolved around just pleasing these men and keeping Ghislaine and Jeffrey happy,” she said.

RELATED: Prince Andrew could be ‘covert target’ of investigation

RELATED: Queen urged to make her son co-operate with prosecutors

Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department/AFP

The first woman to ever report Epstein and Ms Maxwell to law enforcement was Maria Farmer.

Ms Farmer, an artist, met the pair in 1995. Epstein hired her to procure art for his townhouse in New York.

Speaking to 60 Minutes after Ms Maxwell’s arrest, Ms Farmer said she had witnessed Ms Maxwell drawing young girls into Epstein’s orbit.

“Several times I was in the car with her, and she would ask the driver to stop the car. And she’d dash across to the school or the park or wherever she was going, and she would write down her phone number for a child, a young girl,” she said.

“And then I’d see that child at the house. And she’d say, ‘She’s auditioning.’”

The story Ms Maxwell gave Ms Farmer was that the girls were models. At the time, Epstein claimed to help manage Victoria’s Secret, and Ms Maxwell was supposedly his talent scout.

“I thought it was really strange because I did see a couple of girls in braces. And I’ve never seen a model in braces,” Ms Farmer said.

Any illusion Epstein had successfully created fell away one night, when Ms Farmer alleges both he and Ms Maxwell sexually abused her.

“Ghislaine came in to get me one evening. Basically, Ghislaine escorts me to Jeffrey’s room,” she recounted.

Epstein told her to sit down next to him. Ms Maxwell joined them. Then, Ms Farmer alleges, they assaulted her.

“The whole time I’m thinking, ‘My sister has been around these people. My sister is 16. She’s been around them alone,’” she said.

Ms Farmer’s fears were justified. Her younger sister Annie had indeed been a victim.

She went to the FBI, which at the time did nothing in response. Ms Maxwell responded with a campaign of threats and intimidation.

“Originally, it started with things like, ‘I’m going to burn your art,’” Ms Farmer said.

“Then, ‘I’m going to burn your career.’ And then, ‘I’m going to burn you and the house you live in. And then it was, ‘Oh, be careful crossing a street, you know, you can get shot in the back of the head.’

“They were threats against my life. And I told the FBI this.”

RELATED: Ghislaine Maxwell breaks down after being denied bail

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RELATED: Fears Maxwell, like Epstein, will die in prison

Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Ms Giuffre told 60 Minutes she was “elated” to know that Ms Maxwell was in prison, “where she belongs”.

“She ruined so many lives. She belongs in jail. You want to hurt kids? That’s where you go,” she said.

“She is the most narcissistic, evil, vain woman I’ve ever known. And she’s finally been knocked off her pedestal.”

Ms Giuffre expressed hope that Ms Maxwell would now turn on others who were involved in Epstein’s crimes and reveal their names to the authorities.

“I really hope she comes forward and says, ‘A, B, C, D, E was involved; this is how it ran.’ You know, just help us victims get some accountability,” she said.

Now that she has been arrested, Ms Maxwell could take her chances in court, or try to reach a plea deal of her own.

The sex ring she allegedly ran with Epstein reportedly catered to a number of rich and powerful men. She could reveal their names to investigators and testify against them in an attempt to get herself a lighter sentence.

“I’m sure that Ghislaine’s attorneys will try everything. They will try to make a deal where, perhaps, she speaks out about a bigger name in order to get reduced charges for herself,” Lisa Bloom, the lawyer representing one of Epstein’s victims, said the day she was arrested.

“But she herself is a big name. With Jeffrey Epstein’s passing a year ago, she is one of the biggest names.”

Spencer Kuvin, who represents six of the victims, said his clients hoped Ms Maxwell’s arrest was “just the beginning”.

“On behalf of the victims, we are very happy that the US Attorney’s office has decided to move forward on this arrest, which is hopefully just the beginning. We’re hopeful that there will continue to be additional arrests with respect to other co-conspirators,” Mr Kuvin said.

“The victims are very sceptical because there have been arrests in the past and the US government has not followed through.”