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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Madeline Sherratt

White House reacts to The Daily Show’s scathing takedown of Trump’s Epstein’s deflections

The White House has responded to Jessica Williams' savage takedown of Trump on The Daily Show, suggesting the president was using a series of targeted verbal attacks to distract attention from the Jeffrey Epstein debacle.

On Monday night’s episode, Williams highlighted that in recent weeks, Trump had singled out Beyoncé, Oprah, and former Vice President Kamala with threats online in the wake of the Epstein furore, which continues to rumble on as senior Trump officials scramble to rid any associative ties with the convicted sex offender.

“Trump is going to target every exceptional Black person he can think of,” she said, while joking that it would be no surprise if he went after “Urkel,” the famous character who appeared on the '90s sitcom “Family Matters.”

“Given that I had to Google who this person is, it’s no surprise she’d resort to outrageous commentary to insert herself into the news, as many irrelevant D-list celebrities do,” Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields commented to The Independent about returning Daily Show correspondent and Shrinking star Jessica Williams’ comments.

“She may oppose tax cuts, a secure border, trade deals, ceasefires, and record job growth, but a majority of Americans voted for these policies and support this President, regardless of what out-of-touch, spotlight-seeking individuals say,” Fields added in the statement.

The Trump administration has responded to a scathing Daily Show rebuke of the president (Getty)

The Daily Show did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The White House’s response came just hours ahead of Trump claiming that Epstein “stole” young women from his Mar-a-Lago spa on several occasions, including a 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre.

Speaking aboard Air Force One while returning from his five-day combination golf holiday and tariff summit in Scotland, Trump was probed over comments he’d made at the weekend.

“Mr President, did one of those stolen persons include Virginia Giuffre?” a reporter asked.

“I don’t know. I think she worked at the spa. I think so. He, he stole her. And by the by way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever,” Trump said.

The Daily Show’s correspondent Desi Lydic continued to roast Trump Tuesday night over his trip to Scotland, where he visited his collection of golf courses and met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“Trump is in Scotland right now, seeing as his favorite island destination has been shut down,” she mocked as a picture of Trump with Epstein appeared on screen.

Equally, the president spoke about the recent axing of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show on Tuesday, writing on Truth Social, “Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true!”

“The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!,” he said.

Trump then threatened that “an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon” could be next.

“The only real question is, who will go first?” he said.

The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart leapt to the defense of Stephen Colbert after his show’s cancellation (The Daily Show/Comedy Central)

The Trump administration has been working tirelessly to downplay allegations of Trump’s involvement in the Epstein scandal, after it was reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi told him his name was listed in the files in May.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned former girlfriend, has offered to testify in Congress on the condition that her conviction is overturned. She was subpoenaed to testify next month by House Oversight Chair James Comer. Her attorneys said in the letter Tuesday that she would cooperate “if a fair and safe path forward can be established.”

Ever since Bondi released a controversial FBI memo on the case, MAGA has been sparring over the transparency of the matter and their commander in chief’s ties to the disgraced financier.

Trump, on the other hand, has shown increasing frustration toward the media and his own party’s fascination with the case.

“All they know how to do is talk and think about conspiracy theories and nonsense,” he said. “If they'd waste their time talking about America being great again, it would be so much nicer,” he said Sunday during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

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