At a White House coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, President Trump responded to a question about Ghislaine Maxwell by saying "I wish her well, frankly," despite Maxwell's alleged leadership role in billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's child sex trafficking ring.
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 21: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference ... [+] 
Maxwell was charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York earlier this month for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
Trump has come under fire for numerous photos in which he appears alongside both Epstein and Maxwell.
"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 criticized Bill Clinton's behavior. Do you feel she's going to turn in powerful men? How do you see that working out?" Trump was asked on Tuesday.
"I don't know, I haven't really been following it too much," Trump said, adding, "I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach."
"I just wish her well, frankly," Trump said, later reiterating "I wish her well, whatever it is."
Trump's comment was swiftly met with befuddlement and condemnation on the internet; "Yes, he just said that. On national television," tweeted Mother Jones reporter David Corn.
Maxwell, the daughter of British media mogul Robert Maxwell, is alleged to have helped Epstein "recruit, groom and ultimately abuse" underage girls as part of his global child sex trafficking ring. The two are known to have had strong ties to powerful men including Clinton, Trump and Prince Andrew, as well as numerous others. Maxwell remained largely out of the public eye when Epstein was arrested and later died in 2019, but is widely viewed as a close partner of Epstein and reportedly came under FBI investigation in December.
Conspiracy theories about the Maxwell saga have abounded, especially due to Epstein's death in prison last August. One such debunked theory centers on claims that security guards at Maxwell's Brooklyn prison turned off her cameras.
"Because of Trump's mismanagement during the pandemic, 3 million Americans have been infected, over 140,000 have died, and tens of millions have lost their jobs," tweeted Biden campaign rapid response director Andrew Bates. "But Donald Trump only expressed sympathy for two people today: Ghislaine Maxwell and Ron DeSantis."
I am a news desk reporter covering politics and the 2020 election. I have previously worked for MSNBC and Chronogram Magazine. I attended Vassar College and the London
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