Did Trump go to Epstein's island? About Trevor Noah's Grammys joke

• Donald Trump threatened to sue Grammys host Trevor Noah for joking about him visiting Jeffrey Epstein's island.
• Noah's joke suggested Trump needs a new island to visit with Bill Clinton now that Epstein's is no longer available.
• Trump denied ever visiting Epstein's island, though records show he flew on Epstein's plane multiple times.

President Donald Trump has threatened to sue Grammys host and comedian Trevor Noah over his jokes at the awards show on Feb. 1.

Noah joked about Trump spending time with former President Bill Clinton on an island belonging to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The comment came days after the Department of Justice released another 3 million pages of records related to the sex trafficking investigations into the late financier. The push for transparency around the documents has been a controversy plaguing the Trump administration for months.

"The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he may be, is almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards. Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social in early hours of Feb. 2.

"Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$," the post continued.

Noah's management team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What did Trevor Noah say about Trump?

The 2026 Grammy Awards show was hosted by the seven-year host of "The Daily Show," where he was frequently critical of Trump in his first term. Noah has hosted the last six Grammy Awards shows, but said the 2026 show would be his last.

"I believe in term limits. I wanted to set an example for anyone watching the show, you know, just leave when your time is up," he said, an apparent jab at Trump, who has repeatedly flirted with the possibility of a third term despite the constitutional two-term limit.

Noah also took a swipe at a prominent rapper who recently came out in strong support of Trump, attending a White House event on Trump Accounts and appearing at the Trump-Kennedy Center for the premiere of first lady Melania Trump's documentary.

"Nicki Minaj is not here," Noah said, prompting cheers from the crowd. "She is still at the White House with Donald Trump discussing very important issues."

Noah then went on to do a Trump impression of the president telling Minaj his butt was bigger than hers.

But it was Noah's comments after the song of the year award that seemed to draw Trump's ire.

“That is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense, I mean, because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton.”

Song of the year went to Billie Eilish for "Wildflower" and she used her acceptance speech to advocate for immigrants saying, "no one is illegal on stolen land."

Did Trump ever go to Epstein's island?

Trump has denied ever visiting Epstein's private island, though records show Trump flew on Epstein's plane in the 1990s eight times. The recorded flights were mostly between Palm Beach, Florida and Teterboro, New Jersey, though there was also a trip to Washington, DC.

Troves of documents, images and videos from Epstein's criminal investigations have been released after Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, compelling the DOJ to release the files. Trump is named in many files released by the DOJ, but he has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes related to Epstein.

Trump was answering questions on July 28 as the calls to release the files mounted.

“I never had the privilege of going to his island, and I did turn it down, but a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island," Trump said. “In one of my very good moments, I turned it down. I didn't want to go to his island.”

Did Bill Clinton go to Epstein's private island?

Clinton has also denied going to Epstein's island, but has been repeatedly named and pictured in the released files. Trump has long pointed a finger at Clinton, however, accusing him of being on the island. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles also told Vanity Fair in December that there was no evidence of those visits happening.

The late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre had said she saw Clinton there, but never saw him doing anything illegal. In a January 2015 email to author Michael Wolff where Epstein denies Clinton visited the island, he says someone else, whose name is redacted, had falsely claimed to see Clinton at the island.

"[Redacted] the storyteller, crafted much of it out of whole cloth," he wrote, and argued it undercut other allegations.

“These emails prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing," Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña previously told USA TODAY in a statement. "The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who knows what else.”

What happened at Epstein's island?

Epstein owned two islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Court records show he bought Little St. James in 1998 and Great St. James in 2016.

In January 2020, prosecutors with the U.S. Virgin Islands filed a lawsuit against Epstein's estate, alleging a criminal enterprise took place on his property there involving the sexual abuse of young girls.

"Epstein owned and arranged for private planes, helicopters, boat and automobiles to transport victims to, from and within the Virgin Islands, and provided money to pay these young women and underage girls," the lawsuit stated.

One 15-year-old girl tried to escape by swimming, the lawsuit states. The estate settled the case with the U.S. Virgin Islands for $105 million in December 2022.

An investment firm led by financier Stephen Deckoff acquired the islands in May 2023.

Contributing: Joedy McCreary, Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter),Bluesky andTikTok.