Donald Trump's campaign has confirmed that the former president used a private jet this weekend that previously belonged to Jeffrey Epstein, but insists it was an inadvertent oversight.
A campaign spokesperson told The Daily Beast on Monday that neither Trump nor his staff were aware that the Gulfstream G550 had once been owned by Epstein, a notorious sex trafficker. The plane was rented from a charter flight company, which the campaign has used frequently.
“The campaign was completely unaware that the jet we rented had been owned by Mr. Epstein,” the spokesperson said, adding that Trump’s team only learned of the aircraft’s history after journalists reached out on Monday.
Trump’s camp noted that he flew on the jet for a brief 363-mile trip from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Aspen, Colorado, for campaign fundraisers. He returned to Florida on a different chartered plane because Trump Force One was being repaired in Montana.
The Gulfstream G550 had been photographed in Aspen by a local photojournalist, which led to online speculation. Investigators traced the jet’s tail number and serial number to Epstein, who used it frequently before his arrest and death.
While Epstein’s “Lolita Express” was a Boeing 727 used for transporting underage girls, this Gulfstream G550 was associated with Epstein’s final days of freedom before his arrest in July 2019. The jet was put up for sale in 2020 and has changed ownership twice since, with its tail number being altered.
The Trump campaign official clarified that the plane's current owner, upon learning it was being used by Trump, added "Trump 2024" decals to the jet. The campaign confirmed that the design was different from their standard campaign branding.
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