The president described the arrest of former Prince Andrew over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein as “a shame” and lamented it was “so bad” for the British monarchy.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday that he felt sad about the fate of the exiled royal. “I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad,” Trump said. “I think it’s so bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad.”
The comments came after the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested on his birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The development relates to his alleged correspondence with Epstein when Andrew was a trade envoy.
In a bizarre self-own after being asked if Americans may soon be arrested for their links to the late sex trafficker, Trump then declared himself an expert on the issue.
“You know I’m the expert in a way because I’ve been totally exonerated. It’s very nice. I can actually speak about it very nicely,” the 79-year-old told reporters.
The younger brother of King Charles III has faced years of scrutiny over his relationship with Epstein, who was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges and later died in custody.
Epstein’s most high-profile victim, Virginia Giuffre, had accused the then-Duke of sexual abuse when she was a teenager.
He consistently denied the allegations, but in 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre, who was recruited as a teenager by Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell after they met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
But things escalated on Thursday when the former Prince was taken into custody at his home. The arrest was a stunning development and unprecedented in England, where members of the royal family are typically considered untouchable.
Police vehicles were seen entering the grounds shortly after dawn, and officers remained on site for several hours as formal paperwork was completed and security arrangements were put in place.
King Charles took the unusual step of issuing a statement on the arrest of his brother, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
“Let me state clearly: the law must take its course,’’ the king said. “As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter.’’
The Thames Valley Police force said Mountbatten-Windsor was released Thursday evening, about 11 hours after he was detained at his home in eastern England.
Asked about the matter, Trump also praised the King, who will visit the US this summer for the country’s 250th birthday celebration, and who Trump described as a “fantastic man.”
The president has consistently claimed the files were a “hoax.” Trump is featured more than a million times in the latest trove, according to Democrat Jamie Raskin, who viewed unredacted versions earlier this month.
Among the references to the president are uncorroborated FBI tips accusing him of sexual assault, as well as fresh ties to Epstein and Maxwell, and emails between the convicted child sex predator and his various associates that reference the president.
However, Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and is now threatening to sue people over the files, including author Michael Wolff.
“I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein… Frankly the DOJ should just say ‘we have other things to do’,” Trump said earlier this month.
Survivors, meanwhile, have hit out at the department for holding back so much information, and for exposing them while the names of some potential predators were redacted.
In one filing, for instance, one of Epstein’s victims told the FBI how Ghislaine Maxwell effectively tried to pimp her out to Donald Trump and his party pals, making it clear that she was “available” for them.
But the names of the men involved in the victim’s testimony, other than the president’s, remained redacted.
