Donald Trump’s hiring practices at Mar-a-Lago have returned to the headlines after being mentioned in the latest revelations surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. Reportedly, Trump had hired teenage masseuses whom he then sent on house calls to Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion.
It’s still early in this particular case, so there are no obvious smoking guns yet. Epstein was a pariah even then, long before he was formally labeled a criminal. His ties to the British royal family and his inexplicable status as a high-end financier, however, made his position in Trump’s circle seemingly unshakeable. These days, the president is often criticized for pardoning bona fide and unapologetic criminals, but if you look back at his history, that pattern makes sense. Trump has always surrounded himself with useful, powerful people — and that did not start with Elon Musk.
