Trevor Noah joked about Trump having visited Epstein's island, but documents don't show that

Politics and entertainment frequently intertwined during the 2026 Grammy Awards. Artists spoke out against federal immigration enforcement tactics and host Trevor Noah directed more than one zinger at President Donald Trump.

One of Noah’s jokes prompted Trump to threaten legal action. In a Feb. 2 Truth Social post published at 1 a.m. Eastern Time, about 90 minutes after the Grammys ended, Trump wrote:

"Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media."

Trump said he planned to ask his lawyers to sue Noah "for plenty$." "Get ready Noah, I’m going to have some fun with you!" he wrote. 

The joke Trump referred to came after Noah referenced two recent high-profile news stories: Trump’s aggressive pursuit of Greenland and the web of powerful people linked to deceased convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Noah congratulated musician Billie Eilish on her Song of The Year win before making the political analogy that sparked Trump’s threat: 

"Wow," Noah said. "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, so."

Trevor Noah takes another jab at Donald Trump #Grammys: “Song of the Year — that is a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland, which makes sense because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton” pic.twitter.com/quUWEpX4NL

— Deadline (@DEADLINE) February 2, 2026

At the White House Feb. 2, Trump criticized Noah as "a lousy host" and told reporters, "I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein."

Here’s more context about the controversy.

Newly released Epstein files don’t show Trump visited island

Reports and evidence available as of midday Feb. 2 support Trump’s statement that he was never on Epstein’s private island, Little St. James in the Virgin Islands, where prosecutors said Epstein sex trafficked underage girls. The Justice Department on Jan. 30 released more than 3.5 million pages from its files related to Epstein. Trump was mentioned more than 1,000 times in those documents.

News organizations have started analyzing how Trump appeared in the newly released documents and photos, and so far they have not reported evidence showing Trump ever visited Epstein’s private island. Although the files are online, they’re not all searchable. 

In 2019, Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail as he awaited trial on federal sex trafficking charges. 

Trump and Epstein were friends until a falling out at some point in the 2000s. Photos show them partying with Victoria’s Secret models in New York City and spending time together at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. 

Flight logs also show that Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane at least seven times in the 1990s, traveling between Florida and New York. In 2002, Trump told New York Magazine that Epstein was a "terrific guy."

It’s unclear exactly when and why their friendship ended. After Epstein was arrested in 2019, Trump said he’d fallen out with Epstein and had not spoken to him in 15 years. 

Trump has repeatedly said he has never been to Epstein’s island.

PolitiFact and other fact-checking organizations have reported that evidence does not show that Trump had been to Epstein’s private island. 

Evidence also doesn’t support claims about Clinton and Epstein island

Public figures including former President Bill Clinton were also documented guests on Epstein’s plane. 

Flight logs show that Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane more than once. FactCheck.org reported that Clinton flew on Epstein’s planes 26 times during six multi-stop trips in 2002 and 2003. 

Clinton’s team previously acknowledged this Epstein connection but denied going to the private island.

"In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein’s airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation," Clinton spokesperson Angel Ureña said in 2019. "He has not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade, and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida."

It’s unclear how many separate flights Clinton took for those trips.

The fresh Epstein documents have revealed no evidence that Clinton visited Epstein’s island.

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

RELATED: What we know about the Trump-Epstein falling out 

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