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President Donald Trump is threatening to sue Trevor Noah over a joke at last night’s Grammy Awards, saying in an overnight article on Truth Social that the comedian’s statement about visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s island was “false and defamatory.”
Noah, who hosted the awards ceremony, discussed Trump’s relationship with the late sex offender and the president’s ambitions to see the United States seize Greenland.
“It’s a Grammy that every artist wants almost as much as Trump wants Greenland,” Noah said. “Which makes sense, I mean, since Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new one to hang out with Bill Clinton.”
In the post on Social truthTrump said he had never visited Epstein’s island, “or anywhere near it, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, he had never been accused of being there, not even by the fake media.” Epstein also had previously refused that former President Bill Clinton had already visited his island.
“Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight and get them straight fast,” the post continued. “Looks like I’m going to send my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, idiotic MC and sue him for a lot of money.”
Noah’s agency and management did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment. Neither Trump nor Clinton have been charged with any Epstein-related crimes, and they have both denied any wrongdoing. A representative for Clinton did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
of Epstein Caribbean island was a suspected site of abuse of women and girls. Trump has already declared that he rejected Epstein’s invitation to visit the island, and he said the two had argued for years before Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Trump also said he expelled Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club after Epstein “took on people who worked for me.”
Trump has a history of suing media outlets for unfavorable or what he called defamatory coverage, which he referred to in his overnight post on Truth Social. Trump highlighted his lawsuits against ABC News And CBS News, both of which resulted in multi-million dollar settlements for the president.
“Get ready Noah, I’m going to have fun with you!” Trump added.
Awards show hosts have joked about politics on their shows for years. At least a dozen artists, including Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, used their acceptance speeches Sunday to criticize immigration and customs enforcement because of the administration’s aggressive – and in several cases deadly – deportation efforts. Several artists also wore pins reading “ICE OUT.”
Megan Lebowitz is a political reporter for NBC News.
Angela Yang
,
Rebecca Cohen
And
Nicole Acevedo
contributed
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