President Donald Trump gave a bizarre response when asked if he might pardon Ghislaine Maxwell. Maxwell is a convicted sex trafficker and the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein. However, the president acted like he was absolutely unaware of her and the case.
On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected Maxwell’s appeal of her 20-year sentence. She has been accused of helping recruit underage girls for Epstein. Because Donald Trump had been friends with Epstein and had previously wished Maxwell “well,” reporters now consider questions about a possible pardon fair. It becomes even more important because the Supreme Court has now declined to hear her case. This is exactly what CNN’s Kaitlan Collins did on Monday.
Trump has been making an effort to downplay the Epstein files ever since Attorney General Pam Bondi allegedly informed him that his name appeared several times in the documents. However, his reaction to Collins was peculiar, as he pretended not to know anything whatsoever about Maxwell’s case.
Collins tried explaining to Trump that the decision of the Supreme Court means a presidential pardon is the only way to shorten her sentence. It was only when the president asked, “Who are we talking about?” Trump pretended to be hearing the name of a long-forgotten high school classmate for the first time in decades when Collins responded and mentioned Maxwell’s name.
Donald Trump pretending he doesn’t know who Ghislaine Maxwell is while hinting at a pardon is peak clown show. “I’ll have to take a look at it” ..…at what, the guest list at Mar-a-Lago? pic.twitter.com/quuhhzc4JN
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) October 7, 2025
“You know, I haven’t heard the name in so long. I can say this, that I’d have to take a look at it. I would have to take a look. Did they reject that?” Trump asked, before suggesting that, sure, he might consider a pardon.
“Well, I’ll take a look at it. I’ll speak to the DOJ,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t consider it or not consider — I don’t know anything about it. I will speak to the DOJ.” Trump said that a lot of people have asked him for pardons when Collins questioned why Maxwell might merit one. He also brought up rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who was given a four-year jail sentence last week.
Maxwell “was convicted of child sex trafficking,” according to Collins, but Trump didn’t seem to care. “Yeah, I mean, I’m going to have to take a look at it,” Trump replied. “I’d have to ask DOJ. I didn’t know they rejected it. I didn’t know she was even asking for it, frankly.”
Trump’s Make America Great Again electoral base has been furious with the administration for not disclosing more details about Epstein’s misdeeds and his allies, and the Epstein matter has plagued him and his Justice Department for months.
After a falling out, Trump and Epstein were no longer pals. Epstein passed away in a detention cell in Manhattan in 2019. It would be politically risky for Trump to pardon Maxwell. His Democratic rivals and allies have both called for the administration to make the Justice Department’s Epstein investigation papers public.
If he’s so confused that he forgot why she’s in prison then he has no business being president. He acted clueless. The answer should have been, no I will not consider a pardon for a sex offender, not I’ve gotta talk to DOJ about it.