WASHINGTON, DC — Former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has found herself at the center of online debate following a viral social media post that attributed a bizarre and highly specific quote to her regarding President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.
The claim stems from a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the user @TheFungi669, which alleged that Leavitt stated: “Just because President Trump went to 498 dinners and 947 parties with Jeffrey Epstein doesn’t mean that they were friends.” The post seemingly attempted to parody defenses of Trump’s historical ties to the disgraced financier.
### Social Media Reaction
While Leavitt has previously addressed Trump’s past relationship with Epstein—noting that Trump eventually barred Epstein from Mar-a-Lago because he considered him a “creep” and maintaining that the two were never close—online users focused primarily on the absurdly high figures mentioned in the viral post.
The statement drew widespread skepticism and amusement across the platform. While some users questioned the authenticity of the quote, others used the opportunity to debate the semantics of what constitutes a “friend” versus an “acquaintance,” pointing out the improbability of attending nearly 1,000 parties with a single individual.
### Fact Check: False
Karoline Leavitt never made the statement.
The viral post was entirely satirical, utilizing hyperbole and invented figures—specifically the exact counts of 498 dinners and 947 parties—to mock the nature of Trump and Epstein’s historical association.
While public records do document a social relationship between Trump and Epstein that spanned roughly 15 years from the late 1980s until a falling-out around 2004, there is no factual basis for the numbers cited in the social media post. During their years in the same Palm Beach and New York social circles, the two men were photographed together at events such as a 1992 gathering at Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples. However, the precise tally of dinners and parties mentioned online was fabricated purely for comedic effect.
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