Virginia Giuffre recalls first meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Introduction: Why This Matters

Virginia Giuffre became one of the most prominent and widely recognized survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex‑trafficking network. Her story has been central in public, legal, and political debates about power, influence, abuse, and accountability — involving some of the most powerful men in the world. A central but often overlooked chapter of her life story is her early work at Donald Trump’s Mar‑a‑Lago resort and her first encounter with Trump himself.

In her posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, Giuffre recounts that moment — not as a sensational headline, but within the lived context of a young teenage girl working to support herself and searching for a path forward.

The Setting: Mar‑a‑Lago and a Tale of Two Jobs

In mid‑2000, when Giuffre was about 16 years old, she began working at Donald Trump’s exclusive Mar‑a‑Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Her father was employed there in a maintenance capacity, tending to air conditioning units and tennis courts — a modest job in the sprawling estate that was not only Trump’s private residence but a social hub for wealthy guests.

Giuffre was hired first as a locker‑room attendant — a $9‑an‑hour job that involved menial tasks like distributing towels and tidying common areas. Within only days of starting her work, her father introduced her to Trump.

This introduction — seemingly small but pivotal — forms the heart of her account. It wasn’t an accusation in the sense of wrongdoing; it was a moment of human exchange, recounted with clarity and emotional honesty in her memoir.

First Meeting With Donald Trump — Giuffre’s Account

A Nervous Young Worker Meets the Club Owner

According to Giuffre’s own words in her memoir:

“It couldn’t have been more than a few days before my dad said he wanted to introduce me to Donald Trump himself.”
— Giuffre, as quoted in Nobody’s Girl*

She wrote that Trump “couldn’t have been friendlier” in that encounter — he welcomed her to the job and made her feel seen, even if briefly.

Trump asked her a few personal‑sounding questions, including:

“Do you like kids? Do you babysit at all?”
— Giuffre’s memoir

He explained that he owned houses near the resort that he lent to friends with children — and that babysitting could be an opportunity for her to earn extra money. Soon afterward, Giuffre did engage in occasional babysitting for wealthy families in the community, supplementing her income.

She wrote:

“They weren’t friends, exactly. But Dad worked hard, and Trump liked that.”

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