Ex-GOP operative taken aback by Trump's 'implicit admission' about Epstein victims

A former GOP campaign spokesman was taken aback by President Donald Trump's treatment of a CNN reporter at the White House.

During a press gaggle, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins asked Trump about the victims of disgraced financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein. The question seemed to trigger Trump, who lashed out at Collins by calling her "the worst" and telling her that she never smiles.

Tim Miller, host of "The Bulwark Podcast," said on Thursday during an interview on former Obama White House staffer Jon Lovett's podcast, "Lovett or Leave It," that Trump's comments toward Collins appeared to be an "implicit admission" about what he thinks of the Epstein victims.

"It is a bit on the nose to, um, you know, be asked about ill treatment and abuse of young women and girls, and then to lash out at that question by attacking someone and by calling them a young woman and making sexist attacks on them," Miller said. "There's like an implicit admission at some level of what he thinks about the victims of Jeffrey Epstein in the way that he handled that question."

The Epstein files have been a sore spot for Trump during his second term. The Department of Justice's handling of the files has embarrassed the administration and caused harm to victims of Epstein's crimes. Recently, the DOJ released the personal information of some victims, which caused an outcry from advocates and lawmakers alike.

Trump has also lashed out at Republicans who have shown support for Epstein's victims. Last year, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) held a press conference with several of Epstein's victims only to face a barrage of attacks from the president and his allies in the months following.