Claim:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said, “I was on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet two times.”
Rating:
Context:
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he flew on Epstein’s jet once in 1993 and again one or two years later “before anybody knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious issues.” He said he was traveling with his family on both occasions.
For years, claims have circulated online that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged twice flying on the private jet of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted child sex trafficker.
In late March 2025, for instance, Occupy Democrats’ Facebook and Instagram accounts posted an image with the caption: “Wow. RFK Jr. just exposed himself on Fox!” The image claimed Kennedy had this exchange with Fox News host Jesse Watters:
JESSE WATERS: “YOU WERE NEVER ON JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S JET, WERE YOU?”
RFK, JR: “I WAS ON JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S JET TWO TIMES.”
Versions of the claim have circulated since at least December 2023 on social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, X and Threads.
In short, in a December 2023 interview with Watters, Kennedy did state he “was on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet two times,” once in 1993 and then again “on another occasion” before “anybody knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s […] nefarious issues.” Thus, the in-question quote is correctly attributed.
Kennedy also mentioned these flights on at least two other occasions, clarifying that the second flight took place “one or two years” after the first in 1993.
There is no evidence that Kennedy was involved in, or aware of, Epstein’s criminal activities. In 2008, Epstein pled guilty to state charges including soliciting prostitution from a minor. He was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges, but died by suicide in jail later that year while awaiting trial.
For years, Epstein’s crimes have fueled speculation and conspiracy theories about high-profile individuals allegedly within his social and business circles, particularly regarding who used his private jets or visited his island properties.
Here’s what Kennedy said
The quote “I was on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet two times” originated from a “Jesse Watters Primetime” interview with Kennedy, who was running for U.S. president at the time. That interview aired on Fox News the evening of Dec. 5, 2023.
A recording of the segment is available via the Internet Archive. Below is a transcript of the relevant portion:
Watters: You weren’t ever on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet, were you?
Kennedy: I was on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet two times. I was on it in 1993. And I went to Florida with my wife and two children to visit my mom over Easter. My wife had some kind of relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, and they offered us a ride to Palm Beach. So I went then, and on another occasion, I flew again with my family, with I think four of my children and Mary, my wife, to Rapid City, South Dakota to go fossil hunting for a weekend.
But otherwise, I was never on his jet alone. You know, I’ve been very open about this from the beginning. This was in ’93, so it was 30 years ago. It was before anybody knew about Jeffrey Epstein’s, you know, his nefarious issues.
And I agree with you that these, all of this information should be released. We should get real answers on what happened to Jeffrey Epstein and any of the high-level political people that he was involved with. All of that should be open to the public. It should be absolutely transparent.
In other words, in that interview, Kennedy said he took two flights on Epstein’s jet while emphasizing the flights occurred “30 years ago” — years before Epstein first faced criminal charges in 2006. Kennedy also noted that he was traveling with his family on both occasions and “was never on his jet alone.”
About a month before the Watters interview aired, Kennedy’s spokesperson talked to Newsweek about the 1993 flight. Newsweek published a piece titled, “Exclusive: Robert F. Kennedy Jr Says He Flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express’,” which did not mention the later flight.
Also, Kennedy mentioned both flights during a January 2024 appearance on “Dan Abrams Live” on NewsNation. In that interview, Kennedy again confirmed he took two flights with Epstein, while adding again, “nobody knew anything about Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious activities [until] 2006.” Below is the in-question portion of Kennedy’s exchange with Abrams:
Abrams: So, to be clear, you’re not concerned about anything that could come out about you and Jeffrey Epstein?
Kennedy: My plane rides with Jeffrey Epstein, I took a plane with him once in 1993, when I went down to visit my mother in Palm Beach. Remember, nobody knew anything about Jeffrey Epstein’s nefarious activities till 2006. He was a public figure and a big philanthropist in New York and many, many people knew him.
My wife knew his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, and they offered us a ride when we were going down to see my mother. I was with two children and my wife on the plane. At that time, I knew nothing about Jeffrey Epstein. Then I think, one or two years later, we went with my kids fossil hunting on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
That was the extent of anything I had to do with Jeffrey Epstein’s airplane.
In the same interview, Kennedy said: “Of course, you know, I ran across Jeffrey Epstein at parties, I mean, at fundraisers, like the Robin Hood fundraiser in New York. But I had no relationship with him.”
Referencing Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign, Abrams asked, “So nothing […] could come out that you’re concerned about in terms of the campaign or anything like that?” Kennedy replied, “Nothing. I hope everything that is known about Jeffrey Epstein comes out.”
The quote about Epstein’s jet is not the only statement by Kennedy that we’ve fact-checked. For instance, we investigated whether he once suggested the COVID-19 virus was a “genetically engineered bioweapon that [targeted] Black and white people but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people,” as well as a claim he suggested vaccines caused the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic known as the Spanish flu.
Sources:
– YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwvcw4IGDsA. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
“A Timeline of the Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell Scandal.” AP News, 28 June 2022, https://apnews.com/article/epstein-maxwell-timeline-b9f15710fabb72e8581c71e94acf513e.
Izzo, Jack. “Trump Flew to Campaign Events on Private Jet Formerly Owned by Jeffrey Epstein?” Snopes, 14 Aug. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-campaign-jeffrey-epstein-plane/.
Jesse Watters Primetime : FOXNEWSW : December 5, 2023 10:00pm-11:00pm PST. 6 Dec. 2023. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/FOXNEWSW_20231206_060000_Jesse_Watters_Primetime.
Kasprak, Alex. “RFK Jr. Misrepresented Data To Claim Bernie Sanders Accepted Millions from Pharmaceutical Industry.” Snopes, 1 Feb. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/bernie-rfk-big-pharma/.
LaMagdeleine, Izz Scott. “Sam Smith Panics as ‘Connection’ to Jeffrey Epstein’s Island Is Leaked?” Snopes, 25 Sept. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/sam-smith-connection-jeffrey-epstein/.
Member, Entertainment Reporter Newsweek Is A. Trust Project. “Robert F. Kennedy Jr Says He Flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Lolita Express.'” Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2023, https://www.newsweek.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-flying-jeffrey-epstein-lolita-express-private-jet-1839807.
Wrona, Aleksandra. “The Facts Behind Claims RFK Jr. Said COVID-19 Was Targeted to ‘Spare’ Jewish, Chinese People.” Snopes, 30 Jan. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//news/2025/01/30/rfk-jr-covid-19-chinese-jewish-people/.
—. “Viral Video Shows Young Girls in a House on Epstein’s Island?” Snopes, 8 Jan. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/young-girls-epsteins-island/.
