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1992, Trump hosted a private “calendar girl” competition at Mar-a-Lago with 28 women present. The only male guests were Trump and Epstein, underscoring their close association at the time.
Executive summary
Reporting across major outlets and archival sources says that in 1992 Donald Trump hosted a Mar‑a‑Lago event that has been described as a “calendar girl” or model competition; organizer George Houraney told reporters he flew in 28 women for the event and recalled that the only men who ended up there that night were Trump and Jeffrey Epstein [1] [2]. NBC archival footage from a separate 1992 Mar‑a‑Lago party showing Trump and Epstein together has also been widely circulated and cited in timelines of their relationship [3] [4].
1. How the “28 women” account entered the record
The specific detail about 28 women comes from George Houraney, a Florida businessman who said he arranged contestants for a calendar‑girl competition at Mar‑a‑Lago and later told The New York Times and other outlets that he “arranged to have some contestants fly in” and that “at the very first party, I said, ‘Who’s coming tonight? I have 28 girls coming.’ It was him [Trump] and Epstein” [1] [2]. Multiple news outlets and timelines repeat Houraney’s account as the source for that description [1] [2].
2. What the archival video shows — and what it does not
NBC‑sourced archival footage from 1992 that has been widely rebroadcast shows Trump and Epstein at Mar‑a‑Lago socializing and apparently joking while looking at women on the premises; outlets describe the footage as Trump whispering to Epstein, prompting laughter [3] [4]. That video is often cited to illustrate social familiarity, but the footage itself is not the same as Houraney’s narrative about the calendar‑girl contest and the 28 women; the video depicts a separate party and does not on its own establish the precise guest list Houraney described [3] [4].
3. Consistency across reporting and where claims diverge
Major timelines published by The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Time and others place Trump and Epstein together at Mar‑a‑Lago in the early 1990s and recount the calendar‑girl episode using Houraney’s recollection [5] [6] [3] [2]. Those accounts consistently say a calendar‑girl competition was organized and reference Houraney’s 28‑women claim; however, reporting also notes variations in how sources describe the night (e.g., some stories reference NFL cheerleaders at a different 1992 party captured on tape) and emphasize that the archival footage and Houraney’s anecdote are related but not identical pieces of evidence [5] [6].
4. The implication that only Trump and Epstein were the only male guests
Houraney’s quote that “it was him and Epstein” has been repeated and framed as meaning the two men were the sole male attendees when the contestants arrived [1] [2]. News organizations report that Houraney was surprised to find only Trump and Epstein among the VIPs that night [2]. Available sources do not provide a full guest list or corroborating documents proving that no other men were present; the claim rests on Houraney’s contemporaneous recollection reported to journalists [1] [2].
5. Context about the men’s relationship and later fallout
Reporting and timelines emphasize that Trump and Epstein were socially close through the 1990s and into the early 2000s, that they appeared together at multiple events (including a widely noted 1992 Mar‑a‑Lago footage and later photographs), and that Trump has said they later had a falling‑out [6] [7] [8]. Trump publicly stated he barred Epstein from Mar‑a‑Lago after Epstein allegedly harassed a member’s daughter; books and reporting recount that banishment although descriptions of timing and motive vary among accounts [1] [9].
6. Limitations, alternative readings and what’s not in the record
The strongest, specific claim about “28 women” and “only Trump and Epstein” on that night derives from one organizer’s account as reported by major outlets; that makes it anecdotal rather than documentary evidence [1] [2]. Archival video confirms Trump and Epstein socialized at Mar‑a‑Lago in 1992 but does not document the calendar‑girl guest list itself [3] [4]. Available sources do not include a contemporaneous guest list, club records, or independent testimony verifying every element of Houraney’s memory; they instead rely on his recounting as amplified by newspaper timelines [1] [2].
7. Bottom line for readers
Contemporary reporting traces the “calendar girl” episode to George Houraney’s account and places Trump and Epstein together at Mar‑a‑Lago in 1992, supported by archival footage showing the men socializing at club events [1] [3] [4] [2]. The more specific claim that the only male guests that night were Trump and Epstein rests on Houraney’s recollection as reported by multiple outlets; independent documentary corroboration is not provided in those sources [1] [2].