What image of Trump is referred to as the 'Hawaiian tragic model' and where did it originate?

1. How the image has been described and why it shocked audiences

A high-contrast photo circulated showing Trump standing with six women some outlets say wore Hawaiian leis; the leis and the glamourized setting evoked pageant or promotional contests such as Hawaiian Tropic, creating a striking visual of a powerful man among scantily clad models and attracting instant attention ^{[6] [1] [5]}. That shock amplified after the House Oversight Committee released numerous images from Epstein’s estate with many subjects’ faces blacked out, which fed speculation that the women might be victims rather than paid models ^{[2] [4]}.

2. Origin of the photo in public reporting: Epstein files and committee release

The image surfaced publicly as part of a packet of photos tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s estate that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee disclosed in mid‑December 2025; news organizations obtained and republished those photos, sometimes in redacted form, which is how the Trump-with-models picture entered national circulation ^{[4] [2]}. Several outlets reported the blacked‑out faces and the context of the release as the immediate origin of the renewed attention ^{[4] [5]}.

3. Who the women are said to be — competing accounts in the record

Multiple news reports identify the women as adult models representing the Hawaiian Tropic brand at a Mar‑a‑Lago event, not as teenagers or known Epstein survivors; outlets including The Telegraph, News18, The New York Post and others described them as Hawaiian Tropic contestants or models ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Conservative or pro‑Russian outlets seized on later clarifications to frame earlier commentary as erroneous, while other outlets quoted a model who defended Trump’s behavior that night ^{[7] [5]}.

4. Mistaken readings, media corrections, and partisan framing

A legal commentator on MSNBC suggested the image “suggests” Trump was pictured with minors or survivors of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell; that characterization drew pushback after reporting identified the women as adult Hawaiian Tropic models and after some outlets highlighted the redactions as the cause of confusion ^{[7] [3]}. Disinformation and partisan narratives amplified both the initial implication and the correction: some sites presented the clarification as vindication of Trump, while others emphasized the original reason for concern—Epstein’s network and the opacity of the released files ^{[7] [4]}.

5. Historical context: Trump, Hawaiian Tropic and Mar‑a‑Lago social life

Reporting and past profiles of Trump’s Palm Beach social life show a longer history of Trump attending and hosting parties that featured models from Hawaiian Tropic pageants and similar events — a pattern documented in earlier reporting about his Mar‑a‑Lago gatherings and the company that ran those contests ^{[8] [9]}. These background facts help explain why witnesses, attendees and some news outlets identified the women as Hawaiian Tropic models rather than victims ^{[8] [9]}.

6. What the available sources do not say and limits of the record

Available sources do not mention a formal identification of every woman in the photo by name, and they do not supply contemporaneous event paperwork or full, unredacted provenance tying the specific shot to a named Hawaiian Tropic contest beyond news reporting claims (not found in current reporting). The reporting also does not settle all interpretive disputes: redactions in the released packet created uncertainty that different outlets resolved in different ways ^{[2] [4]}.

7. Why the phrase “Hawaiian tragic model” matters as framing

Calling the image the “Hawaiian tragic model” compresses several narratives: the leis and models (the “Hawaiian” cue), the pageant/brand identity (Hawaiian Tropic) and the moral or scandalous implication (the word “tragic”). That framing leans on evocative imagery and plays into partisan readings — either as evidence of a permissive social milieu or as an unfair insinuation of criminal association. Media corrections and competing claims about the women’s ages and status demonstrate how a single photograph can become a Rorschach test for political and media agendas ^{[1] [7] [2]}.

Bottom line: the picture widely called out in December 2025 shows Trump with women wearing Hawaiian leis and entered public view via the Epstein‑estate photo releases; mainstream reporting identifies those women as adult Hawaiian Tropic models at a Mar‑a‑Lago event, but redactions and the files’ association with Epstein sparked the initial—and lasting—controversy ^{[1] [2] [4]}.