US First Lady Melania Trump speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC on April 9, 2026.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
First lady Melania Trump, in scathing comments at the White House on Thursday, blasted what she described as an array of false claims about her and notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“I am not Epstein’s victim,” Melania Trump told reporters. “Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump.”
“I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims,” she said. “I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant.”
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” Melania Trump said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather, I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”
It was not clear what spurred Melania Trump to comment on Epstein, who was previously a friend of President Trump’s.
The notification to the media on Wednesday that she would make a statement at the White House on Thursday did not indicate what she planned to talk about.
But in her statement, which the White House later posted online, the first lady acknowledged writing an email to Epstein’s now-convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell on Oct. 23, 2002, which referenced a New York magazine profile about Epstein.
In that article, President Trump was quoted about his then-friend Epstein.
“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen...
Melania Trump on Thursday (April 9) issued an unexpected public statement denying any connection to Jeffrey Epstein, pushing back against what she described as long-running false claims circulatin...