First lady Melania Trump denied any connection with Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes on Thursday, calling online rumors of a supposed connection between her and the notorious sex trafficker “false smears.”
Rumors have swirled around Trump thanks to her husband’s relationship with the late sex trafficker. In 2025, Hunter Biden claimed President Donald Trump and Melania were introduced to each other by Epstein. Author Andrew Lownie made a similar accusation in his book, “Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.” Both claims sparked a swift legal response from Melania Trump’s lawyers, though Biden refused to retract his statement.
Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Melania Trump said she had “never been friends with Epstein.”
“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband, by chance, at a New York City party in 1998,” she said.
The first lady recalled that she met Epstein alongside Trump, at an event in 2000.
“At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings,” she said. “I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity—I was not a participant, was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island.”
Start your day with essential news from Salon.Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Emails between Melania Trump and Epstein’s inner circle were revealed earlier this year. In January, emails released as part of the Epstein files showed a 2002 correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell. The first lady refers to Maxwell as “G,” and Maxwell calls her “sweat pea.”
Melania Trump downplayed these emails as “casual correspondence.”
“My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” she said.
The first lady called on Congress to “act” and hold “a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors.”
“Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress, with the power of sworn testimony. Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes,” the first lady said.
The White House did not respond to Salon’s request for comment.
Read more
about the Epstein files
