First lady on Thursday addressed her alleged link to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Speaking from the White House, the 55-year-old denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse, or that she herself was a victim. However, one popular question was about the timing of her speech – Why now?
“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect.”
Read More:
While Melania and Donald Trump have been photographed with Epstein before, she said she had met her husband independently two years prior to meeting the sex offender.
“I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,” Melania added.
Top advisor reveals details
As questions continue to swirl around why Melania Trump chose to publicly address allegations, her top advisor weighed in. Appearing across multiple outlets including Fox News, Newsmax and the New York Post, senior adviser Marc Beckman attempted to clarify the timing behind the First Lady’s rare White House statement.
Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt pressed Beckman directly, noting: “People are questioning the timing of this.” His response leaned heavily on a broader defense of Melania’s record rather than specifics.
Read More:
“First, enough is enough. This has been ongoing and it’s time for the public to refocus their attention on what achievements our first lady has done. She’s helping people over and over again. Americans are benefiting from her efforts. People in the foster care community, people from an educational perspective.”
He added: “Her achievements have been so wide. You have covered them here. Whether it’s international with the Ukrainian and Russian reunifications and beyond. We want to focus the attention on her good work and what she has accomplished as first lady of the United States.”
Despite follow-up questions, Beckman continued to offer similarly general answers. When pressed again, he said: “We as a society need to get back to respect, and certainly, our first lady, the first lady of the United States, deserves respect. When she’s out there working every single day for Americans, helping children, helping families, driving to make this country better, that’s what she deserves for people to pay attention to, not this nonsense. Just lies and innuendos.”
Read More:
Even after being asked directly what prompted the timing of the statement, Beckman remained vague. “Just a question of nonsense,” he said, before elaborating: “Like, think about it all day long, lies and innuendos are coming through the media about the first lady, and she just wanted to set the record straight. If she can’t stick up for herself, if she can’t defend herself and make sure that her reputation is impeccable, who will do it? Nobody’s done it to date. All of this has been politicized. It’s been dragged through the media, and she’s ready to fight. She’s fought for herself.”
Beckman spoke on the same line across other appearances, reiterating: “When you say what prompted her to do this now, the answer is really clear: enough is enough.”
Ghislaine Maxwell link
The First Lady’s statement, delivered without taking questions, firmly denied any ties to Epstein or Maxwell. “To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell,” she said, also addressing a resurfaced 2002 email. “My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence.”
