Melania Trump Denies Friendship With Epstein, Says He Did Not Introduce Her to Trump

Melania Trump stepped before cameras at the White House on Thursday afternoon to deliver a nationally televised statement flatly denying she had any meaningful relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, pushing back on claims that had circulated since the release of the Epstein files earlier this year.

"I have never had a relationship" with Epstein, the first lady said, addressing the nation in a rare and unexpected public appearance. She added: "I have never been friends with Epstein," and said that she and President Donald Trump attended the same parties as Epstein "from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach."

Melania also addressed the origin of her marriage directly: "I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998. The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000, at an event Donald and I attended together." The statement was a direct rebuttal to a claim made by author Michael Wolff that Epstein had introduced the two, a story the Daily Beast retracted and apologized for after threats from her legal team.

She went further in denying any proximity to Epstein's criminal conduct: "I am not a witness or a name witness in connection with any of Epstein's crimes. My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter. I was not a participant, was never on Epstein's plane and never visited his private island."

The statement also confronted a 2002 email Melania sent to Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for sex trafficking. The email, released as part of the Epstein files on January 30, 2026, opened with "Dear G! How are you? Nice story about JE in NY mag. You look great in the picture," and was signed "Love, Melania." Maxwell replied calling Melania "sweet pea" and saying she would not have time to see her in New York but would try to call. The first lady dismissed the exchange, saying the email "cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence," adding, "My polite reply to her email doesn't amount to anything more than a trivial note."

In October, publisher HarperCollins UK also apologized to Melania and retracted passages from a book suggesting Epstein played a role in introducing her and Trump. Her legal team typically took the lead in combating such rumors, but Thursday's statement signaled that she felt a need to speak out herself.

Melania closed by calling on Congress to give Epstein's survivors a formal public platform: "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, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the Congressional Record." "Then and only then," she said, "we will have the truth.