Did Trump Know Melania Was Going To Speak On Epstein? White House And US President Both Say No

Last Updated:April 10, 2026, 05:53 IST

Melania Trump read a prepared statement at the White House denying association with Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, calling online allegations against her "false and defamatory."

US President Donald Trump said that he was unaware his wife Melania would make a rare public statement dismissing allegations linking her to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, as the White House also confirmed it received no advance notice of the address.

Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said the statement “came out of left field," saying reporters were given no heads up and remained unclear whether Trump had been informed beforehand, or whether Melania Trump was responding to something already public or getting ahead of an imminent report.

Read more: ‘Lies Need To End Today’: Melania Trump Denies Links To Jeffrey Epstein

“We had no heads up on this. We’re not getting any information from them now, including whether or not the president was aware she would be making this statement. It’s unclear to us if she is reacting to something that’s already happened, already come out, or getting ahead of a story that might be about to drop. We don’t really know," Jacqui Heinrich said on Fox News.

What Trump Said On Melania’s White House Speech

Trump, speaking to MS Now, said he “didn’t know anything about" the First Lady’s statement before she appeared on camera, adding only that “she didn’t know [Epstein]" before ending the call.

Melania Trump read a prepared statement at the White House denying any association with Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, calling online allegations against her “false and defamatory."

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," she said, adding that her attorneys had “fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success."

Read more: ‘Time For Congress To Act’: Full Text Of Melania Trump’s Address Denying Epstein Links

She acknowledged crossing paths with Epstein at social events, saying she and the president “were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach," but was unequivocal that no relationship existed. She said her contact with Maxwell was limited to “casual correspondence."

Melania Trump also called on US Congress to hold public hearings giving Epstein’s victims the opportunity to testify under oath, with their testimony permanently entered into the congressional record.

The statement came as Trump faces renewed scrutiny over his own past ties to Epstein following the release of Justice Department documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law in November. Several newly disclosed files mention Trump alongside other prominent figures. One document describes a woman alleging Trump forced her to perform a sex act after Epstein introduced them in the 1980s, when she said she was between 13 and 15 years old. FBI agents interviewed the woman four times in 2019.

Trump has denied the allegations and said his association with Epstein ended in the mid-2000s. He has also denied previously reported accounts of flying on Epstein’s plane in the 1990s.

Epstein died in federal custody in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.

News world Did Trump Know Melania Was Going To Speak On Epstein? White House And US President Both Say No

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