The internet was stunned on Thursday after first lady Melania Trump publicly denied for the first time that she had any connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
She claimed that multiple people and organizations had lied about her connection to the late financier and convicted child sex offender, delivering a statement at the White House on Thursday. She also pushed back on allegations that she had a relationship with Epstein co-conspirator and former companion Ghislaine Maxwell.
Political commentators and media voices were quick to question the statement and reacted to her remarks:
"What the f--- was that Melania statement??? What story are they frontrunning over at the White House??" Tommy Vietor, spokesperson for former President Barack Obama and "Pod Save America" co-host, wrote on X.
"I am not sure why Melania Trump decided to make a statement about Jeffrey Epstein seemingly out of nowhere today, but if the idea was to put the ongoing coverup in the rearview mirror it will backfire spectacularly," journalist Aaron Rupar wrote on X.
"Again, no one asked if you were Epstein’s victim. That’s a deflection. The actual question is why you and your husband were, at MINIMUM, embedded in the same elite party circuit as a known predator for years, praised him publicly, and only distanced himself after Epstein became radioactive. That’s not chance. So no, a self-written book isn’t evidence, it’s clean up," RJ Riley, research paralegal and progressive commentator, wrote on X.
"In today's edition of You Couldn't Make This S--- Up: Melania Trump is talking about Epstein in order to distract from the Iran War her husband started in order to distract from Epstein," Paul Kavanagh, columnist at Scottish publication The National, wrote on Bluesky.
"Everyone now racing to google 'Melania Trump' and 'Jeffrey Epstein,'" Jen Bendery, senior politics reporter at HuffPost, wrote on Bluesky.