Melania's former chief of staff calls out Donald Trump for his response to her Epstein speech

Melania Trump reportedly blindsided her husband and his administration with her rare public address about Jeffrey Epstein.

On April 9, the first lady gave a speech at the White House to address the rumors about her ties to Epstein, two months on from more than three million files being released about the deceased convict.

In part of her address, Melania said: "I [have] never been friends with Epstein. Donald and I 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."

She added that she 'never had a relationship' with Epstein or his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Her statement came as a surprise to many US citizens and news outlets, with Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich calling it 'left field'.

"We’ve been trying to understand why she made it today, if there was something that she is reacting to that might already be in the news that has upset her, or if there’s a story that’s yet to come out, that’s about to drop that she wanted to get ahead of," she on a broadcast aired yesterday, adding: "Because it did feel like it came out of left field for us."

Heinrich went on: "I’ve called every contact in my phone, including the president, and not gotten any answers."

While she didn't get a response, MS Now host Jacqueline Alemany reportedly did manage to get through to the POTUS over the phone.

She tweeted: "Just got off a quick call w President Trump who said he didn't 'know anything about' FLOTUS’ statement prior to her on camera appearance, but that he was in a meeting about the war & couldn’t speak further. 'She didn’t know him,' he added before hanging up, referring to Epstein."

But Melania’s former Chief of Staff and ex White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, believes this is 'BS' and that it's likely that Trump did know about his wife's plans.

Just got off a quick call w President Trump who said he didnt “know anything about” FLOTUS’ statement prior to her on camera appearance, but that he was in a meeting about the war & couldn’t speak further. “She didn’t know him,” he added before hanging up, referring to Epstein.

— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) April 9, 2026

"I’m going to say, I call BS on our president saying he knew nothing about it, because at the very least, I imagine she would have given him a heads up if she had sent an advisory out yesterday," Grisham told CNN.

Going on to say if she was surprised by Melania's address, she said no.

"Melania Trump thinks about everything she does, and she thinks about it for a very long time," Grisham explained, "and she does things very strategically."

"She knew full well that walking out there into the White House residence, behind that podium like that, would make absolute waves," the former White House press secretary added.