Former top Melania aide torches Trump’s claim about bombshell statement

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart for the State of the Union Address at the U.S. Capitol from the White House in Washington, D.C., February 24, 2026. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

President Donald Trump this week tried to claim that he was unaware of his wife Melania Trump's bombshell Jeffrey Epstein comments and was met with widespread scrutiny, including from the first lady's former top aide, who torched his claim as "BS."

On Thursday, Melania Trump gave an address in which she claimed to have only ever met deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, a few times at parties she attended with her husband, and denied any other connections to them and their crimes. The address, in which she also called for Congress to take testimony from Epstein survivors, caused confusion, as she appeared to be responding to allegations or reports that had not yet gone public.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” the first lady said. “I have never been friends with Epstein."

Speaking with MS NOW in the wake of his wife's remarks, Trump claimed that he had not known the content of them ahead of time, only that she was scheduled to make them, also adding that "she didn’t know" Epstein before hanging up.

Stephanie Grisham previously worked as a press secretary for the first lady during her husband's first term and later rose to become her chief of staff. Speaking with CNN on Friday, she dismissed the president's claim about not knowing what his wife was going to say in blunt terms,

"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 said.

When pressed further about whether or not Trump would have had the ability to block the first lady from making her Epstein remarks, Grisham said, "Absolutely not."

Grisham also commented on the timing of the remarks from Melania Trump, explaining that the first lady considers such things carefully and that she was not surprised by it.

"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. And she knew full well that walking out there into the White House residence, behind that podium like that, would make absolute waves."

While the talk about her connections to Epstein had largely died down prior to her remarks, there had previously been some allegations that she was introduced to Trump by the disgraced financier and had been acquainted with him before the meeting. New supposed revelations have also emerged since the address, including claims discussed by Michael Wolff that Epstein had sexual relations with Melania Trump a year before she met her future husband.

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