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Fact check: Did Melania Trump and Donald Trump ever comment on her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?
Executive Summary
Melania and Donald Trump have publicly and repeatedly denied that Jeffrey Epstein introduced them, with Melania’s lawyers demanding retractions and threatening lawsuits against those who repeat the claim; Donald Trump has supported those legal threats and said Epstein did not introduce the couple. Journalistic reporting and statements from individuals connected to the couple offer competing accounts—Epstein at times claimed an introduction, while Melania and a party host say they met at a 1998 Fashion Week event—and these disputes have prompted legal threats, retractions, and at least one counter-suit from author Michael Wolff [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What the Trumps have said and legally demanded — a forceful denial with threats attached
Melania Trump’s legal team has labeled statements linking her to Jeffrey Epstein as “false, defamatory and extremely salacious,” formally demanding retractions and threatening suits seeking over $1 billion in damages; her lawyers have pushed for immediate apologies and retractions from those who repeated the claim, framing the comments as causing “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” [3]. Donald Trump publicly backed his wife’s approach, saying he told her to “go forward” with legal options and that she could use his lawyers, reinforcing a coordinated repudiation strategy and turning denials into legal action rather than mere rebuttal [2]. These public legal threats have produced retractions in some cases and escalated disputes with authors and commentators who attribute the claim to other sources [5] [4].
2. The alternative timeline offered by witnesses and documents — Fashion Week vs. Epstein’s claim
Multiple accounts in the public record present two competing origin stories: Melania and party host Paolo Zampolli say she met Donald Trump at a 1998 Fashion Week party, a story repeated by Melania’s representatives and used to rebut Epstein-related introductions [1]. By contrast, Jeffrey Epstein himself at times claimed to have introduced the couple, a version that has circulated in reporting and in the claims of commentators and authors who later referenced him as a source. The divergence between a named eyewitness host and Epstein’s own assertions leaves the factual record split, and journalists have documented both narratives while noting the Trumps’ active efforts to suppress the Epstein-introduction claim [1] [5].
3. Who said what and when — a timeline of statements, threats, and lawsuits
From August through October 2025, a sequence of public moves shaped the dispute: Hunter Biden’s August comments that attributed the introduction to Epstein triggered Melania’s lawyer to demand a retraction and threaten a billion-dollar suit on August 14, 2025, prompting national coverage and a BBC summary of the legal demand [6] [7] [3]. In September 2025 reporting, outlets documented the Trumps securing retractions from some outlets and continuing to press legal responses to protect Melania’s reputation [5]. In October 2025 author Michael Wolff filed suit against Melania Trump, alleging her threats aimed to silence him, introducing a counter-litigation dynamic that underscores the dispute’s escalation into court-centered pressure tactics [4].
4. How journalists and authors have approached the evidence — contested sourcing and motive flags
Reporting on this issue shows divergent sourcing and competing incentives: some commentators repeat Epstein’s own claims or attribute the story to secondary sources, while Melania’s representatives and Paolo Zampolli provide a direct, alternative eyewitness account placing the meeting at Fashion Week in 1998 [1] [5]. Legal letters and lawsuits have produced retractions and apologies from some outlets, which reporters note as evidence of effective pushback but also as a reason to scrutinize whether retractions reflect factual correction or legal pressure. Authors like Michael Wolff claim the Trumps use high-dollar legal threats to deter unfavorable narratives, an allegation that has itself become the subject of litigation and dispute [4] [5].
5. Bottom line — certainty is limited, litigation and retractions shape public record
The available public record shows no definitive, independently verifiable smoking-gun that conclusively proves Epstein either did or did not introduce Melania to Donald Trump; instead, the narrative is shaped by conflicting firsthand claims, public denials, and strategic legal maneuvers. Melania and Donald Trump have consistently and forcefully denied the Epstein-introduction claim and have turned to legal threats and demands for retraction to remove the allegation from public discourse, producing some retractions while provoking counterclaims and lawsuits from critics and authors [3] [4]. Readers should view public statements and subsequent retractions as evidence of aggressive reputation management as much as of settled fact, and any new primary documentation or third-party corroboration would be necessary to resolve the competing narratives definitively [5] [1].