Jimmy Kimmel shared his thoughts after Melania Trump held a press conference to clear up her supposed connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
“Why is this happening today?” Kimmel, 58, asked the audience during the Thursday, April 9, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! before making reference to President Donald Trump‘s threats against Iran. “He spent the past six weeks trying to bomb this Epstein story out of the headlines. Two days after the ceasefire, she puts it right back on top.”
Kimmel wondered whether Melania, 55, did it on purpose, joking, “She must really hate him. I don’t know how else to explain it.”
While speaking to a crowd earlier on Thursday, Melania, who has been married to Donald, 79, since 2005, addressed speculation about a possible connection between her and Epstein.
“[The rumors] with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”
Melania further claimed that she had “never been friends” with Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges.
“Donald and I were invited to many of the same parties as Epstein from time to time,since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach,” she said. “To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice [Ghislaine] Maxwell.”
The first lady also addressed why an email she sent to Maxwell was previously released in the Epstein files. “My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” she claimed. “I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband by chance at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, Melania.”
Kimmel elaborated on the surprising speech during his late night talk show, referencing how officials in the White House were reportedly blindsided.
“He didn’t know she was going to do it before she did it, which shows you just how smoothly things are running over there,” Kimmel added while theorizing about the state of the Trumps’ marriage. “For whatever reason, she didn’t ask [her husband].”
He concluded: “She didn’t give him a heads up. She just went right out in front of the cameras and fired away.”
