Epstein Survivors Rip Into Melania Trump After That Weird Presser

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse are angry with Melania Trump.

Several of his victims released a statement blasting the first lady after her remarks in the White House Thursday attempting to distance herself from Epstein and calling for survivors to publicly testify before Congress.

“Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony,” 15 of Epstein’s victims said in a statement in response. “Asking more of them is a deflection of responsibility, not justice.”

The statement called out Trump for “shifting the burden onto survivors under politicized conditions that protect those with power: the Department of Justice, law enforcement, prosecutors, and the Trump administration, which has still not fully complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”

“It also diverts attention from Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors’ identities. Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers,” the statement added. “Survivors have done their part. Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs.”

The first lady’s statement Thursday raised a number of questions, chief among them why she chose this moment to address her proximity to Epstein. Several of the files released from the government’s Epstein archive show her corresponding frequently with Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Her speech is only drawing more attention to an issue her husband, President Trump, has desperately tried to sweep under the rug. Survivors of Epstein’s crimes are correctly pointing out that the first lady’s goal in speaking out now is clearly self-serving.

Multiple MAGA influencers are processing their public rebuke from President Trump, who called them out by name on Thursday, referring to them as “stupid people,” “nut jobs,” and “troublemakers.” 

Trump specifically called out Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones, despite praising all of those people in the past.

“Well, President Trump came out on Truth Social and attacked myself and all the original MAGA supporters today. And I’m just so sad that whatever’s happened to him has just changed the man he once was,” Jones said. “At the end of the day I just feel sorry for [Trump] and pray that God touched his heart and soul, and free him from the demonic influences that he’s under.... When Trump’s calling for wiping out whole civilizations and acting like a supervillain, I have to come out and say I don’t support it, it’s that simple.” 

Owens put it more succinctly. “It may be time to put Grandpa up in a home,” she wrote.

“Go back to 2016, 2020, or even 2024.  You’re a die-hard Trump supporter. You have to join one of two groups. Group A is Candace, Tucker, Alex, and Megyn. Group B is Ben Shapiro, Mark Levin, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz,” Owens collaborator Baron Coleman wrote. “Who changed?”

“THAT DOES IT. I AM DONE. THIS WAS THE LAST STRAW,” MAGA podcaster Tim Pool seethed. “I’M SO ANGRY.”

Carlson responded in his newsletter later Friday morning, suggesting that Israel could even be blackmailing Trump, as they were accused of doing to President Clinton in the 1990s.

“We do not know for sure whether that is happening, but the mere possibility is haunting enough to keep the president up at night. He is under a level of pressure that most people cannot fathom, with rabid Israel Firsters viciously harassing him any time he dares to stray even slightly from their favorite country’s agenda. Their shameless pursuit is steadfast enough to make even a man like Donald Trump go mad,” Carlson wrote.

“We decided to write about this after Trump published a Truth Social post attacking our company, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones, each of whom supported him for years. Rather than engaging in petty name-calling, we want to give the president some grace. He is facing a level of pressure that is dark enough to make him abandon his campaign promises and morph into the precise kind of politician he once vowed to destroy. He would not have let that happen unless his personal stakes were really high. We hope he overcomes,” Carlson continued.

While Trump made some points in his rant—Owens and Jones are raging conspiracy theorists with despicable track records—they aren’t jumping ship because they suddenly don’t like him. Carlson, Jones, and many of their ilk are leaving Trump because he broke the promises he made to MAGA.

This story has been updated.

Donald Trump is losing conservative support, and it’s setting him on edge.

The president posted a 482-word rant to his Truth Social account Thursday afternoon, lashing out at some of his longest supporters for their recent criticisms of the war in Iran. Some of the name-dropped acolytes include former Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, as well as far-right influencers who have made their stamp on MAGA politics, such as Candace Owens and Alex Jones.

Trump claimed that the conservative quartet had been “fighting” him “for years” because of their “low IQs.”

“They’re stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!” Trump continued. “Look at their past, look at their record. They don’t have what it takes, and they never did!”

The Republican icons turned on Trump earlier this week over his rhetoric in the war, torching the president for pledging to completely annihilate Iran and its civilization.

Carlson—once the largest figure in conservative media—described Trump’s language as “vile on every level” and “the most revealing thing the president has ever done.” Kelly went on air on SiriusXM Tuesday to proclaim that she’s “sick of this shit.”

“Can’t he just behave like a normal human?” Kelly asked rhetorically. “His negotiation tactic is to kill an entire country full of civilians: men, women, and children? An American president? So that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened? It’s just wrong. It’s not hard to say it; it’s not hard to recognize it.”

In his post Thursday, Trump claimed that the right-wing commentators were simply disagreeing with him for some “free” and “cheap” publicity.

While smearing the quartet, Trump mentioned that he felt Owens was less attractive than the first lady of France, Brigitte Macron.

“Actually, to me, the First Lady of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace, in fact, it’s not even close!” Trump wrote.

Macron and her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, have sued Owens for defamation after the far-right podcaster claimed that Brigitte Macron is transgender.

“They’re not ‘MAGA,’ they’re losers, just trying to latch on to MAGA,” Trump continued. “As President, I could get them on my side anytime I want to, but when they call, I don’t return their calls because I’m too busy on World and Country Affairs and, after a few times, they go ‘nasty,’ just like Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown.”

Despite the wordy rant, Trump then went on to insist that he “no longer care[s] about that stuff” and that he only cares about the country.

“MAGA is about WINNING and STRENGTH in not allowing Iran to have Nuclear Weapons,” the president wrote. “MAGA is about MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, and these people have no idea how to do that, BUT I DO, because THE UNITED STATES IS NOW THE ‘HOTTEST’ COUNTRY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!”

On Thursday, Melania Trump tried to deny having any connections to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, but the internet quickly produced receipts.

The first lady said in prepared remarks at the White House that the first time she met the sex criminal was in 2000 at an event she and Donald Trump had attended together, and that she had no knowledge of his crimes at the time. She also denied being a witness to any of them.

“Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been percolating on social media for years now,” she said. “Be cautious about what you believe. These images and stories are completely false. I am not a witness or a named witness in connection with any of Epstein’s crimes.”

Melania also called on Congress to hold a public hearing for all of Epstein’s victims in her remarks, a surprising move given the allegations against her husband in the Epstein files.

Why would Melania Trump say all of this now, out of the blue? Some on social media are speculating that she is trying to get ahead of a major upcoming revelation connecting her to Epstein. In February, several unredacted emails were released from the government’s Epstein archive showing that Melania was in frequent contact with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime criminal associate.

Commentators on X quickly posted one of those emails on Thursday in which Melania compliments Maxwell, as well as an often-circulated photo of Donald, Melania, Epstein, and Maxwell together at a party.

Melania’s remarks will likely draw more attention to the Epstein files, which had been pushed out of the news cycle thanks to the war with Iran. One wonders what the president thinks about her remarks, and whether they are by design.

First lady Melania Trump on Thursday called on Congress to hold a public hearing for all the women victimized by sex predator Jeffrey Epstein—a surprising development given her husband’s proximity to Epstein and the allegations against him within the files.

“I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors, give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony,” she said. “Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the congressional record.”

The first lady made the statement during a televised White House announcement on Thursday, most of which she used to reject any rumors or assertions that she had any relationship with Epstein or his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

“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 said. “To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell.”