The inspiration behind US First Lady Melania Trump's incendiary public statement has been revealed.
Just yesterday (9 April), the wife of Donald Trump stunned everybody listening by separating herself from Jeffrey Epstein's many crimes, which she'd kept schtum on for months prior.
"I am not Epstein's victim," she said. "Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump."
Melanie's words may have been a calculated strategy to get ahead of the game - is a story about to be published about her links to Epstein?
Advert
The Trumps, Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell were snapped together at a number of parties in the 1990s and 2000s, but the presidential couple severed all ties with the late financier before their wedding in 2005.
In her address, the 55-year-old conceded that they were in the same 'social circle', yet she knew nothing of Epstein's sex trafficking antics.
Just 24 hours later, the world is still reeling from her comments, but what does Melania's senior advisor Marc Beckman make of it all?
He told The New York Post in the aftermath: "First Lady Melania Trump spoke out now because enough is enough.
"The lies must stop. It is time for the public and media to focus on her incredible achievements as First Lady, the lives she has positively impacted, and her commitment to our nation."
Melania's husband is said to have known nothing about her intentions ahead of the presser, which was announced by the East Wing on Wednesday, 8 April.
"The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today," she said in front of the cameras.
"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. My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success."
TV body language expert and author Judi James has since weighed in on the First Lady's demeanour, too.
"Her entrance walk is almost a march as opposed to her normal, elegant 'catwalk' style," she told The Express.
"Her severe grey suit with its sharp tailoring and padded shoulders give a look reminiscent of her 'boardroom' pose of her official White House portrait, suggesting a desire to appear firm and businesslike. There is a sense of personal determination from Melania here in a brief speech that, by her normal standards, is firm, emphatic and delivered with power, purpose and authority."
Topics: Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, Politics
Dan Seddon