A body language specialist has shared her assessment of Melania Trump’s appearance and tone after the first lady issued a public statement addressing Jeffrey Epstein and denying claims he introduced her to Donald Trump.
On April 9, Melania made an uncommon on-the-record statement from the White House, arguing that reports suggesting she had connections to Epstein should stop immediately.
She said: “The lies linking me to the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.
“The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect.”
She continued by stressing that she was not personally connected to Epstein, while acknowledging they sometimes appeared at the same events due to shared social circles.
Melania went on added: “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.
“To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell.”
In the same statement, she also responded to renewed attention around an email she sent to Ghislaine Maxwell in 2002 in which she referenced Epstein.
The message that was released as part of the Epstein files in January read: “Nice story about JE [Jeffrey Epstein] in NY mag. You look great on the picture.
“I know you are very busy flying all over the world. How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY. Have a great time! Love, Melania.”
Melania addressed the email directly, characterising it as insignificant and not reflective of any deeper connection.
Melania has now spoken out about this message directly and said in yesterday’s statement: “My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorised as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note.”
After the statement, TV body language expert and author Judi James commented on Melania’s presentation during the appearance, focusing on her movement, styling, and delivery.
“Her entrance walk is almost a march as opposed to her normal, elegant ‘catwalk’ style,” she told The Express, adding: “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.”
James also suggested that the delivery itself felt more forceful than the public typically sees from Melania.
Judy went on: “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.”
She added that the language used projected what she interpreted as authority and frustration, pointing to descriptors such as “disgraceful” when referencing Epstein.
It is still not clear why Melania chose to address the issue at this point, coming more than two months after the Department of Justice released over 3,000,000 files relating to the convicted offender.