Melania Trump
Melania Trump

The $40M Amazon documentary “Melania” obviously didn’t cut it. It probably made things worse.

Desperate to get her popularity rating into positive territory, Melania Trump delivered an out-of-the-blue statement to reporters on April 9, saying she had no relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Donald Trump must have fumed. He launched a war partly to make the world forget about the Epstein files, and now his wife put the sexual predator front and center while he is desperately searching for off-ramps to end his Iranian crisis.

The First Lady claims her six-minute appearance was designed to clear her “good name.” Since Melania's popularity rating checks in at -12 percent, it’s going to take a lot more than a one-shot event to make that happen.

She blew off her Oct. 23, 2002 “Dear GI” email to Epstein’s henchwoman, Ghislaine Maxwell, as casual correspondence, a “trivial note.”

In it, she complimented Maxwell on her photo that ran in New York Magazine and suggested that she should give her a phone call.

FLOTUS wrote: “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!” She signed off: “Love Melania.” That sure sounds pretty chummy.

Melania’s pitiful PR play seriously backfired. She called 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.”

Those Epstein survivors quickly shot down that idea as a distraction. Fifteen of them signed a statement, trashing 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.”

They also said Melania’s photo-op “diverts attention from Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors’ identities.”

Epstein survivors believe they have already shown courage by coming forward, testifying and filing reports. "Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs,” they wrote.

Instead of wasting everyone's time, Melania should whisper into the ear of her hubby, who has the power to deliver justice to the Epstein survivors.

That could get the First Lady’s popularity back into the plus column. She “enjoyed” a three percent positive score in January 2025.

Remember the Antipopes… Team Trump has denied reports that it tried to pressure Pope Leo into supporting its military adventures.

That’s good news.

The Pentagon was apparently upset to learn that peacenik Pope Leo said during his January State of the World address: “War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading.”

It’s totally insane that a Pentagon chowderhead referred to Avignon in his January meeting with the Vatican’s US ambassador Cardinal Christophe Pierre.

That’s like shouting “Remember the Alamo” in the streets of Mexico City

Seven “antipopes” presided in Avignon Palace from 1309 to 1376 because of a dispute between the French royals and Rome.

Where does Team Trump expect to base its antipope? Mar-a-Lago, which enjoys fine winter weather, probably has the inside track. It may lack grandeur of the Avignon Palace, but it will do in a pinch.

Pope Leo will soon score his own PR points. He declined a White House invite to attend July 4 festivities in Philadelphia.

On that day, he will be on the Italian island of Lampedusa, an entry point for migrants crossing the ghetto Mediterranean. Will Leo’s speech at Lampedusa, take aim at Team Trump’s harsh anti-immigration policies? Stay tuned.