First Lady Melania Trump's sweeping statement distancing herself from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein came under intense scrutiny as commentators and observers are at a loss to decipher what triggered the statement at a tumultuous time like the US-Iran war which entered a ceasefire phase now. Melania, in her statement, aid she was not Epstein's victim and she was not introduced to her husband, President Donald Trump, through Epstein. She set the record straight that she never set foot on Epstein's plane or private island.
Amanda Ungaro's legal action threat
The sudden clarification from Melania shed light on a Brazilian model, Amanda Ungaro. 41-year-old Ungaro made a series of social media posts targeting Melania Trumo and said she would take legal action against her and the President.
Ungaro was born in Brazil and arrived in New York in 2002 when she was 17. According to reports and records, she came to the US on an Epstein aircraft. She was present in Epstein's circle between 2002 and 2014. In 2014, she became Grenada's ambassador to the United Nations. She also got married to Paolo Zampolli, who now serves as the president's special envoy for global partnerships. They separated in 2021. Zampolli used to work as a modeling agent and that's how they came to know each other
Ungaro was arrested in Florida in 2025 on fraud-related charges and was deported later by the ICE as she was not present in the country legally, though she was in the elite circles of Donald Trump. Reports suggested that Zampolli wanted his ex-wife to be deported to get the custody of their son. But Zampolli denied any involvement.
It is unlikely that Melania Trump would be threatened by the social media statements of a woman who used to be in her circle but her office denied that. After Melania Trump's statement, Zampolli said he was ready to testify before Congress under oath that he introduced Donald and Melania Trump, not Epstein.
Melania Trump least popular First Lady ever
Just before Melania Trump's statement, a poll revealed that Melania is the least popular First Lady even wiith 'historically awful' approval rating which was recorded as -12, a significant decrease from +3 in January 2025. CNN Senior data analyst Harry Enten noted that other First Ladies, such as Michelle Obama, Jill Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush, all maintained net positive approval scores. "I would say that the American people really don’t care for Melania Trump," Enten said.
