Melania Trump
Melania Trump appears at a public engagement as controversy unfolds over a late-night comedy segment (Photo: melaniatrumpworld/Instagram)

Melania Trump's recent controversies have continually cast doubts over her FLOTUS role, according to White House journalist Michael Wolff.

Wolff said White House insiders are starting to feel that Melania Trump is becoming 'a huge liability' to the administration. 'I said to a person I was speaking to this morning in the White House, 'So what you're saying is that she's become a wild card?'' he told Joanna Coles. 'And this person said, 'Well, I didn't say it, but you said it.''

Did Melania's Denial of Jeffrey Epstein Backfire?

Wolff said Melania's public denial of any association with Jeffrey Epstein had only drawn unwanted attention. 'She managed to squarely put herself into the Epstein story,' he said, adding, 'So everybody in the White House is like, 'Oh my God, the Melania situation is a real problem.''

Melania dismissed the claims as 'mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation' while speaking to White House reporters earlier this month. 'I have never had any knowledge of Epstein abuse of his victims,' she added, while advocating justice for the survivors. 'I was never involved in any capacity. I was not a participant.'

Critics Slam Melania Trump's 'Bribe' Documentary

The FLOTUS's eponymous documentary also sparked backlash inside the White House, according to Wolff. Melania was released in US theatres last January, grossing £12.4 million ($16.7 million) at the end of its run. The film was considered a box-office bomb, with a production budget of £29.6 million ($40 million) plus marketing.

'It's just another example of [the] Trump family grift that she was paid so much money from Amazon, and for what? For being the first lady. Really a bribe,' Wolff asserted. Melania was filmed with an accompanying three-part docuseries to be released on Amazon's streaming service.

TV host Jimmy Kimmel shared Wolff's sentiment last January, calling Melania a '$75 Million Bribe Amazon Made for Her.' 'According to the writer Michael Wolff, Melania is bigly upset that the murders in Minneapolis are overshadowing the release of the $75 million bribe — I mean, documentary — that Amazon made for her,' he joked.

Melania Trump Responds to Jimmy Kimmel's 'Expectant Widow' Joke

Kimmel eventually drew the FLOTUS's ire, but not for his Melania joke. Two days before the recent White House Correspondents' Dinner, Kimmel included a parody sketch of the event as part of his show's opening monologue. Kimmel roasted the president and Melania in the mock speech, calling the latter an 'expectant widow' at one point.

Melania lambasted Kimmel in the aftermath of the shooting, describing the latter's statement as an incendiary joke. Kimmel has since explained the joke's context, asserting that it was about Melania and Donald Trump's age gap, and not a reference to any assassination attempts.

Wolff said 'the White House people' opposed Melania's call to cancel Jimmy Kimmel's show. 'They see this Kimmel thing as also something that is backfiring, that backfired the first time and now it will it will backfire again.And there's the interpretation within the white House that this plays with a very particular MAGA.'

Wolff also criticised Donald Trump's response to the Jimmy Kimmel controversy, especially his alleged first attempt to cancel his show. 'Everybody else in the world says, says, you know, suck it up, man. You're the president of the United States,' he asserted. 'You know, anybody can say anything about you. Anybody should be able to say anything about you. Man up.'

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