Michael Wolff, the controversial biographer whose name has become synonymous with sensational claims about President Donald Trump, reignited a political firestorm on August 15, 2025, with a new allegation involving Trump, the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, and the late Princess Diana. Speaking on the 'Inside Trump's Head' podcast, Wolff asserted, “They had a competition, Trump and Epstein. Of who would be the one, the first one to sleep with Princess Diana? ... They just understood, what could you get from these people? Both Trump and Epstein. What can you get from somebody, is the question you would always ask about anybody.”
Wolff’s claim was met with immediate and fierce pushback from the White House. Communications director Steven Cheung did not mince words, calling Wolff a “lying sack of st” and a fraud. Cheung accused Wolff of routinely fabricating stories, stating, “He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.” According to the White House, such allegations are nothing more than the latest in a series of baseless attacks by Wolff, who has long been a thorn in Trump’s side.
This latest controversy comes on the heels of another explosive claim by Wolff: that Donald Trump met Melania Trump through Jeffrey Epstein. The Daily Beast initially published this assertion but later retracted the article and issued an apology for any confusion or misunderstanding it may have caused. Despite the retraction, the story found new life when Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, repeated Wolff’s claims in a recent interview. Biden’s remarks set off a fresh round of recriminations and legal threats, with Melania Trump demanding a retraction and threatening to sue for more than $1 billion if Biden did not comply.
Melania Trump’s lawyer, Alejandro Brito, weighed in, calling the statements “false and defamatory” and emphasizing that they had been widely shared on social media, causing significant harm to the first lady’s reputation. The Trumps have consistently maintained that they were introduced by a modeling agent in 1998, a narrative that stands in stark contrast to the Epstein connection floated by Wolff and repeated by Biden. As Brito put it, the claim is simply not true, and the damage to Melania’s reputation is both real and ongoing.
Hunter Biden, for his part, has shown no signs of backing down. When asked if he would apologize for repeating Wolff’s allegations, he responded bluntly, “Fk that. That’s not going to happen.” This refusal to retract has only escalated tensions, with Melania Trump reportedly moving forward with her legal team. President Trump himself commented on the matter, stating, “Well, I said go forward, you know, I’ve done pretty well on these lawsuits lately, and I said, go forward with it.” According to AP, the legal battle lines are now clearly drawn: Melania Trump is prepared to take Hunter Biden to court if he does not retract his statements.
While the Trump camp fights back against what it describes as defamatory fiction, the broader issue of Trump’s relationship with Epstein continues to fuel debate across the political spectrum. On August 15, 2025, a letter to the editor by Richard Cochran of Big Rapids published in a major newspaper took direct aim at the so-called “MAGAverse” and its willingness to overlook Trump’s ties to Epstein. Cochran argued that supporters of “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) have long excused or dismissed Trump’s behavior, referencing not only the many photos and videos of Trump and Epstein together but also Trump’s own lewd confessions on the Howard Stern radio show about visiting the dressing rooms of unclad young girls. The letter also cited testimonies from women who accused Trump of unwanted sexual advances—allegations that have been vigorously denied by Trump and his supporters.
Cochran’s critique extended to the Religious Right, whom he accused of “citing Biblical injunctions of Christ-like values from one side of their mouth while pledging fawning obeisance to Trump’s glory out the other.” He concluded with two pointed maxims: “You are judged by the company you keep” and “lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas.” For Cochran, MAGA’s moral flexibility is at the heart of the ongoing controversy over Trump and Epstein—a view that resonates with many of Trump’s critics but is fiercely rejected by his base.
Meanwhile, the political ramifications of the Epstein saga are playing out on Capitol Hill. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has teamed up with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California in a bipartisan push to force the release of legal files from the Epstein investigation. They have scheduled a press conference for September 3, 2025, inviting some of Epstein’s victims to speak and updating the public on their efforts to secure a House vote on the matter. Massie’s campaign has not gone unnoticed by Trump, who has long viewed the Kentucky congressman as an adversary. Massie has opposed key elements of Trump’s agenda, including voting against the “Big Beautiful” budget bill, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will add $3.4 trillion to the deficit.
Trump responded by posting polling data on Truth Social showing Massie’s approval ratings plummeting—from +14 in June to -11 in August—making him, according to pollsters McLaughlin & Associates, “extremely vulnerable in a Republican primary election for Congress.” Trump has previously called Massie the “worst Republican Congressman” and has openly sought a primary challenger to unseat him. Massie, for his part, has suggested that his troubles with the MAGA Kentucky political action committee, which is running ads against him, may be due to the fact that one of its billionaire donors appears in Epstein’s “black book.”
As the fight over Epstein’s files continues, Massie remains focused on obtaining full access to the FBI and Department of Justice’s investigative records—files that could shed new light on Epstein’s connections, including his friendship with Trump, which lasted for more than a decade. The push for transparency has drawn praise from some quarters and skepticism from others, but it is clear that the story is far from over.
With accusations, denials, and legal threats flying from all sides, the intersection of politics, scandal, and the legacy of Jeffrey Epstein continues to shape the national conversation. Whether the truth will emerge from the fog of claims and counterclaims remains to be seen, but for now, the battle lines are drawn and the stakes could hardly be higher.
