Politics'Melania Is Part of the Problem': Donald Trump's Marriage Is Fueling White House 'Dysfunction,' Author Michael Wolff Claims
A White House insider allegedly believes Melania Trump has become a 'huge liability.'
April 29 2026, Updated 4:39 p.m. ET
Could Melania Trump end up hurting her husband's presidency?
While discussing the first lady during a Tuesday, April 28, podcast episode, author Michael Wolff told host Joanna Coles that White House insiders feel she is becoming "a huge liability."
Teasing his latest podcast episode via Substack, Wolff claimed the "contrast between royal discipline and White House dysfunction” has become "impossible to ignore."
Michael Wolff pointed to Melania Trump's statement about Jeffrey Epstein as one of the reasons she's become a 'real problem.'
"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?'" Wolff divulged. "And this person said, 'Well, I didn't say it, but you said it.'"
Wolff explained President Donald Trump's third wife threw people for a loop when she recently decided to publicly deny having any association with Jeffrey Epstein.
"She managed to squarely put herself into the Epstein story," he said. "So everybody in within the white House, is like, 'Oh my God, the Melania situation is a real problem.'"
Earlier this month, The View's Ana Navarro notably dubbed Melania's statement "counterproductive," declaring, "If her objective was to close down any rumors about her, all she did was open up the Pandora’s box."
'Another Example of the Trump Family Grift'
He also noted the first lady's documentary didn't endear her to the public.
Michael further claimed the former model's "ridiculous" $40 million documentary also "engendered quite a bit of blowback."
"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," the journalist said, calling it "a bribe."
He went on to add that the White House also feels her scathing response to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel's "expectant widow" joke last week "backfired" and has "just drawn more attention to their peculiar marriage."
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The journalist also brought up her rant directed at Jimmy Kimmel.
In her message, the mother-of-one labeled Jimmy "a coward" and claimed his "hateful and violent rhetoric" is "dividing the country."
"His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she wrote via X on Monday, April 27.
Both Donald, 79, and Melania called for the comedian to be fired for making a joke about his old age.
'A Matter of Serious Concern'
'She's making obvious something is not right there,' podcast host Joanna Coles said.
"It has now become a matter of serious concern for the White House," Michael added, referring to Melania.
Chiming in, Joanna remarked that while Melania. 56, was previously "unknowable," she's been "letting the light in, and it's not great," because "she's making it obvious that something is not right here."
Donald married Melania, who was born in Slovenia and is 24 years his junior, in 2005. The longtime couple share one child together, Barron Trump.
