Democratic commentator James Carville publicly apologized to first lady Melania Trump on an episode of his podcast Politics War Room on Thursday and removed segments of the previous week’s episode that alleged a connection between the first lady and convicted sex offender Jefferey Epstein. 

“After the episode, we received a letter from Melania Trump’s lawyer. He took issue with our title of one of those YouTube videos from that episode and a couple of comments I made about the first lady. We took a look at what they complained about, and we took down the video and edited out those comments from the episode. I also take back these statements and apologize,” Carville said.

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In the previous week’s episode, Carville and podcast cohost Al Hunt spoke with progressive writer Judd Legum about President Donald Trump’s connections with Epstein. Carville mentioned Melania Trump in the episode and titled a since-deleted YouTube clipping of the episode “The Epstein Connection – Trump & Melania”.

“First Lady Melania Trump’s attorneys are actively ensuring immediate retractions and apologies by those who spread malicious, defamatory falsehoods. The true account of how the First Lady met President Trump is in her best-selling book, ‘Melania’,” Nick Clemens, communications director for the first lady, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.

Melania Trump celebrated Carville’s apology on X. She shared a screenshot of his apology transcript and a large, red X over the taken-down YouTube clip.

In July, Melania Trump posted an excerpt from her memoir Melania on X that shares the story of how she originally met her current husband. In the excerpt, she describes Donald Trump walking up to her and her friends’ VIP table one night at the Kit Kat Klub in New York City, along with his date to the function. Trump introduced himself to then Melania Knaus, and she characterized the interaction as a “brief encounter that left a lasting impression.”

Earlier this month, Melania Trump’s lawyers also contacted The Daily Beast over an article that included reporter Michael Wolff’s claims that the now president and first lady were introduced through a modeling agent connected to Epstein. Hunter Biden also pushed the false claim in an interview this week. The Daily Beast removed the article and replaced it with an editor’s note. 

TRUMP AND MURDOCH CUT DEAL NOT TO EXPEDITE DEPOSITION IN WALL STREET JOURNAL LAWSUIT

“After this story was published, The Beast received a letter from First Lady Melania Trump’s attorney challenging the headline and framing of the article. After reviewing the matter, the Beast has taken down the article and apologizes for any confusion or misunderstanding,” the editor’s note reads.

Melania Trump also posted a celebratory X post when The Daily Beast removed the article.