First Lady Melania Trump has issued a 'Speech of Self-Defense' from the Cross Hall. She is calling for an end to the 'lies' linking her to the Jeffrey Epstein files. It was an extraordinary moment of poise and social gatekeeping. She didn't just deny the rumours; she debunked them as tacky.

The media's obsession with the 2012 yacht manifests is becoming a massive social faux pas. Howard Lutnick and the Mandelson-McSweeney phone scandal are hogging all the oxygen, but the real crime here is the lack of etiquette. Getting caught in a photo with a dead sex offender is simply bad branding.

Melania's demand for a public hearing for survivors is a masterstroke. It positions her as the ultimate bouncer, deciding who gets to speak and who is simply cluttering the news cycle. The Epstein files are the ghost that won't leave the party, and the First Lady is finally telling the ghost to find a new venue.

We should move on. The social calendar for 2026 is too full to be bothered by legacy scandals. If you are still talking about Epstein, you are essentially admitting you weren't invited to the better parties that came after. It’s time to close the book on 2012 and focus on the high-tech scandals of today.