Donald Trump once contributed to an album of birthday letters for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that included the president’s signature and a reference to “secrets” the two men shared, according to an explosive article published last week by the Wall Street Journal. But the Journal didn’t publish any images of the birthday letter, leaving people to wonder what it might have looked like. And social media users have produced quite a few cards made to look like the one described in the article, but they’re all fake.
The album was assembled by longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell in 2003 for Epstein’s 50th birthday, according to the Journal. It included letters from a number of the late sex offender’s friends, including not just Trump but billionaire Leslie Wexner and attorney Alan Dershowitz. Trump denies the letter exists and has sued the Wall Street Journal, as well as owner Rupert Murdoch, over the article.
What the real letter says (allegedly)
The Journal article described Trump’s letter as “several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker.” The article also said it had “small arcs” denoting a woman’s breasts and a squiggly “Donald” below the figure’s waist, “mimicking pubic hair.” The article was careful to note that it’s not clear how the letter with Trump’s signature was prepared, suggesting that Trump himself may not have hand-drawn any portion of it.
The letter allegedly includes an imagined conversation between Epstein and Trump where the two men say they “have certain things in common,” and it cryptically states that “enigmas never age,” reportedly concluding with the line, “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.” It’s weird, to say the least. But fake versions of the letter have drawn on these details to come up with their own visual take.
The Wall Street Journal has a strong reputation for accuracy, and it goes without saying that any claim involving Donald Trump’s relationship with Epstein would obviously be known to attract lawsuits. The president has sued CBS News and ABC News, organizations that have paid out massive settlements to Trump, even if legal experts believe the underlying cases were nonsense.
But the absence of any visual evidence for this letter to Epstein has not only left room for Trump to claim the letter doesn’t exist, but it’s also created a vacuum online where social media users can invent fake versions of the letter. And given how easy it is to create fake images these days, we’re seeing quite a few.
Fake letter #1
In one fake version of the drawing that’s currently circulating on X, the user implores others to help spread it. “Here is a hand drawn birthday note from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. Enjoy and definitely don’t share [wink emoji] He would hate that,” the tweet reads.
But there’s no evidence this one is real. In fact, the earliest instance we could find of this image being shared was by YourAnonNews, which notes, “This is an artist’s recreation of the letter. The original letter needs to be made public.” It’s not clear which “artist” may have created this fake letter.
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