New Trump-Epstein ‘Birthday Book’ Bombshell Is Deadly — and Trump Knows It
President Donald Trump’s latest Jeffrey Epstein bombshell is deadlier than most of the controversies he has weathered, and his actions show he’s keenly aware of this.
It has been almost two months since Trump flipped out and sued the Wall Street Journal after it dropped a hotly anticipated profile of the Trump-Epstein relationship that included a highly suggestive note — a cryptic 2003 birthday message framed by a crude doodle of a naked woman with a bushy signature where the pubic hair would be — the existence of which Trump’s attorneys have vehemently denied.
Trump reacted with a flurry of denials, telling WSJ, “I never wrote a picture in my life,” referring to a practice that most people describe as “drawing a picture.”
But it wasn’t long before Trump dropped an absurd excuse that implicitly acknowledged the letter’s existence, telling reporters that it could have been forged, perhaps by someone in the Biden administration.
That note was released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday. It was part of a trove of materials provided by the Epstein estate. It read exactly as the WSJ report described:
Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything.
Donald: Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.
Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.
Donald J. Trump
The coping mechanisms from pro-Trump Republicans have been comical, and have included the “Trump isn’t much of an artist” talking point that looks even more comical now that we can all see the drawing. The doodle is drawn with all the skill of a chimpanzee with an Etch-a-Sketch.
House Oversight Committee
Trump White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich each issued quasi-denials. Leavitt wrote on X/Twitter, “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it. President Trump’s legal team will continue to aggressively pursue litigation.”
“Time for @newscorp to open that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION!” Budowich wrote.
But Trump, who has spent months calling the letter a fake, conspicuously failed to repeat his denials when asked about the new release. He told NBC News, “I don’t comment on something that’s a dead issue. I gave all comments to the staff. It’s a dead issue.”
Here’s the thing, though — none of the White House responses have included a statement attributed to Trump. It’s just them asserting the signature isn’t real.
That’s an absurd claim on its face, as many others have pointed out. The signature is a close match to other documented examples from the same time period, including a book inscription that reads “TO JEFF — YOU’RE THE GREATEST!”
But it also requires the belief that someone forged Trump’s signature in 2003 and snuck it in with the rest of the creepy birthday cards to embarrass Trump 22 years later.
Trump knows he cannot make that forgery excuse stick, so he has made the decision to shoot himself out of the conversation and let his surrogates argue against reality on his behalf.
The release of the actual letter also reveals, in retrospect, just how damaging this revelation is. It shows that when the story was first released, Trump had to know that the letter was real and placed a $10 billion bet that no one would be able to produce it. He felt it was damaging enough to go to DEFCON One to create whatever doubt he was able to.
Epstein Summer has refocused attention on Trump’s history with women as a flood of unearthed recordings and quotes are given new life and significance, while critics try to paint the president as a longtime sex creep.
All of these queasy moments look even worse in the harsh light of Epstein Summer, in particular, the ones involving underage girls.
But there is a sinister secret handshake quality to this letter that pushes it over the dam beyond what many people have decided they can swallow when it comes to Trump.
There will always be a sizable number of Americans who will stick with Trump no matter what. For them, the absurdity and audacity of a lie is a feature, not a bug.
Close on the people who made him president, though, and they aren’t the people who protect him from accountability.
There is a big chunk of “normies” who voted for Trump despite the creepy stuff because they felt he made up for it in other ways, and there is another chunk of people who occupy positions of power who protects Trump because it is beneficial for their political aims.
It is these two groups with which he is most vulnerable, and Trump can’t afford to have them believing he was in the Jeffrey Epstein secret massage club.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
