After a Congressional committee released Jeffrey Epstein’s “birthday book” that included a cryptic and lewd homemade card allegedly sent to the notorious child sex trafficker by President Donald Trump, the White House jumped on social media to deny its authenticity.
The production of the 2003 letter, which was provided to Congress directly by the Epstein estate, flew in the face of previous White House claims it was a hoax that followed a bombshell Wall Street Journal report about it in July. Trump sued the Journal for $20 billion, claiming the newspaper had libeled him and that “no authentic letter or drawing exists.”
When it was released on Monday the White House seized on Trump’s signature in the letter, which was positioned to represent a woman’s pubic area, and claimed it didn’t match Trump’s usual signature.
“As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,” wrote spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a Monday post on X. “This is FAKE NEWS to perpetuate the Democrat Epstein Hoax!”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich also claimed the signature didn’t match, writing on X that it was time for News Corp, the Journal’s parent company, to “open that checkbook” for its “DEFAMATION!”
And strongly supporting those claims was Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, a close Trump ally and 2024 campaign surrogate, who claimed in an interview with CBS News on the Capitol steps that the signature was bogus.
“From what I see, it’s not his signature,” said Donalds, who is now running for Florida governor as the Trump-endorsed frontrunner. “I’ve seen Donald Trump sign a million things.”
“This doesn’t look like his signature to you,” a reporter asked.
“Nope,” Donalds answered.
Unfortunately for Donalds, the “signature doesn’t match” talking point was discredited in lightning speed. The signature on the card, which was signed only “Donald” without his last name, was in fact extremely similar to numerous others that soon surfaced in the media, including one Trump signed under a note to Epstein in 1997 calling his former close friend “the greatest.”
One of the attacks against Donalds on his X account.
And now the clip is being used against Donalds in furious fashion. It was included in a montage on “The Daily Show,” during which host Michael Kosta called such defenses “embarrassing.” The New Republic included Donalds’ claim in its list of the “most pathetic” excuses for the birthday card. The Bulwark, a left-leaning publication, wrote that Donalds was “foolish” and “declined to see reality.” Social media content producers have had a field day with it.
The New York Times reported on Donalds’ denial as well in an article ending with a quote from Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, which obtained the 22-year-old birthday book from Epstein’s estate, claiming Donalds and other Republicans in Congress who’ve weighed in on the Epstein birthday card “are “baldfaced lying and they know that they are lying for Donald Trump.”
Florida Democrat Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried also commented in a statement to the Florida Trident, alleging Donalds is “willing to stand up for a convicted sex offender” while ignoring the country’s “affordability crisis.”
“Floridians deserve better representation than someone who is just going to parrot discredited White House talking points,” Fried said.
The backlash also hit Donalds’ own X account, with critics seizing on his signature gaffe and calling him a “pedophile protector,” among other harsh criticisms.
Donalds has been one of Trump’s top Congressional supporters and was one of the president’s key campaign surrogates during the 2024 presidential campaign, stumping for him in several cities. He’s now touting Trump’s endorsement to win the Florida governorship and has been in lockstep with the White House on virtually every issue — from tariffs to anti-immigration tactics to National Guard deployments in American cities.
At press time, Donalds’ press office had yet to respond to a request for an interview regarding his statement about the purported Trump signature and stance on the Epstein card.
About the author: Trident senior editor Bob Norman is a veteran investigative journalist whose work has won dozens of awards and led to criminal charges and the removal of several corrupt public officials. He can be reached at norman@flcga.org.
The Florida Trident is an investigative news outlet focusing on government accountability and transparency across Florida. The Trident was created and first published in 2022 by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, a non-profit organization that facilitates local investigative reporting across the state.