Donald Trump’s signature trended big time on social media as former pen pals laughed off his claim that the letter attributed to him in the Jeffrey Epstein birthday book was a fake.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted on Monday, soon after the House Oversight Committee published the infamous birthday book in full, that the bawdy signed sketch was not her boss’ handiwork.
“As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it,” Leavitt posted on X.
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But that did nothing to stop people from comparing the similarities between the signature on the Epstein birthday greeting from 2003 with scores of other Trump autographs going back to the 1980s.
A photograph of Trump signing a woman’s chest during a campaign rally in 2015 circulated online, including the president using his beloved black marker.
The president’s niece—and regular foe—Mary Trump posted on X, “That’s definitely his signature. Just saying.”
MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell did a side-by-side comparison of the “fake” Epstein letter signature and a signature he previously received on a note sent by Trump, saying they were “strikingly similar.”
He noted, “You’ll see all the basic shapes are exactly the same, all of the grand strokes are exactly the same, those two signatures are more alike than any two exemplars of my signature, which varies day to day and signature to signature.”
Social media was swamped with people sharing Trump signatures that looked uncannily like the one the president has claimed is fake, despite the birthday book coming from the Epstein estate, which would mean someone would have had to infiltrate the fake letter among the estate’s stash of documents.
Another former Trump associate, the lawyer George Conway, posted a letter sent to him by Trump in 2006 that demonstrated his familiar signature, which is different from his current signature.
An article by The New York Times compared how Trump’s signature had evolved from 1987 to 2003, which was the year Epstein turned 50.
Leaving Leavitt to do his talking for him, Trump did not find time on Monday to post on Truth Social about the release of the Epstein birthday book, sticking to congratulating footballer Nick Bosa for an “unbelievable play” in the San Francisco 49ers’ win over Seattle.
Trump denied having penned the letter when The Wall Street Journal printed a story about the birthday book, which was assembled by Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. He later launched a $10 billion lawsuit against the newspaper and its owner, Rupert Murdoch.
“The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures,” the president claimed on Truth Social in July.
“I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his a-- off, and that of his third rate newspaper.”
Regular MAGA mouthpieces were quick to point out the difference between the 2003 signature and Trump’s current presidential signature.
Right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson posted on X, “The Wall Street Journal just released the ‘letter’ they claim President Trump sent to Epstein… Is this really the best they could do? Trump has the most famous signature in the world. Time to sue them into the oblivion.”
Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann also posted side-by-side comparisons of the signature Trump says is “fake” and one he received from the president in 2014.
“Sorry MAGA,” Olbermann posted on X. “That’s Trump’s signature. Compare it to the one on his letter to me. You would’ve been smarter (lol) to claim it was a copy or tracing or a xerox or stolen from my letter but no... you’re not smarter.”
