Does a viral image match the description of the birthday note Donald Trump sent to Jeffrey Epstein as given in a July 17, 2025 Wall Street Journal story? No, that's not true: Several elements in the image do not match the description in the article, such as the location of the text relative to the drawing and missing elements in the text. The article also didn't mention any Trump Organization letterhead, an odd thing to omit given the level of detail provided about the other elements.
An example of the image appeared in a post on X (archived here) published on July 20, 2025 with a comment that read:
The WSJ isn't F****** around...
This was the image in question:
(Image source: screenshot of the @ItsDeanBlundell account on x.com made by Lead Stories)
It referenced an image described in a July 17, 2025 Wall Street Journal story titled "Jeffrey Epstein's Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump." (archived here), in which a letter with an image is described as:
The letter bearing Trump's name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy--like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman's breasts, and the future president's signature is a squiggly "Donald" below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.
The letter concludes: "Happy Birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret."
and
It isn't clear how the letter with Trump's signature was prepared. Inside the outline of the naked woman was a typewritten note styled as an imaginary conversation between Trump and Epstein, written in the third person.
"Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything," the note began.
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.
However the story did not contain any depictions or photographs of the letter itself.
The viral image differs in several ways from the description.
Framing
Specifically, the article says: "It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker". Most of the lines in the viral image are not framed by the outline of the woman. The article specifically says the "note styled as an imaginary conversation" was "inside the outline of the naked woman", which is not the case in thie image.
Arcs
It also says: "A pair of small arcs denotes the woman's breasts". The arcs in this image are thick and heavy and occupy almost a quarter of the drawing.
Missing elements
According to the article the last line of the "imaginary conversation" supposedly says:
Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret.
However in the image the "Trump: " is missing, as is the " -- ".
Letterhead
The viral image uses letterhead from The Trump Organization as the background. An example of a Trump letter sold on an auction site (archived here) seems to confirm this is indeed what it looks like. It is odd that the Wall Street Journal would choose to omit this detail from their description, given the level of detail provided about the other elements in it.
Conclusion
Whatever this image is, it does not match the description in the Wall Street Journal.
Other fact checks
At least one other viral image that claims to show the letter is circulating, read our analysis about that one here.
