Donald Trump distanced himself from claims he sent a spicy, signed drawing of a naked woman to Jeffrey Epstein by insisting that he never drew pictures.
However, several doodles and artworks created by the president surfaced online on Thursday to directly contradict his claims. They suggest Trump regularly produced sketches adorned with his trademark signature.
In a Wall Street Journal article about a letter and drawing allegedly sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, the president’s emphatic denial includes the statement, “I never wrote a picture in my life.”
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In a flurry of frantic Truth Social posts on Thursday night, Trump doubled down on his lack of artistic skills. “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.”
The internet, though, always keeps the receipts—and there were some hefty clues that Trump may not be telling the truth.
In his 2008 book, Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges into Success, Trump wrote about his “new talent,” adding he usually draws for charity and that “it takes me a few minutes to draw something, in my case, it’s usually a building or a cityscape of skyscrapers.”
He continued: “Art may not be my strong point, but the end result is help for people who need it.”
The page in the book even includes one of Trump’s drawings.
In January, prestigious auction house Sotheby’s sold another Trump portrait, this one in his beloved color of gold, for $15,000.
The sketch, said to be “reminiscent of Riverside South development project in Manhattan”, was originally done for a celebrity art auction to benefit Capuchin Food Pantry, dubbed “Doodle for Hunger.”
While the picture was dated “2004″ by Trump, Sotheby’s states it was initially drawn in 2003, the same year he allegedly sent another doodle to his close friend Jeffrey Epstein.
The bombshell story in the Wall Street Journal claims that Trump contributed to a 50th birthday book collated for Epstein by Ghislaine Maxwell, which included bawdy sketches and letters from many of his friends.
Trump’s contribution allegedly included a sketch of a naked woman in black marker, with Donald scrawled below her waist to mimic pubic hair. The letter was signed off: “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump claimed on Truth Social that the letter was “FAKE.”
In 2017, another one of Trump’s signature New York City skyline drawings sold for $29,184. It was also originally done for charity in 2005. The same year, another NYC skyline doodle, originally created for the St Francis Food Pantries and Shelters and also drawn in 2005, sold for $20,000.
Julien’s Auctions also sold a Trump 2006 original they titled ‘George Washington Bridge’ for $4480. It is described as an “original ink illustration on paper” and “signed in black ink by Donald Trump lower center.” The drawing in the letter referenced in The Journal story was also in black marker.
In 2017, a sketch of the Empire State Building by Trump sold for $16,000 by Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles. Trump had originally drawn the sketch at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate for a charity auction, according to The New York Times. At that time, the sketch sold for less than $100.
Julien’s note that the artwork is “a hand-drawn sketch of the Empire State Building executed in black marker by Donald J. Trump and signed by Trump.”
The Daily Beast contacted the White House for clarification about whether Trump had indeed drawn before, following the resurfacing of artwork seemingly done by his hand.
The White House referred the Beast to the president’s Truth Social post.
