Trump Says He Doesn't 'Draw Pictures.' But Many of His Sketches Sold at Auction.

[Celerity]

The president disputes reporting from The Wall Street Journal that he drew a picture for Jeffrey Epstein, but as a real estate mogul, he often sketched for charity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/18/us/politics/trump-drawings-epstein.html

https://archive.ph/nYoHD



President Trump mounted a vigorous rebuttal on Thursday night to a report in The Wall Street Journal that he sent a birthday greeting with a sexually suggestive drawing to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. His alibi: “I don’t draw pictures,” he wrote on Truth Social. But a review of the president’s past reveals that, for years, Mr. Trump was a high-profile doodler — or at least suggested he was. In the early 2000s, he regularly donated drawings to charities in New York.

The drawings, many of which appear to be done with a thick, black-marker and prominently feature his signature are not dissimilar to how The Journal describes the birthday note he sent Mr. Epstein. “It takes me a few minutes to draw something, in my case, it’s usually a building or a cityscape of skyscrapers, and then sign my name, but it raises thousands of dollars to help the hungry in New York through the Capuchin Food Pantries Ministry,” he wrote in his 2008 book, “Trump Never Give Up: How I Turned My Biggest Challenges Into Success.”

After Mr. Trump was elected president, some of the drawings he signed were auctioned off for thousands of dollars — even as he wrote in his book that “art may not be my strong point.” The president has denied reports before — only for them to later be confirmed by audio or photos, such as his comments captured on “Access Hollywood” in which he bragged about grabbing women’s genitals, or photos of him flushing documents down the toilet.



The focus on Mr. Trump’s drawings comes as many of his most ardent supporters are calling for transparency around the investigation into Mr. Epstein, who was in a Manhattan jail cell awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges when he died by suicide in 2019. On Thursday night, Mr. Trump said he was authorizing Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the public release of grand jury testimony from the prosecution of Mr. Epstein.

snip

[David__77]

1. Interesting.

It all made sense to me as his except the tree, which I thought would necessarily have taken just a bit more time than I would have thought he would take.

[Celerity]

2. it's a money tree, so I assume he did not tire of drawing money, lolol

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Maddow blog-As Trump threatens the WSJ over new Epstein report, his 'picture' claim looks sketchy

Responding to a report about his former relationship with Epstein, Trump said, “I never wrote a picture in my life." The record suggests otherwise.

Are you surprised that something he said is demonstrably untrue?

As Trump threatens the WSJ over new Epstein report, his 'picture' claim looks sketchy www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo... via @msnbc

— Richard, Democratic activist, ❌👑 (@resist4747.bsky.social) 2025-07-18T21:06:17.986Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-threatens-wsj-new-epstein-report-picture-claim-looks-sketchy-rcna219545

The letter, the Journal reported, was “among the documents examined by Justice Department officials who investigated Epstein and Maxwell years ago, according to people who have reviewed the pages.” From the article:

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.’

.....In the latter missive, the president wrote, in reference to the letter attributed to him, “These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures.” The Republican made similar on-the-record comments to the Journal, which quoted him saying, “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story. I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”.....

The New York Times reported during the president’s first term, for example, on a 2005 sketch of the Manhattan skyline that Trump drew and signed, which sold at auction for more than $29,000. He signed other drawings that also sold for considerable sums.

What’s more, in his 2008 book, “Never Give Up,” Trump wrote about his annual habit of donating autographed “doodles” to be auctioned for charity.

[BigmanPigman]

4. He never "wrote a picture"

Ha! I had to think about it for a second when I heard this. I asked myself, "Could he draw a word".

You CAN draw words, lots of artists incorporate letters and words in their subject matter for an illustrations.

[malaise]

5. His signature will get him

Take that to the bank

[moondust]

6. Did somebody else draw them?

And he just signed his name on them for the publicity?