Donald Trump Jr defends father after WSJ's 'fake' Epstein report: 'I've never seen him doodle once'

Despite denials from Trump and his son, the president had doodled in the past, as several of his drawings from the 1990s and early 2000s resurfaced
PUBLISHED JUL 19, 2025
After the Wall Street Journal’s explosive report, Don Jr defended his father President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
After the Wall Street Journal’s explosive report, Don Jr defended his father President Donald Trump (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, rushed in to defend his father following a bombshell report by the Wall Street Journal on Jeffrey Epstein and the POTUS.

On Thursday, July 17, the newspaper published an article mentioning that Donald Trump was one of the many people who sent a salacious birthday card to the disgraced financier back in 2003. Trump and several other MAGA followers slammed the report.



 

Donald Trump Jr defends his father following WSJ's bombshell Epstein report

The president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was quick to defend his father and lash out at the publication.

He took to the social media platform X on Friday, July 18, and wrote, "My father has a very specific way of speaking. People all over the world have mimicked it for decades."

He continued his post while slamming WSJ, "The insanity written in the Wall Street Journal, AIN’T IT and everyone knows it. Also in 47 years I’ve never seen him doodle once. Give me a break with the fake 'journalisming'."

Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, 1997. (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)
Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida, 1997 (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images)

The article published by the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump once sent Epstein a letter to mark his 50th birthday that contained a lewd drawing of a nude woman.

However, despite claims by Don Jr and the president himself, Trump has doodled before, as many of his drawings from the 1990s and early 2000s resurfaced on Thursday. It included a cityscape that was reportedly drawn a year after the Epstein letter was sent.

The Wall Street Journal published the article amid the nation’s curiosity over the Epstein Files.

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a signing ceremony for the “GENIUS Act” in the East Room of the White House July 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. The act, formally known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, was passed this week by the U.S. Congress.. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump arrives for a signing ceremony for the 'GENIUS Act' in the East Room of the White House July 18, 2025, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Serious questions have been asked by Trump’s most loyal media surrogates representing the MAGA movement, who have now turned on the Trump administration, in particular the Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The president slammed the report and posted his intent to pursue legal action against the publication and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, on Truth Social.



 

He wrote, "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 ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper."

MAGA followers defend Donald Trump following WSJ report

Like Donald Trump Jr, many Trump loyalists and MAGA supporters chimed in to defend the POTUS following the bombshell Wall Street Journal report.

Vice President JD Vance took to X and wrote, "Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bulls**t. The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it. Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?"



 

He further added, "Doesn’t it violate some rule of journalistic ethics to publish a letter like this without showing it to the victim of this hit piece? Will the people who have bought into every hoax against President Trump show an ounce of skepticism before buying into this bizarre story."

Meanwhile, Elon Musk bluntly wrote, "Yeah, the letter sounds bogus," while replying to similar claims made by Megyn Kelly.



 

Similarly, conservative commentator Laura Loomer also chimed in and claimed that the reported letter is fake.

She wrote, "I’m calling bulls**t on this Trump 'birthday letter' to Epstein. It’s totally fake. Everyone who actually KNOWS President Trump knows he doesn’t type letters. He writes notes in big black Sharpie. Trust me, I would know. He doesn’t use email and he doesn’t type write. He writes messages in big black Sharpie."



 

Donald Trump sues Wall Street Journal for its reporting

President Trump filed a libel lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and its reporters who wrote the article about the alleged "Birthday letter" given by the POTUS to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.

The lawsuit, which seeks at least $20 billion, is an escalation of Trump’s ongoing legal campaign against many media companies.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks to Republican senators during a dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House on July 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump hosted the dinner to celebrate the Senate's recent passage of legislation. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump delivers remarks to Republican senators during a dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House on July 18, 2025, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In the 18-page filing, the president's legal team accused the Journal’s parent company of engaging in "glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting."

The filing notes that the Journal, in its story, did not publish the drawing or the letter that its reporters claimed Trump authored.

Trump’s lawyer wrote in the lawsuit, “The reason for those failures is because no authentic letter or drawing exists,” which was filed in a federal court in Miami.

Donald Trump greets Crown Prince of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa as he arrives outside the West Wing of the White House on July 16, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Trump is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting and working lunch with the Crown Prince during the visit. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Donald Trump greets Crown Prince of Bahrain Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa as he arrives outside the West Wing of the White House on July 16, 2025, in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Moreover, Trump had threatened to sue almost immediately after the story, written by WSJ reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, was published late Thursday afternoon.

Meanwhile, both reporters are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

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