Trump Says It’s Not His Signature. But Personal Letters Look Similar.
Donald Trump’s signature has evolved over the years, but when signing just his first name, he often includes the same flourish at the end.
By Russ Buettner and Lazaro Gamio
After the release of a lewd birthday message to Jeffrey Epstein containing what appeared to be Donald J. Trump’s signature, the White House called the document a fake.
Taylor Budowich, the deputy chief of staff for communications, posted on social media several recent photos of the president’s signature to make the point.
Time for @newscorp to open that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION! https://t.co/O6iKk4SYF5 pic.twitter.com/T0wlp36P9h— Taylor Budowich (@TayFromCA) September 8, 2025
Time for @newscorp to open that checkbook, it’s not his signature. DEFAMATION! https://t.co/O6iKk4SYF5 pic.twitter.com/T0wlp36P9h
Mr. Trump’s wavy signature, once described as resembling a seismograph, has evolved over the years. But one distinct difference between the signatures on Mr. Budowich’s posts and the Epstein birthday card is that the birthday card has only a signed first name for Mr. Trump, something he has typically reserved for personal notes.
Several letters that Mr. Trump wrote to New York City officials from 1987 through 2001 show him signing only his first name, and those signatures closely match the first-name only version of Mr. Trump’s signature on the Epstein note. One obvious similarity is that they all include a long tail following the final “d” of his first name. He has not typically included such a tail when signing with both his first and last names.
2003 drawing for Epstein's birthday book
June 2001 letter to Rudy Giuliani
Dec. 1998 letter to two
New York City officials
July 1998 letter to Rudy Giuliani
June 1995 letter to Rudy Giuliani
May 1987 letter to a
New York City official
to two New York
to a New York
The New York Times
The New York Times obtained copies of the documents several years ago from the official New York City archives of Mayors Rudolph W. Giuliani and Edward I. Koch. The letters were retrieved during research for Times articles and for research for a book written by the Times reporters Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig.
July 1998 letter to Rudy Giuliani
June 2001 letter to Rudy Giuliani
The New York Times
Russ Buettner is an investigative reporter. He has written extensively about the finances of Donald J. Trump.
Lazaro Gamio is a Times graphics editor using data visualization, maps and diagrams to report the news.