‘Handwriting Analyst’ Trump’s alleged signature in Epstein birthday letter faces online forensics; here’s how X posts are picking apart every stroke

The controversy over Jeffrey Epstein’s files intensified on Monday, September 8, after House Democrats released a screenshot of a letter said to carry Donald Trump’s signature, though its authenticity remains disputed. The letter, included in a collection of notes sent to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003, had been reported by the Wall Street Journal in July, but Trump publicly denied its existence.

According to the image shared by Democrats, the note features a cryptic exchange between Trump and Epstein sketched inside the outline of a woman’s torso, with Trump’s alleged signature appearing just below the hips. The House Oversight Committee’s Democratic minority wrote on social media: “HERE IT IS: We got Trump’s birthday note to Jeffrey Epstein that the President said doesn’t exist.” It added, “Trump talks about a “wonderful secret” the two of them shared. What is he hiding? Release the files!”

Is it really Donald Trump's signature?

The online world has come alive with this question, with no definitive answer, and started a fresh political uproar, with debate now solely focused on the authenticity of the signature. Internet sleuths have already begun comparing the image with archived samples of Trump’s handwriting and autograph to argue both for and against its legitimacy.

Here are some posts that claimed that it was his genuine signature.




However, people on the opposite spectrum jokingly disputed this claim.

Trump once claimed a ‘handwriting analyst’

Along with the debate over his handwriting, Trump once claimed to be a handwriting analyst; in an old X post from 2013, he posted, "I am a handwriting analyst. Jack Lew’s handwriting shows, while strange, that he is very secretive—not necessarily a bad thing.”



He is referring to former US president Barack Obama's nominee for Treasury secretary, Jack Lew, who has a very loopy signature.

The old debate over Donald Trump’s signature

An article from the Fiscal Times 2017 explains, "Donald Trump’s signature has absolutely no curves, only angles." It added, "Curves in handwriting show softness, nurturing, and a maternal nature. Angles show a writer who is feeling angry, determined, fearful, competitive, or challenged.”

Other analysts have weighed in on the signature. Tracey Trussell of the British Institute of Graphologists told The Independent that its large writing, upright slant and long, tall letters reflect “wild ambition, dynamism, bravery and fearlessness … He's hungry for power and has both determination and stubbornness in spades.” She added that Trump’s style also suggests a protective side, especially toward his family.