As people across the country wait for the long-delayed release of the Epstein files and speculate about President Donald Trump’s appearance in the documents, a rather large reminder of the connection between the two men has appeared in the nation’s capital. The display of an alleged message from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein comes as legal wrangling continues over the release of files that could shed more light on the Epstein case.
Large reproduction of the birthday card Trump allegedly sent to Epstein
A 10-foot-tall display appeared on the National Mall overnight on Sunday, depicting a birthday card Trump allegedly sent Epstein, who was once his friend before the men had a falling out years ago. The display reproduces the contents of the card, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal last summer. The image includes a drawing of the outline of a naked woman and a message purported to be from Trump to Epstein for the latter’s 50th birthday in 2003, including the line “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” The image also includes Trump’s signature. Trump has denied that he wrote the note, claiming that his signature was forged and has sued The Wall Street Journal over the story, while the paper stands by its reporting.
The Secret Handshake, an anonymous group that has posted several other protest statues relating to Trump and Epstein at the same site, erected the reproduction of the card on the National Mall. Another statue depicted the two men holding hands. The birthday card display includes a box of Sharpie markers and a request for visitors to write a note to Trump on the card, while warning that any messages that are “promotional, violent, or hateful speech” will be removed. According to The Secret Handshake, the display was erected on Sunday, one day before Epstein’s birthday, and is permitted to remain on the National Mall until Friday.
Epstein file delay
The Trump-Epstein display comes as the public awaits the release of the Epstein files, Department of Justice documents relating to the case of the deceased sex offender. After months of Trump and his Republican allies opposing the release of the files, Congress voted near-unanimously to release the files by mid-December. Despite the legal requirement, the publication of the files has been fraught with technical difficulties and redactions that have obscured the information. Furthermore, although the deadline for releasing all the Epstein files came over a month ago, over 99% of the files have yet to be released. Democrats and Trump critics have called out the Department of Justice for violating the law with this delay. The Justice Department has fought legal efforts to appoint an outside official who would oversee the release of the remaining files.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, has attempted to deflect attention away from the president’s past connection with Epstein.
“Kudos to these Trump Deranged Liberals for constantly inventing new ways to light Democrat donor money on fire by spreading fake news,” read a statement by White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson in response to the birthday card display. Furthermore, many people have interpreted many of Trump’s recent extreme actions, such as invading Venezuela, sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Minnesota and threatening Greenland, as distractions from the Epstein material.
“Greenland, Venezuela, and Minnesota are all smoke screens. RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES,” reads one comment posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Trump has not been charged with any crime in connection with Epstein. But the Trump administration’s past opposition to releasing the Epstein files and its current refusal to comply with the law mandating their release continue to raise questions about why Trump and his allies seem intent on delaying the publication of this information.
