U.S. President Donald Trump has denied creating drawings, despite several sketches attributed to him having surfaced over the years. According to The New York Times, Trump’s simple black marker drawings—mainly cityscapes and iconic buildings—have appeared at auctions since his time as a New York real estate developer. Often signed and donated to charity events in the early 2000s, these drawings have fetched thousands of dollars in resale.
However, Trump this week rejected a Wall Street Journal report claiming he created a sexually suggestive drawing in a 2003 birthday card addressed to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. "I don’t draw pictures," Trump wrote on Truth Social, denying involvement.
In response to the Journal’s article, Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit on Friday against the publication and its parent company, owned by Rupert Murdoch, alleging defamation and misinformation. A spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, called the report "fake news" and said the alleged drawing does not resemble anything Trump has ever produced.
Despite Trump’s recent denial, his 2008 book Trump Never Give Up acknowledged his charitable sketches, stating, "It takes me a few minutes to draw something… usually a building or cityscape of skyscrapers… but it raises thousands of dollars to help the hungry in New York."
One example is a 2004 New York skyline sketch signed by Trump, created for the Capuchin Food Pantry’s "Doodle for Hunger" auction. Sotheby’s listed the piece for sale in 2020.
Trump’s team also criticized The New York Times for reporting on the drawings, calling the coverage defamatory and politically motivated. The situation has ignited controversy around Trump’s past, his denial of artistic contributions, and the resurfacing of his links to Epstein through disputed artwork.