U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he hosts a dinner with Republican members of the U.S. Congress in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
The Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal is facing a $10 billion lawsuit from President Donald Trump in response to its bombshell report on a "bawdy" letter allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. Although the WSJ article never accused Trump of doing anything illegal, he is vehemently denying that he wrote the letter — which, the U.S. president insists, doesn't read like something he would write.
In an article originally published by Popular Information and republished by Mother Jones on July 23, journalist Jeff Legum compares the letter and Trump's rhetorical style. And he finds some parallels.
One of the words used in the alleged letter is "enigma," which, according to Legum, is a word Trump has used occasionally but not a lot.
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"The most distinctive single word in the letter is 'enigma," Legum explains. "Is it plausible that Trump, known for using simple language, would use that word? Trump's defenders do not believe so…. Trump also used the word 'enigma' twice in his 2004 book, 'Trump: How to Get Rich'…. Trump also used the term in his 1990 book, 'Trump: Surviving at the Top.'"
Legum notes that the alleged letter uses the "somewhat old-fashioned" word "pal," which Trump has occasionally used.
"Another distinctive feature of the letter is that it creates a fake dialogue between Trump and Epstein, in which Trump refers to himself in the third person," Legum notes. "Trump frequently refers to himself in the third person. A Washington Post analysis of this habit, published in 2019, refers to Trump as the 'third-person-in-chief'…. Trump also enjoys recounting conversations between himself and another person.."
Legum adds, "Many of these tales are apocryphal…. In other words, the form of the letter is consistent with one of Trump's favorite rhetorical devices."
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Read the full Jeff Legum at this Mother Jones link.