What To Know
- Jimmy Kimmel posted a satirical birthday message to Donald Trump on Instagram,
- It quoted a controversial letter allegedly sent by Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, although Trump denied sending it and filed a lawsuit.
- Despite the dismissal, Trump recently filed a revised lawsuit.
Jimmy Kimmel’s latest birthday message to Donald Trump might seem sincere to anyone who hasn’t read a certain birthday letter bearing Trump’s name, one addressed to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Kimmel posted his message on Instagram on Sunday, June 14, as Trump turned 80. “Happy 80th Donald!” the text reads. “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
The late-night host is quoting a letter bearing Trump’s name that was sent to Epstein for the late financier’s 50th birthday in 2003. “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” that letter reads, as seen in an image The Wall Street Journal shared online in September 2025. The letter is signed with Trump’s name and bears a signature appearing to match the president’s.
A drawing surrounding the text of that letter appears to depict a naked woman’s body; a drawing surrounding the text of Kimmel’s birthday message seemingly shows Trump’s body.
Trump denied sending the Epstein birthday letter and sued the Journal’s publisher, its parent company, its CEO and chairman, and two of its reporters in federal court, alleging defamation and seeking billions in damages, as the newspaper reported.
The defendants argued that its reporting regarding the letter was true, that the newspaper never stated directly that Trump had written the letter, and that there was nothing defamatory about a bawdy letter written to a friend.
U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles dismissed the lawsuit, finding it didn’t sufficiently allege “actual malice.”
Two weeks ago, Trump filed a revised lawsuit, alleging that the defendants acted with actual malice in several aspects, as the Journal reported.
Kimmel also referenced Trump’s 80th birthday last week on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! “On Sunday, Donald ‘Jiggle Jugs’ Trump will turn 80 years old. And what do you get for the man who steals everything?” the comedian said. “And not only is Donald Trump expected to be our oldest president, he is our healthiest president — at least, according to the doctors he ordered to say that. A report in The Washington Post said that at his most recent checkup, Trump was seen by 22 specialists. … That’s not a medical team. That’s a soccer team.”