Janelle Irwin Taylor
Responding to the latest reports about a letter reportedly sent from President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003, the Democratic National Committee is targeting several incumbent members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina.
Paulina, who represents Florida’s 13th Congressional District, is the only Florida-based representative targeted. Four others are also being targeted in their districts, based in Arizona, California, Iowa and New York.
The digital ads include the actual image of a drawing Trump included in a letter to Epstein for his 50th birthday, a woman’s silhouette, including her bust. The ad consists of highlighted sections for emphasis, including “We have certain things in common, Jeffrey,” and “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
The highlighted excerpts are part of a broader written dialogue, apparently imagined by Trump with Epstein, responding to what the drawing describes as a voice-over declaring, “there must be more to life than having everything.”
The drawing then pivots to Trump responding, “Yes, there is, but I won’t tell you what it is,” followed by Epstein saying, “Nor will I, since I also know what it is.”
The following line is the highlighted excerpt about having “certain things in common.”
The drawing is signed with Trump’s first name, a black scribble in approximately the space where the woman’s pubic area would be.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the drawing in July. Trump denied he drew it and sued the Journal over its reporting. Now that the drawing is public, released by Democrats after it was uncovered as part of a House Oversight Committee inquiry, Trump has said it’s a dead issue and his supporters are arguing the drawing is fake because the signature on it does not match Trump’s official signature. However, other signatures made in less formal settings, when Trump used only his first name, do appear to match the one in the drawing.
The DNC digital ad also includes a photo of Trump and Epstein together, with the “certain things in common” quote printed over it. At the bottom, the ad issues a call to action to voters to “Call Rep. Anna Paulina Luna” and, in all caps, “demand they release the files,” a reference to the infamous Epstein files that Trump himself once said should be released.
“Donald Trump is hiding something, and Republicans in Congress are covering for him,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said of the latest ads. “Trump originally clamored to release the Epstein Files, but now that he knows he’s named in them, he calls them a hoax.
“Trump said that he never wrote and signed a lewd birthday card to Epstein, but now that the American people can see the letter with their own eyes, he says his signature is fake. If House Republicans can’t even stand up for the victims and survivors of a notorious sexual predator, if they won’t even call out the president for a blatant government cover-up, then how can their voters trust them?”
The ads will run on “several social media platforms,” the DNC said.
While the ads are paid for by the DNC, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has listed Luna as one of three “vulnerable” Republicans in Florida, putting her District 13 in its “Districts in Play” program for the 2026 Midterm Election cycle, along with Cory Mills in Florida’s 7th Congressional District, and Maria Elvira Salazar in Florida’s 27th Congressional District. The DNC ad only targets Luna.
Other Republicans targeted as part of the latest DNC ad campaign include Reps. Eli Crane of Arizona, David Valadao of California, Marionette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, and Mike Lawler of New York.
