Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released the note attributed to President Donald Trump that appears in sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday book from 2003. The opening line is a quote from a children’s book by beloved author Maurice Sendak.
On Monday, the Epstein estate released a number of documents and files to the House Oversight Committee. While the bulk of the documents the committee received is currently unknown to the public, the official X account (formerly Twitter) of the Oversight Dems released a copy of the note.
Though the note had not been publicly seen until Monday, earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that its journalists had seen the letter in a book compiled by Epstein’s friends for his 50th birthday. The note features a drawing of a young female form with what appears to be Trump’s signature at the bottom. It depicts a fictional conversation between the author—identified only as “Donald”—and Epstein, opening with a line from a “voice over.”
“There must be more to life than having everything,” the voice over says.
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That line comes from Higglety Pigglety Pop by Sendak. The 1967 book is about Sendak’s pet dog Jennie going on adventures. The link to the book—which has also been adapted into an operetta in 1999—was first surfaced on Bluesky by journalist Ben Collins.
Has anybody noted that the first line in this is from the Maurice Sendak children's book Higglety Pigglety Pop?
— Tim Onion (@bencollins.bsky.social) 2025-09-08T19:31:32.083Z
This is not the only time Maurice Sendak has been linked with Donald Trump. In 1993, Sendak wrote the picture book We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy, which adapted two nursery rhymes. The book addresses the AIDS crisis and homelessness as well as other news of the day; though intended for children, the depth of the artwork means that adults can find much to enjoy as well. One page features an illustration of homeless children outside of Trump Tower. The children say “Lost!”, “Tricked,” “Trumped,” and “Dumped!” as a concerned moon looks on.
Image via Reuters