California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office has engaged in a highly aggressive social media campaign targeting President Donald Trump that directly includes renewed scrutiny of the president’s long-documented connection to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In particular, Newsom’s team has adopted the universal, fast-paced, confrontational style of communication often used by the Trump campaign and is using it to mock the president and first lady Melania Trump.
Trolling narrative about “America’s Power Couple”.
The first blow in the recent campaign came after the White House’s social media channels shared a post describing the president and first lady Melania Trump as “America’s power couple.” Melania Trump made a rare appearance to unveil a new initiative targeting children in foster care when the original photo was shared.
Newsom’s team quickly responded to the post by sharing a still image from archived footage from 1992 of Donald Trump alongside Jeffrey Epstein. The team followed up the next day, mocking the White House’s attempt at public relations with a scathing quote: “The Internet knows who the real power couple is.
This immediate and direct mention of Epstein and the nature of Trump’s association served to immediately redirect the public conversation away from the first lady’s initiative and toward the president’s historical context.
“Get a president who can do both” counter.
The second swipe from Newsom’s team came after a post from the “Trump War Room” account.
After the president appeared at the McDonald’s Impact Summit, the account posted a picture of him speaking on stage alongside a picture of him working a McDonald’s fryer, joking: “Get a president who can do both.”
Newsom’s team quickly responded, posting an unflattering photo of Trump against a McDonald’s backdrop, paired with a photo of the president and first lady next to Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The intention was to tie the president’s public image directly to the ongoing Epstein scandal.
Context of the renewed Epstein investigation
The timing of Newsom’s campaign was designed to maximize political impact, coinciding with major new revelations surrounding the Epstein case. On November 12, more than 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate were released. Among the documents was an email from Epstein that suggested Trump had closer ties to the network than previously acknowledged, a point highlighted by congressional Democrats.
In an email, Epstein wrote to Ghislaine Maxwell: “I want you to realize that the dog that didn’t bark is a trump card..(The victim) spent hours with him at my house.”
Trump immediately called the release a “fraud” but later reversed course and urged House Republicans to vote on releasing the records. The president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or knowledge related to Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.
