White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino has sparked an uproar with a tacky flex on social media.
Scavino, 50, posted what appears to be an AI-generated video showing him popping champagne with what seems to be his second wife, Erin Elmore, and the president’s son Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump. The video is set to the tune of Pitbull’s hit song “Don’t Stop the Party.”
In the caption of the video, he wrote, “This is not an intended for the Dems heads to explode—Being some of the post State Dinner party has gotten out, I felt inclined to share mine as well, in complete transparency, with the American People. GOD BLESS THE USA!!!♥️🤍💙🇺🇸🦅🚀"
It’s not the Democrats Scavino needed to watch out for, however, as the video infuriated prominent conservatives. Especially as Republicans look to hone in on their messaging strategy ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which, if polling holds, will be a disaster for the GOP at the ballot box.
Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the center-right outlet The Dispatch, responded, sarcastically saying, “This is precisely the midterm messaging the GOP needs from the Deputy White House Chief of Staff.”
“You really have no shame, do you? Many Americans can’t afford groceries, gas or their mortgage payment, and you post a tone deaf AI video of you and your buddies partying at the People’s House,” Conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller wrote.
Conservative commentator Meghan McCain responded to Scavino’s post with some anecdotal economic observations, writing: “One of my friends couldn’t afford air conditioner this summer.”
Never-Trump Republican Sarah Longwell wrote, “Real fall of Rome sh-t.”
Other self-described MAGA accounts also weighed in on the luxurious display of wealth from Scavino.
“Wow...This is really going to resonate with everyday Americans. They are so out of touch. It’s astonishing,” one person wrote.
Republican concerns ahead of the November elections come as polling shows the GOP is headed towards a wipeout at the ballot box.
President Donald Trump’s advisers have tried to tell him to focus more on affordability going into the 2026 midterms, especially after Republicans suffered serious losses in the off-year 2025 elections.
Rank-and-file Republicans, meanwhile, are distancing themselves from Trump entirely. A growing number of Republicans, including those who represent safe Republican districts, have also deleted references to Trump on their campaign websites, including candidates whom Trump has endorsed.
Trump, whose approval rating has sunk to one of the lowest of any president, has insisted that his administration has a winning record, and has doubled down on tying the midterms to his own record. He has told his MAGA base to just vote as though he is on the ballot.
“Pretend that I am on the ballot,” Trump declared during the Republican midterm conference earlier this month. “I’m on the ballot.”
