Dan Scavino

Dan Scavino

Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications

Executive Office of the President

RECORD

As the director of social media in a White House driven by the president’s Twitter feed, Dan Scavino was one of Trump’s closest advisers. In addition to directly promoting misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic and spreading the Q-Anon conspiracy theory, Scavino reportedly enabled and encouraged Trump’s own racist statements.

Defending White Supremacy

  • Scavino provided Trump with rationalization and encouragement for racist tweets attacking immigrants and NFL players, saying they would be well received by online supporters. [Politico, 05/06/19]
  • Scavino chose a graphic for a Trump campaign tweet that featured Hillary Clinton, “a six-pointed star, a pile of cash and the words ‘most corrupt candidate ever,’” an image that reportedly originated on an anti-Semitic and white supremacist message board. [CNN, 07/05/16]
  • Scavino posted on social media an image that was lifted from a Q-Anon conspiracy supporter, sparking “glee” in the Q-Anon community. [Politico, 07/12/20]

COVID Disinformation

  • Scavino posted a meme mocking top public health official Dr. Anthony Fauci on Facebook at the same time White House officials denied they were undermining Fauci in retaliation for his analysis of the severity of the coronavirus pandemic. [New York Times, 07/14/20]

News Coverage and Headlines

  • “In an interview with POLITICO, Trump acknowledged that Scavino plays a key role in shaping the tweets he can fire off by the dozens each day. ‘Oftentimes, I’ll go through Dan,’ Trump said. ‘You know, I’ll talk it over. And he can really be a very good sounding board. A lot of common sense. He’s got a good grasp.’” [Politico, 05/06/19]
  • “A year ago, the former chief strategist Steve Bannon shared a West Wing office with Scavino. ‘He has his hands on the Pepes,’ Bannon recalls, referring to the cartoon frog that serves as mascot to the alt-right. ‘He knew who the players were and who were not. He’d bring me Cernovich — I didn’t know who Cernovich was until Scavino told me.’ Bannon was referring to the alt-right blogger Mike Cernovich, who has frequently promoted debunked and scurrilous conspiracy theories.” [The New York Times Magazine, 04/16/18]
  • HEADLINE: “White House Social Media Director Tweets Manipulated Video of Biden” [Washington Post, 09/02/20]
  • HEADLINE: “‘Get Scavino in here’: Trump’s Twitter guru is the ultimate insider” [Politico, 05/06/19]HEADLINE: “‘Get Scavino in here’: Trump’s Twitter guru is the ultimate insider” [Politico, 05/06/19]