'Epstein didn't kill himself' meme joins the mainstream as viral craze now infiltrates Congress
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The "Jeffrey Epstein didn't kill himself” meme has hit the Beltway.
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., became one of the latest figures this week to seemingly embrace the bizarre viral craze after observers noticed that a series of tweets he posted during the first day of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry against President Trump spelled out, "Epstein didn't kill himself."
The meme has spread like wildfire since the death of the convicted pedophile in August. New York City’s medical examiner determined he had taken his own life inside his Manhattan federal prison cell, but vocal skeptics have suggested otherwise during random blurt-outs on television and other signs.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A candidate who called himself Rod Epstein Didn't Kill Himself Webber attempts to file to be listed on the New Hampshire primary ballot on Friday, in Concord, N.H. New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, left, did not accept the application since he did not file using his legal name. (AP)
In Gosar’s usage of the meme, he first posted a tweet claiming "evidence of a link between foreign aid and political investigations simply does not exist.”
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Before that, he wrote "President @realDonaldTrump voluntarily chose to release the transcript of his phone call which clearly shows he did nothing wrong. This impeachment circus is a total sham, and Adam Schiff is the clown at the center of it all."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}And, before that, "Schiff’s star witness is crumbling under pressure. He wasn’t listening to the phone call and he has never even met President Trump."
News outlets and Twitter users then noticed as readers scrolled down Gosar's profile, the first letters of each tweet spelled, "Epstein didn't kill himself."
In a statement to Fox News, Gosar stressed that his tweets were all "substantive" but appeared to have some more fun in the process.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The meme also recently was uttered on an MSNBC broadcast by an attendee of last weekend’s University of Alabama-Louisiana State University football game.
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When MSNBC’s Monica Alba was interviewing students about President Trump’s decision to attend the event, she asked one person what he liked about the president -- but didn’t receive the answer she expected.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I would say mainly just the no-nonsense policies and especially since Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself,” a student identified as Parker said on live television.
That occurrence came after a guest on Fox News’ “Watters World” said in early November that “Epstein didn’t kill himself,” prompting the show’s host, Jesse Watters, to laugh on air.
The mantra has also been spotted on ESPN’s “College Game Day” on shirts, and was even printed on the bottom of beer cans, while social media is filled with the message.
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And on Friday, a person who the Associated Press says called himself Rod Epstein Didn't Kill Himself Webber tried to file an application to be on New Hampshire’s presidential primary ballot – but was rejected by state officials because he wasn’t using his legal name.