What's Resonating: Thursday, July 10
Immigration, Natural Disasters, and Jeffrey Epstein
We’re back with another edition of What’s Resonating – a daily newsletter from the Resonate team that delivers a data-driven snapshot of the stories, trends, and messages shaping online culture and politics.`
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Now, let’s dive in.
What’s Resonating
Debates over ICE and immigration
Flooding in America
Expanding Epstein debate
Today’s Analysis: Time to talk about Epstein
Today’s Takeaway: Left-leaning pages should lean into the Epstein Files conversation to highlight Trump’s ties to the “corrupt elite” and drive cracks in the MAGA coalition.
Email users: Click through for the full chart.
Yesterday on Social Media
🟦 Left-leaning accounts
The Democrats' TikTok had the most-liked left-leaning post yesterday, featuring the “but there once was a time…” trend, which contrasted a photo of Obama with the negative impacts of the Republican budget bill. (1.5 million views)
Left-leaning pages criticized ICE:
Creator Alexis Rose (travelingnurse) shared a video mocking ICE agents for not enjoying their job. (1 million views, 5x average channel views)
Philip DeFranco reported DHS is demanding people stop calling ICE “The Modern Day Gestapo.” (720,000 views)
Aaron Parnas posted videos of ICE intimidating Chicago residents at a Puerto Rican museum and bishops allowing parishioners to skip Sunday mass because of ICE enforcement.
Several pages shared clips of Trump asking the Liberian president how he learned to speak English, despite it being the native language of Liberia.
A collab post from several left-leaning Instagram pages amplified a post from creator Michelle (galvanizestem) thanking Mexico for their response to the Texas floods and claiming President Sheinbaum of Mexico is “5 times the president Trump could ever be.” (1.4 million views, third most-liked left-leaning post)
🟥 Right-leaning accounts
Candace Owens posted the most-viewed political YouTube video yesterday, suggesting that due to the Epstein Files “Yes, The MAGA Movement Is Now Compromised.” (1 million views)
Fox News had four posts in the top right-leaning posts yesterday including Trump’s plans to sue California over the state’s trans sports policy and Florida naming a road after Trump.
Dan Bongino had two of the top 15 most-liked right-leaning posts:
One mocked liberals for not understanding the need to work to earn a boat. (16x average channel likes)
Another celebrated the impending closure of the “largest provider of ‘gender affirming care’ in the U.S.” (8x average channel likes)
Stephen Miller asked, “What if … the key to fixing our cities was enforcing our immigration laws?” (72,000 likes, 8th most-liked right-leaning post)
🟨 Neutral (Political) accounts
NBC News shared the clip of Trump complimenting the President of Liberia on his English, earning 7.9 million views (19x the channel average).
Neutral pages reported on additional floods across America, several of which included images of a New Mexico home being washed away.
Newsweek reported on the anti-Trump “Good Trouble Lives On” protests scheduled for July 17th. (113,000 likes, 3,634x the average for their Facebook account)
Pam Bondi tried to explain the missing video of Epstein in his prison cell. (2.4 million views)
🟨 Neutral (Cultural) accounts
Creator Cam did a “would you rather” video about having a child with right-leaning views. (4 million views, most-liked tracked post)
Musician Jesse Welles wrote a song about the lack of an Epstein list. (1.4 million views)
Jake Shane made a video in support of the Trevor Project after federal funding cuts. (387,000 views)
Creators celebrated being named in the Time 100 list of influential creators.
Today’s Analysis: Time to Talk about Epstein
Social media reacted this week following the Trump administration’s announcement that there was “no Epstein client list,” following years of championing justice for Epstein’s victims at the hands of the elite. While historically, the debate around Epstein has been a common right-wing talking point, internal discord among the right over the past month has offered an opportunity for left-leaning pages.
Just take a look at the chart below, tracking posts that mention “Epstein” since June 1. When Elon Musk accused Trump of being in the Epstein files, left-leaning pages had a field day and drove a whopping 8 million engagements on the subject in a single day, while many right-leaning pages tried to avoid the topic, resulting in lower post volume and engagements.
Now, one month later, many MAGA personalities are mad about the Trump administration’s announcement. We’ve tracked over 1,100 right-leaning posts in just the last few days alone, which have generated over 11 million engagements and over-performed by 40%. Here’s a sampling:
Elon Musk: How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files? (700,000 engagements)
Tucker Carlson: “Pam Bondi’s Justice Department covering up Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and murder?” (2.7 million views on TikTok, 3.3 million views on Instagram)
Rosenne Barr: “Mr. President- Yes, we still care about Epstein. Is there a time to not care about child sex trafficking? Read the damn room.” (131,000 engagements)
Gunther Eagleman: “The Elite ped*philes [omitted]....on Epsteins Island are going to get away with it, aren’t they?” (125,000 engagements)
The Babylon Bee: “Bondi Explains She Was Going To Release The Epstein Files But Then Some Pedophiles Asked Her Not To” (110,000 engagements)
Candace Owens: “Trump Shuts Down Epstein Questions. Elon Musk Names Names” (1.3 million views)
This is arguably the first time in 2025 that the right has turned on Trump. The left should take advantage of this moment and continue to feed the discord among MAGA. And to their credit, many are: there have been almost as many left-leaning posts about Epstein in the past week as right-leaning ones. A few examples:
The Daily Show: “Remember Trump Stammering on Epstein Files?” (1.8 million views)
The Lincoln Project: “MAGA, Donald wants to know why you guys won't shut up about Jeffrey Epstein” (4.5 million views, 20x overperforming)
Ro Khanna: “Hey, @JDVance you still for releasing the Epstein list? I am.” (13x overperforming)
MSNBC / Chris Hayes: “MAGA loyalists are losing their minds after Attorney General Pam Bondi’s DOJ memo dismissed Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theories.” (1.1 million views)
A lot has happened in the last week, and in this crowded news environment the engagement on this topic for left-leaning pages has been lower than during the Trump-Musk feud in early June. Democratic audiences and messengers and audiences alike are stretched thin keeping up with the OBBB’s passage, the Texas Floods, the Epstein files, and whatever Trump does any day of the week.
But this is a topic that has been gift-wrapped for the left. The sitting president has ties to one of the most despised men in the 21st century; his political party has repeatedly flaunted conspiracy theories around these documents for years. Now, one month after his former close ally tied Trump directly to Epstein, the administration says there are no files to release.
This also gets at one of the contradictions of the Trump phenomenon: his ability to resist the much-hated label of “corrupt elite” despite clearly and obviously embodying both characteristics. The Epstein files are an opportunity to try to finally pierce that facade.
Today’s takeaway: Left-leaning pages should not shy away from engaging in the Epstein files conversation, or similar narratives that provide opportunities to fuel division within the MAGA coalition.
Email users: Click through for the full chart.