The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) on Tuesday posted a social media message mocking Democratic Senate candidates for not being “normal.” However, it quickly backfired when gay Sen. Chris Pappas (D-NH) pointed out that the NRSC once supported former Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), whose name appears in the federal investigatory files of convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The NRSC post showed photos of six Democratic men running for the Senate: Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY), Maine candidate Troy Jackson, Texas State Rep. James Talarico, and Ohio former Sen. Sherrod Brown. While two of the photos showed El-Sayed dressed as the host of the children’s TV show Blue’s Clues and Talarico wearing a mascot costume, the rest just show the men grilling, drinking boba tea, wearing sports fan gear, and holding a cat.
Related
“How does the left keep finding such normal men?” the NRSC’s social media post asked. Sen. Pappas (pictured holding a cat) then reposted the post, writing, “I have a cat, and John Sununu’s name is in the Epstein files.”
To be fair, many people’s names appear in the Epstein files, including celebrities — like Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, JK Rowling, Mick Jagger, Kevin Spacey, Chris Tucker, and Walter Cronkite — and none have been accused of any criminal wrongdoing.
But numerous commenters on X joined Pappas by naming other Senate Republicans with past public scandals.