On the morning after his labor secretary gave a poorly reviewed explanation of the sweetheart deal struck with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in Miami 11 years ago — which was immediately disputed by Florida state officials — President Trump began a multi-tweet rant on a host of unrelated subjects that seemed intended to shift attention away from the controversy.

Trump began his morning at 6:48 a.m. ET by announcing he would hold a Rose Garden news conference at the conclusion of a “social media summit” with mostly right-wing figures who claim their views are censored by Twitter and Facebook. Multiple news organizations reported that he is planning to announce an executive order to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. That would appear to defy a ruling by the Supreme Court last month that said the administration had failed to provide a good-faith justification for the change.

President Trump speaks during an event on Wednesday. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

The White House will be hosting a very big and very important Social Media Summit today. Would I have become President without Social Media? Yes (probably)! At its conclusion, we will all go to the beautiful Rose Garden for a News Conference on the Census and Citizenship. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

In his tweets, the president predicted that the news media will effectively endorse him for a second term because he’s more entertaining than Democratic alternatives, employing his usual insults to refer to former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

In one, he referred to Warren as “Pocahontas” and “(1000/24th)” — which appeared to be a reference to her claims to Cherokee descent and released the results of a DNA test that indicated Native American forebears six to 10 generations back. In another, he tagged the a Twitter user with the handle @AlfredENeuman99, in an attempt to mock Buttigieg.

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The president later deleted those tweets and republished the series with the correct math and no Alfred E. Neumans tagged.

...The Fake News is not as important, or as powerful, as Social Media. They have lost tremendous credibility since that day in November, 2016, that I came down the escalator with the person who was to become your future First Lady. When I ultimately leave office in six... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

...or a very nervous and skinny version of Pocahontas (1/1024th), as your President, rather than what you have now, so great looking and smart, a true Stable Genius! Sorry to say that even Social Media would be driven out of business along with, and finally, the Fake News Media! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

Trump has referred to himself as a “stable genius” frequently, and in at least one other tweet in the past paid homage to his own “great” looks.

"@AlmightyJuan__: I look like Donald Trump when he made his first 1 million" You must be great looking! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2014

For the second time this week, Trump attempted to give oxygen to a controversy that barely made the local news in St. Louis Park, Minn., where the City Council voted to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings. The president’s favorite morning news show, “Fox & Friends,” covered the story Monday.

The Pledge of Allegiance to our great Country, in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, is under siege. That is why I am going to win the Great State of Minnesota in the 2020 Election. People are sick and tired of this stupidity and disloyalty to our wonderful USA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

He then relayed positive quotes about his economic policies from the Wall Street Journal and president of BET.

“Nearly one million more blacks and two million more Hispanics are employed than when Barrack Obama left office, and minorities account for more than half of all new jobs created during the Trump Presidency. Unemployment among black women has hovered near 5% for the last six..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

....months, the lowest since 1972.” The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, A Tale of Two Economies. @IngrahamAngle — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

Robert Johnson, B.E.T. “I give the President a lot of credit for moving the Economy in a positive direction that’s benefiting a large number of Americans. I think the Tax Cuts clearly helped stimulate the Economy. Overall, if you look at the U.S. Economy, and you look at..... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

....the number of people who are no longer looking for jobs but who are now seeing the opportunity for job growth, you’ve got to give the President an A Plus for that.” Thank you Robert, one of our great business leaders! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

Trump moved on to a New York Times story about his real estate career — from May — that asserted “most Wall Street banks had stopped doing business with him.”

The Fake News Media loves the narrative that I didn’t use many banks because the banks didn’t like me. No, I didn’t use many banks because I didn’t (don’t) need their money (old fashioned, isn’t it?). If I did, it would have been very easy for me to get. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

....And remember, a bank that I did use years ago, the now badly written about and maligned Deutsche Bank, was then one of the largest and most prestigious banks in the world! They wanted my business, and so did many others! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

He pointed out, correctly, that congressional Democrats had displayed an outdated picture of migrant children at a hearing on the border crisis. The photo was taken in 2014, during President Barack Obama’s second term.

Democrats had to quickly take down a tweet called “Kids In Cages, Inhumane Treatment at the Border,” because the horrible picture used was from the Obama years. Very embarrassing! @foxandfriends — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

The president concluded his Twitter run, at least as of 10:12 a.m, with tweets about the social media summit; Iran; China; Mexico; and a misleading attack on Democrats and former special counsel Robert Mueller, who is set to testify before Congress next week. Mueller’s report did not find “no obstruction,” despite Trump’s repeated false claims.





Now the Democrats have asked to see 12 more people who have already spent hours with Robert Mueller, and spent a fortune on lawyers in so doing. How many bites at the apple do they get before working on Border Loopholes and Asylum. They also want to interview the highly...... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

....conflicted and compromised Mueller again. He said he was “done” after his last 9 minute speech, and that he had nothing more to say outside of the No Collusion, No Obstruction, Report. Enough already, go back to work! I won, unanimously, the big Emoluments case yesterday! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

Mexico is doing great at the Border, but China is letting us down in that they have not been buying the agricultural products from our great Farmers that they said they would. Hopefully they will start soon! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

“It seems that the Brits and the French and the Germans are coming around to the idea that the Iranians are up to no good!” @BillHemmer @FoxNews — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

Will be a big and exciting day at the White House for Social Media! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019

Trump’s latest morning Twitterburst came a day after embattled Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta held a press conference to defend his handling of a case against Epstein when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida, which resulted in what many observers have described as a shockingly lenient sentence.

In defending the non-prosecution agreement entered into by his office, Acosta laid blame on the Palm Beach attorney’s office for not seeking to charge Epstein with crimes that would result in jail time.

But Barry Krischer, the Palm Beach County attorney in 2007, took issue with Acosta’s version of events, telling the Associated Press that Acosta “should not be allowed to rewrite history.”

“If Mr. Acosta was truly concerned with the state’s case and felt he had to rescue the matter,” Krischer said, “he would have moved forward with the 53-page indictment that his own office drafted.”

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