Donald Trump Jr. mean tweets Nashville doctor who sued his dad and won

Brett Kelman | Nashville Tennessean

Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday used social media to draw attention to the 2015 criminal court case of a Nashville surgeon who successfully sued the president earlier this year, reviving a Twitter feud between the first family and the politically outspoken doctor.

Dr. Eugene Gu, 32, responded by saying Trump Jr. was “making false accusations” and “promoting libel” to millions of followers online. Gu said he had received tens of thousands of harassing tweets in the hours after being "targeted" by the president's son.

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“This is the whole problem with the Trump administration,” Gu tweeted. “They don’t care about the truth. They don’t care about how small you are. They punch down and kick you in the face out of petty revenge.”

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Gu, an outgoing surgery resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has become one of the most controversial figures in Nashville’s medical community because of his ongoing feud with the Trump family.

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Gu has used his large following on Twitter to regularly criticize the President Donald Trump, which prompted Trump to block his account last summer. Gu then became one of seven Twitter users to file a landmark First Amendment lawsuit against the president, forcing him to unblock them on Twitter earlier this month.

The legal victory thrust Gu into the world of American politics, and he has since used his increased visibility to voice daily criticism of the Trump administration.

And then, on Tuesday, Trump Jr. fired back.

The president’s son twice retweeted a Twitter account that was sharing unsubstantiated information about Gu being arrested in California on domestic violence related allegations in 2015. The tweet included a screenshot of a website that lists arrests but does not contain information about convictions or dismissals.

In his second tweet, Trump Jr. tagging Gu and tied the allegation to his job.

“I guess this explains all his virtue signaling??? If accurate, I wonder if the hospital where @eugenegu MD works is aware or if they have comments? If I were a patient I would surely want to know,” Trump Jr. tweeted.

I guess this explains all his virtue signaling??? If accurate, I wonder if the hospital where @eugenegu MD works is aware or if they have comments? If I were a patient I would surely want to know. https://t.co/Zur1PvCemh — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 26, 2018

Gu responded immediately, tweeting that the presidents son was “going too far.” Gu confirmed he had faced a criminal case but said the charges were later dismissed and expunged.

The Tennessean searched California court records for information on Gu’s arrest but found none. Expunged records can’t be found through public court document but often linger online through third-party websites that aggregate and republish arrest records.

“My criminal record is expunged because I am innocent,” Gu tweeted. “We are a nation of laws, not innuendo. The President of the United States and his family cannot and should not doxx individual American citizens with whom they disagree. This is targeted harassment on an unprecedented level.”

This is going too far. The son of the President of the United States, who has blocked me, is making false accusations against me that I beat and imprisoned my wife. All of this is categorically untrue in every way, shape, and form. Shame on the Trump family for promoting libel. pic.twitter.com/onYJMEjsjx — Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) June 26, 2018

Trump Jr.’s tweets could be particularly damaging for Gu, who is losing his job at Vanderbilt in a matter of days and currently looking for a new place to finish his residency.

Gu announced a few weeks ago that Vanderbilt had decided not to renew his contract at the end of the month, cutting his five-year residency short after only three years. Gu alleged the hospital was essentially firing him because of his outspoken politics, but Vanderbilt insisted that all disciplinary actions taken against Gu were related to his job performance.

Brett Kelman is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 615-259-8287 or at brett.kelman@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @brettkelman.