ICYMI: Billy Penn: Wagner campaign shares meme mocking trans people in leaked text
September 10, 2018
A text message accidentally received by Billy Penn shows a campaign consultant for Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner sharing a lewd meme with a group of top campaign officials.
On Thursday morning, Ray Zaborney, a well-known political consultant whose GOP-leaning firm was recently retained to handle Wagner’s media operations, texted a meme of television personality Caitlyn Jenner next to a statement that seemingly mocks the celebrity’s gender transition.
Zaborney sent the meme to four people: Jason High, Wagner’s campaign manager; Jenise Harris, the campaign’s finance director; Shauna Boscaccy, policy director; and a Billy Penn reporter, who was not an intended recipient.
The meme features a black-and-white photograph of Jenner, styled to imitate Nike’s new advertisement featuring Colin Kaepernick. The ad campaign plays off the former NFL quarterback’s decision to continue kneeling during the national anthem, despite the ostensible consequence of losing his job. Conservatives nationwide have responded by destroying their Nike apparel and declaring a moral boycott against the company.
In the Jenner meme shared among Wagner operatives, which is marked up with the brand’s signature swoosh and the “Just Do It” slogan, imposed over the photo is a modified message:
“Believe in something. Even if it means cutting your dick off.”
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