The Return of Bill Clinton Jokes

This week in The Drift, we hit a new record: Epstein topped the charts with the highest score since the model launched. And if you were online this week, you already know why.

Before we dive in, let me take you back—way back—to January 1999. Britney Spears had just released her debut single, and I was a freshman at American University. A few of us heard we could go down to the Capitol and sit in on the impeachment hearings. We stood in line, filed into the Senate gallery, and witnessed 30 minutes of history: the impeachment of a president over a blowjob. I remember getting kicked out of the gallery for booing a Republican senator mid-speech.

Why share this now?

Because time isn’t linear. Especially not on the Internet. All of a sudden, we’re back in the 90s, and my journey following politics has ended up right back where it started.. This week, a newly released email—courtesy of the House Oversight Committee—revived every conspiracy and fantasy the online fever swamps could muster. The claim? Putin has images of Trump blowing “Bubba.” Everyone assumed it meant Bill Clinton. Until Jeffrey’s brother Mark Epstein clarified that it wasn’t Bill.

That sparked a new wave of theories: a love triangle involving HRC? Ghislaine’s horse? The viral engine kicked into high gear, and The Drift registered the results. Any combination of “Epstein,” “leaked emails,” and “Trump may be gay” is rocket fuel for engagement. Expect it to stick around through Thanksgiving dinner, where MAGA relatives will do their best to deflect.

But while the Internet chased fantasies, a real political story was brewing.

MTG 2028?

Marjorie Taylor Greene surged this week, and not by accident. The fissures inside MAGA are becoming more visible, and she’s positioning herself as the standard bearer for the “true believers.” When the committee moved to release the Epstein files, they did so after anti-disclosure Republicans had left the room. The power struggle is on—and MTG is right in the middle of it.

And in case you missed it: Newsom entered the chat.

For the first time, Gavin Newsom broke into The Drift's top 10. Following the resounding Prop 50 win and a string of viral moments, Newsom is becoming the default 2028 frontrunner. No one else in the Democratic bench has built comparable digital infrastructure or momentum. (That could change, of course. Especially if someone reading this decides to hire me.)

Lastly, a bright spot: Climate Change returns to the top 10. Thank COP30 in Brazil. If you’re working on green issues, now’s the time to lean in—people are paying attention. You just may want to make some Bill Clinton jokes for references to carbon output in 1999.

I’ll leave you with a frame that drove very high engagement (without mentioning oral sex) among all the content we tracked on social media over the weekend.

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What’s your take on the trends this week?
Hit reply or email [email protected] and let me know.

Thanks, as always, for being part of this community.
—Keegan