Trump team uses rat emoji to refer to Mark Meadows after concerns he might have flipped: report
20 June 2023
A new Rolling Stone report reveals some of Donald Trump's allies are beginning to refer to former chief of staff Mark Meadows using a rat emoji in text messages.
A statement from Meadows' lawyer earlier this month left many wondering if it meant the Trump loyalist was flipping on the president to save himself.
"Without commenting on whether or not Mr. Meadows has testified before the grand jury or in any other proceeding, Mr. Meadows has maintained a commitment, to tell the truth where he has a legal obligation to do so," Meadows lawyer said in the short statement.
Some of Trump's allies think that it's a way of saying Meadows is with Jack Smith's prosecutors investigating Trump's involvement in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election result, though others in the former president's immediate orbit are urging him not to panic.
Two people with direct knowledge told Rolling Stone there are people close to Trump trying to "reassure him that, for now at least, he should not read too much into Meadows’ silence."
"Despite all the rumors that have been flying, these individuals have told Trump that there is no hard evidence yet that Meadows is formally cooperating and that he could simply be following lawyers’ advice to keep a low profile, answering the feds’ questions when he has to until the special counsel investigation runs its course," the report says.
Those who are concerned about the Meadows statement "have taken to sardonically referring to Meadows by using the rat emoji in their private conversations," a screenshot sent to Rolling Stone revealed.