Billy McLaughlin, an out gay man who reportedly runs the social media accounts for President Donald Trump’s White House, has clapped back at an Instagram comment from Rosie O’Donnell about his involvement with this administration.
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Even more people in the LGBTQ+ community became familiar with McLaughlin’s work after he was identified in a social media report from Kevin Ortega-Rojas on Instagram.
“This is William ‘Billy’ McLaughlin, he’s the gay man behind the official White House Instagram page,” Ortega-Rojas wrote, as seen below. “The former NRA spokesperson, Billy now serves as the Director of Digital Content for the White House. He is paid by American taxpayers to create racist, dishonest content for social media.”
Ortega-Rojas concluded, “Since day one, the Trump Administration has targeted and attacked the LGBTQ community from cutting health research to shutting down the 988 suicide line program. McLaughlin has championed every step.”
O’Donnell chimed by leaving a comment under that post. “Shame on him,” the award-winning actress wrote.
At first, McLaughlin re-shared Ortega-Rojas’ post and highlighted O’Donnell’s comment via his own Instagram stories, adding: “Get Rosie out! [laughing emoji].”
That initial reaction was followed by a second — slightly longer — response, which was stylized as a formal letter but also shared via Instagram stories. McLaughlin wrote:
“Madam O’Donnell,
As the hour grows late and the moon takes pity on the earth, I retire with but one thought: how astonishing it is that so much sound and so little sense can reside in a single woman.
May sleep come swiftly—not out of mercy to you, but as a ceasefire for the rest of us.
I remain,
In awe of your volume and void of your value,
William Michael McLaughlin.”
As seen below, the post included what appears to be McLaughlin’s signature as well.
Billy McLaughlin shares statement addressing Rosie O’Donnell via Instagram stories.
Instagram (@mclaughlin)
Even though the job credentials assigned to McLaughlin aren’t found on official White House websites, Ortega-Rojas’ reporting matches McLaughlin’s posts celebrating career milestones, as well as past coverage of his career.
In March, Kenneal Patterson wrote a story titled “How These White House Aides Twist Hit Memes Into MAGA Trolls” for The Daily Dot, which reads:
“The memes are the work of a young team that includes a principal deputy communications director, a deputy communications director, and a director of digital content.
The latter is Billy McLaughlin, who put his own spin on the ICE meme when he posted it on his personal Instagram account, adding the caption ‘Fenty girl bye.’ ‘Fenty’ appears to be short for ‘fentanyl’; it is also a lingerie range sold by the singer Rihanna. McLaughlin, who took the job at 29, has now set his account to private.”
However, McLaughlin’s Instagram page hasn’t been set to private since Ortega-Rojas outlined his name and job position in that aforementioned Instagram post.
McLaughlin’s LinkedIn page is also public and outlines similar information about his career in the “Experience” section. Specifically, LinkedIn shows that he worked for the National Rifle Association (NRA) between April 2018 and March 2024.
McLaughlin also seems to have worked as Chief Marketing Officer for the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) from October 2024 to January 2025 — according to information disclosed on his LinkedIn — and acted as a consultant to the organization for five years and nine months.
As President Trump took office in January 2025, McLaughlin also started working in the position that he currently holds at the White House.
This story is still developing…