Trump appoints aide behind biggest campaign stunts to White House job

Donald Trump has appointed Justin Caporale, the man credited with some of his most eye-catching campaign gambits on the path to his second presidential election victory, to a White House role, signalling that high-profile publicity stunts are likely to be a key feature of his second presidential term.

Posting on his Truth Social platform, the president-elect said Caparole would assume the role of executive producer for “major events and public appearances” after he returns to the Oval Office on 20 January.

He is currently working on Trump’s inauguration appearances.

The appointment rewards Caporale, a former aide to Trump’s wife, Melania, for his work in devising some of the incoming president’s most successful – and controversial – appearances on the campaign trail.

“Justin Caporale has been with me right from the beginning of a very incredible journey, helping to produce our Historic Rallies and Events, including the Republican National Convention, Madison Square Garden, McDonalds commercial, and even my seriously viral ‘Garbage Truck ride’,” Trump wrote.

“Once he finishes what will be our magnificent Inauguration presentation, Justin will continue to serve my external operation as Executive Producer for Major Events and Public Appearances.”

Trump’s mass rally at New York’s Madison Square Garden in October provoked a storm of outrage after speakers delivered a series of racist speeches on nationwide television. Campaign aides took what, for Trump’s circle, was the unusual step of distancing themselves from one speaker, who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”.

Despite the negative publicity, the episode provided Trump with an opportunity for one of his most memorable campaign ploys, after Joe Biden appeared to call Trump supporters “garbage” – although the president later said he was only referring to the speaker, standup comic Tony Hinchcliffe, who made the remark.

Trump responded at an event in Wisconsin by donning an orange vest and posing as a garbage collector, driving a truck emblazoned with his “Make America great again” slogan.

He also posed, in a separate event, as a worker at a McDonald’s drive-through in response to Kamala Harris’s oft-stated claim to have previously worked at the fast-food chain, which Trump has insisted – without evidence – is untrue.

Caporale also worked for Trump’s unsuccessful 2020 election campaign and was project manager for the March To Save America rally at Washington’s ellipse, near the White House, on 6 January 2021, when the then president encouraged the crowd to march to the US Capitol.

The march later developed into a violent attack on the building by a mob trying to prevent certification of the election results.

Caporale has previously been identified as a chief executive officer with Event Strategies Inc, a management and production company that was responsible for staffing and managing Trump’s 2016 campaign operations.