Is Boris Epshteyn the First Face of Trump TV?

Image by Twitter
Since the launch of his presidential campaign last year, Donald Trump has taken over the cable news airwaves. Almost ubiquitous as the man himself, Trump spokesman Boris Epshteyn has made more than 100 television appearances for the candidate. Epshteyn, a Russian-Jewish immigrant and a 34-year-old attorney and Republican, might also be as controversial as his boss. Here are five facts about one of Trump’s main flacks.
1. The Face of ‘Trump TV?’
Epshteyn is co-anchor of a new nightly show that airs on the Facebook Live feed of the Trump campaign, featuring interviews with the candidate’s advisers and footage from his rallies. Media sources have said this might be the start of the much ballyhooed ‘Trump TV’ — a cable network to be set up by the Republican nominee if he loses. But Epshteyn has denied that inference.
2. College Buddy of Eric Trump
Epshteyn’s in with the Trump campaign comes from Eric Trump, the Republican nominee’s third child. The two went to Georgetown University together, and Epshteyn was invited to the younger Trump’s marriage two years ago. He also met his wife at college.
3. Called Obama a Cheater
Falling behind in the polls, Trump has tried to drum up conspiracy theories about a “rigged election.” Epshteyn said on CNN this Monday that Barack Obama might have won North Carolina eight years ago due to voter fraud, a widely discredited claim.
4. Anger Management Problem
Similar to his candidate — and also to former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski – Epshteyn can lose control of his temper in public. Two years ago, he was charged with misdemeanor assault in Arizona, after a nasty bar fight there. He had to go to anger management classes and do community service to get the case dropped.
5. Not a Foreign Policy Expert?
Epshteyn fled a Russia that persecuted him and his family for their religion. But he seems to have no compunction about following Trump’s friendly line on Vladimir Putin. “First of all, Russia did not seize Crimea,” he said in an August interview, flabbergasting a television host with a clearly false assertion.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
2X match on all Passover gifts!
Most Popular
- 1
Film & TV What Gal Gadot has said about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- 2
Opinion Is this new documentary giving voice to American Jewish anguish — or simply stoking fear?
- 3
News A Jewish Republican and Muslim Democrat are suddenly in a tight race for a special seat in Congress
- 4
Fast Forward Trump’s antisemitism chief shares ‘Jew card’ post from white supremacist
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Cornell’s new Jewish president says he is ‘very comfortable with where Cornell is currently’
-
Fast Forward Digital breadcrumbs lead to the team behind Jewish Onliner, the AI-powered website that got a Yale scholar suspended
-
Looking Forward ‘When in doubt, deliver water’
-
Sports The Trail Blazers let Israeli starter Deni Avdija cook, and minted a franchise player in the process
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.