For a little over two hours, Donald Trump’s Truth Social timeline filled with an AI generated clip of Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office, plugs for a friend’s book and a three-minute video of 25 improbable stunts.

Nowhere in the 22-strong flurry of posts did the US president mention Jeffrey Epstein and the crisis engulfing his presidency.

Instead, as Democrats seek to keep the controversy in the headlines, Mr Trump is intent on changing the subject.

Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist, said it was a familiar tactic to make bad news go away.

“He’s made everything else go away,” he said. “So why shouldn’t he be able to make this go away?”

On his social media feed Mr Trump discussed his thoughts on the Washington’s NFL team, demanding it return to its old “Redskins”, saying he would block its attempt to build a new stadium in the city if it did not.

“Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen,” he claimed. “Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them.”