Exposed! Trump’s Viral Black Voters Video Was Fake, Astroturfed With MAGA Operatives and Influencers
Exposed! Trump’s Viral Black Voters Video Was Fake, Astroturfed With MAGA Operatives and Influencers
MeidasTouch has identified 15 individuals from Trump’s fake “Black voters” video
Written for MeidasTouch by J.D. Wolf
The Trump campaign released a video in late August aimed at Black women purporting to show regular Black voters, many of whom were unnamed, rejecting Kamala Harris. As it turns out, MeidasTouch was able to identify 15 out of the 16 individuals that appear in the video, and they are all MAGA operatives or influencers, a key detail Trump failed to disclose.
Not only did Trump fail to disclose the political nature of the people speaking in his Black voters video, he was able to get NBC News to cover it unchecked as an exclusive, furthering the spread of his MAGA propaganda.
In the article, NBC News shared a quote from Janiyah Thomas, Trump’s Director of Black Media, claiming Trump's message was “resonating” with Black voters. NBC News also reported the Trump campaign’s claim implying the video was full of recent converts to Trumpism:
“The women featured in the video, according to the Trump campaign, include former Democratic and independent voters who switched over to the Republican Party in support of Trump, several of whom reside in battleground states such as Arizona, Georgia and Michigan.”
In their campaign newsletter,the Trump campaign boasted about NBC News coverage of their new video:
"The video, titled “I’m Not With Her” and shared first with NBC News, includes more than a dozen Black women, including several from battleground states, expressing their opposition to Harris, with some framing the Democratic presidential nominee as being out of touch with Black voters."
As it turns out, "ramps up" may not be the right description for Trump's new Black outreach video. "Recycle" and "reshuffle" would be more accurate.
MeidasTouch has identified 15 of the 16 individuals in the video as being MAGA Republican operatives or influencers. It's one thing to release a video of regular voters expressing their opinions, and it's quite another to put out a video of people who are paid, who are associated with pro-Trump groups, or who make money off their pro-Trump content.
Jasmine Woodson
Trump’s video opens up with Jasmine Woodson, who, far from being a regular voter, has worked as a Blexit assistant state director over Tennessee and is now listed as the organization's recruiting manager.
Blexit is a MAGA Republican group that was founded by Candace Owens, but is now controlled by Charlie Kirk's Turning Point organization.
Blexit is Charlie Kirk's official outreach to Black voters and Blexit employees are employees of Charlie Kirk. In June, MeidasTouch uncovered Kirk posting a photo of himself with many Blexit employees to imply that his isn't racist.
Woodson was also at Trump's Detroit visit to a historically Black church and has previously visited Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. As an employee of Blexit, Woodson is far from a just a regular voter.
Silo
Silo is an anti-vaccine, pro-Trump social media influencer who runs the account "@antivaxbarbie" on Twitter. Silo also has an account on TikTok where she sells Kamala prank mailers and Trump shirts on her showcase page.
Silo is also pictured wearing a Trump 2020 hat, showing her longstanding support for Trump.
Silo makes money off of MAGA and is not a regular voter who recently made up her mind about Kamala Harris as Trump's video implies.
Karen Watson
Karen Watson is a the former Vice Chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party and author of the book “Black and Republican in the Age of Obama.”
Watson has been a Republican operative for over a decade and isn’t just a regular voter like Trump’s video makes it out to be.
Yolanda Johnson
According to a 2022 Rumble interview, Yolanda Johnson works with Mordecai Mission, a pro-Trump faith group that is against Kamala Harris. Johnson is against families using food stamps and TANF emergency funds and sees use of these programs as handing over control of oneself over to the government.
Bebe Diamond
Varditra Reid, who goes by "Bebe Diamond," is the daughter New York Republican activist Selina Stinson Reid who was known as "Barbara from Harlem." Barbara from Harlem had worked for Rudy Giuliani and has spent decades as an advocate for Republican causes.
Barbara also has a chapter in her book titled, "Thank God for Slavery" and was criticized for speaking to a Republican women's group expressing appreciation for slavery:
"Slavery made it possible for me to achieve the American dream, to buy a house, to get an education. God allowed what man meant for evil because he meant it for good. My forefathers being brought here was a blessing. I thank God for slavery, for America, for so I could be born free. This country owes me nothing and I have been Black all of my life."
Bebe Diamond follows in her mother's footsteps, promoting Republican candidates and causes.
Bebe Diamond is the communication director of Mordecai Mission, the Pro-Trump faith group mentioned above. On a Facebook Live video, Diamond acknowledged watching Steve Bannon's War Room podcast and attacked Democrats as "evil" and in control of the media.
Diamond also stated that "Trump won in 2020" and believes that an attempt to steal the election from Trump would happen again in 2024. As a pro-Trump activist, Diamond promoted a TPUSA's Blexit outreach event on her Facebook page in 2023.
In another post, Diamond promoted Mordecai Mission along with Blexit, Charlie Kirk's Black voter outreach group. Once again, Trump posed a MAGA operative as a regular voter for his campaign video.
Dana Galen
Dana Galen, whose name is misspelled in the Trump campaign video, is actually Florida's Hillsborough County GOP Chair according to the Tampa Bay Times. The Tampa Bay Times reports that Galen has been active in the GOP in Florida since 2018.
In other words, Galen is another MAGA operative Trump used to pose as a regular voter for his video.
Angelina Banks
MeidasTouch was able to identify "Angelina" as Angelina Banks, a former GOP candidate who has ran for multiple offices. The Montgomery Country GOP lists Banks as an alternate delegate to the RNC and also posted that Banks was in the Trump campaign video.
Banks has promoted GOP candidates such as Dr. Oz and Dave McCormick and has appeared on air on a local pro-Trump radio show.
Despite being a former Republican candidate, Angelina Banks also asked Trump a question at his Oaks, Pennsylvania town hall as if she was just a regular voter. Town halls are for constituents to speak to politicians, not for MAGA operatives pretending to be regular voters.
Banks is another MAGA operative posing as a regular voter for Trump's video.
Lala Andrews
Lala Andrews is the Arizona State Director for Blexit, which is Charlie Kirk's outreach to Black voters. Kirk's group is an official partner of the Trump campaign.
Andrews has done media appearances supporting her organization and MAGA Republican causes. Andrews appeared at Trump’s Detroit Church event.
A review of Andrews' social media shows her at a field canvaser training event and working tables at a Trump rally and other MAGA events. Andrews is a MAGA operative cast as a regular voter for Trump's Black women voters video.
Linda Lee Tarver
Linda Lee Carver is a senior advisor to Mordecai Mission, a pro-Trump faith group mentioned above. According to Carver's Facebook page, she is an advisor for Black Voices for Trump, which is an arm of the GOP.
In 2022, Carver ran as a Republican candidate for Michigan State Board of Education and lost. On her Facebook page, Carver has countless pictures with Trump, Republican politicians, and GOP leaders like Lara Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson.
Carver also participated in Stop the Steal event after Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. Carver is another MAGA operative posing as a regular voter for Trump's video.
Stephanie Donegan
Stephanie Donegan is a MAGA social media influencer and Republican strategist. Donegan offers subscriptions to some of her pro-Trump content.
Donegan boasted about being in Trump’s Black women voter video:
"Happy to have a small part in the #IAmNotWithHer campaign from Donald J Trump."
Donegan attends Trump events and posts about it on social media. At a recent Turning Point event with Trump, Donegan was wearing an "expedited entry" badge. Many Black voters were turned off by Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk repeated attacks on MLK, but it apparently wasn’t enough to dissuade Donegan from attending.
Donegan profits off MAGA social media content and works as a Republican consultant which means she is not a regular voter as Trump's video implies.
Brenda Thiam
Brenda Thaim, who was unnamed in the video, was a member of Maryland's House of Delegates from 2020-2023 and a former Republican US House candidate. Thiam can be seen below in a Facebook photo wearing the same glasses from the Trump video along with a sticker for her congressional campaign.
Brenda has worked with Governor Larry Hogan and was the former vice president of the Washington Country Republican Club from 2016-2018.
On Twitter, Thiam has claimed that Barack and Michelle Obama "hate America."
Wakenya Clewis
MeidasTouch was able to identify another unnamed person in Trump's video who stated she is an African migrant living in Florida as pro-Trump social media influencer and "tattoo model" Wakenya Clewis who goes by the names "African Hippie" and "Kenyan Hippie." Despite Trump's video theme being Black women who aren't supporting Kamala Harris, Clewis has a video with her white husband lip synching to a song saying calling people Black or white is making racism.
The pro-Trump influencer sells merchandise protesting being identified as Black with slogans like: "I am not a color," "I am not a crayon," "Think using your brain not your skin tone," and "Be blessed or oppressed; the choice is yours." Clewis is profiting off slogans erasing Black identify.
In her Twitter bio, Clewis refers to herself and her husband as "the coon and the colonizer." Clewis has links from her social media accounts to resources on African colonialism, including the names of African colonies.
In one post, Clewis says her husband is of European decent and likes the cold while she is African descent and enjoys the heat. Cewis then posted that her husband would like an igloo while she would be in a "nigloo," a reference to the n-word. Clewis’ post displayed an African hut.
Tamara Mitchell
Tamara Mitchell is a former Republican Michigan State Senate candidate who lost in 2022.
Mitchell has been a speaker at the Republican Party of Kalamazoo County and for other pro-Trump groups. Mitchell campaigned on a call for a "full forensic audit" of Michigan's election results.
Tamara Mitchell attended a Trump rally in 2022 and posted, “Michigan welcomes Donald J. Trump the 45th president of the United States of America.”
Mitchell is a former Republican candidate and has spoken at Republican gatherings in Michigan. In other words, Mitchell isn't just a regular voter as Trump's video portrays.
Natalie Rivera
Rivera was a New Jersey Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2020. Rivera spoke at a MAGA Republican venue in August and appears to be active in the New Jersey GOP.
Rivera, shown below campaigning for Senate, posted a screenshot of the Trump campaign video to her Instagram page.
Shankika Fuchser
Fuchser is a MAGA social media influencer with a pro-Trump YouTube channel and has an Amazon influencer page where followers can purchase Trump merchandise.
Fuchser seeks promotions on her social media and has recently been promoting a Trump themed breakfast cereal called MAGA Crunch. Fuchser said a link to the cereal could be found in her TikTok showcase.
Trump had a MAGA operative who delivered a viral hug moment at an Atlanta Chick-fil-A. He’s been using MAGA operatives at his town events and on Fox News.
He’s been busted staging multiple campaign events including fake union members and fake fire fighters. Trump’s video packed with 15 MAGA operatives that he released as regular Black voters is what we’ve come to expect from a desperate, flailing campaign.
This should surprise no one. I have always doubted his claims of having so much support from black voters.
Will NBC do the right thing and call this out? To the women in this video. I guess it is OK if Trump grabs your daughter by the P@#$y. Or takes them into a room and rapes them. By supporting Trump, you are saying loud and clear to your daughters that morals don't matter and that he can have you to do whatever he wants. I hope you are all proud of yourselves.