Donald Trump Campaign Offered To Pay Extras To Show Up And Cheer His 2016 Presidential Announcement

Turns out, the crowd at Donald Trump’s campaign announcement might have been about as real his actual campaign.

Was Donald Trump‘s Presidential campaign announcement staged? It’s called “astroturfing.” 

An artificially-manufactured political movement designed to give the appearance of grass roots activism.

Trump’s campaign reportedly offered actors $50 for three hours of work, to show up at Trump Tower in Manhattan and cheer the billionaire when he announced his run for president Tuesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“We are looking to cast people for the event to wear t-shirts and carry signs and help cheer him in support of his announcement,” reads a June 12 email sent last Friday by New York-based Extra Mile Casting and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “We understand this is not a traditional ‘background job,’ but we believe acting comes in all forms and this is inclusive of that school of thought.”

NCRM located this video of people at the Trump event wearing t-shirts.

The activist formerly known for his success in getting advertisers to flee Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, now Media Matters EVP Angelo Carusone, is mentioned by THR, and reported on the “extras” in a post at Medium. Carusone has waged a long campaign against Trump as well, focused on the real estate magnate’s clothing line at Macy’s. Carusone published a photo of people in t-shirts similar to the ones worn in the video above.

“Suspicions that the event had hired extras came to light Wednesday when anti-Trump activist Angelo Carusone came across an Instagram photo, showing a man he recognized as a background actor posing at the Trump event,” The Hollywood Reporter adds. “Carusone screengrabbed the photo of the actor, Domenico Del Giacco, and published it in a blog post. Del Giacco has since deleted the account. The photo shows him with a woman, identified in the now-deleted Instagram post as actress Courtney Klotz.”

 

RELATED:

Trump Didn’t Tell The Truth Several Times During His Campaign Announcement – How Often Does He Lie?

5 Hysterical Video Clips Of Donald Trump Explaining Why His Campaign And Presidency Will Be ‘Huge’

Listen: Donald Trump Sees Link Between Vaccine Inoculations And Autism

 

Image by Donald Trump via Instagram