Can Black influencers grow President Trump’s MAGA movement?
Young Black conservatives are reshaping Republican politics online, but can they win elections?
CJ Pearson took to the microphone to ask a pressing question about a recent episode of his new podcast, Family Matters.
“Have you ever noticed that black people on the left hate white people in the streets, but love white people in the sheets?” asked a black Gen Z Republican breakout star.
To prove his point, Pearson cited interracial marriages such as the firing of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, CNN anchor Don Lemon and former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The 23-year-old conservative child prodigy gained national attention at the age of 13 with a viral diatribe against former President Barack Obama. Pearson was angry at the president at the time for inviting Ahmed Mohamed to the White House. A Texas teenager and young inventor was arrested for bringing a homemade watch to school that was mistaken for a bomb, sparking claims of Islamophobia.
More than a decade later, Pearson is now the face of the next generation of the black conservative movement.
They bash liberals and host elaborate bashes in Washington, D.C. social circles while boasting about President Donald Trump’s growing influence in his second term.
As Democrats take aim at President Trump over policies they say disproportionately harm Black people, Pearson and other right-leaning Black creators are targeting voters in the same way as murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk, hoping the virus will continue to siphon support from what was once the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting base.
“My priority right now is to do everything I can to bring young people to our side and help us win the culture wars, because politics is downstream from culture,” Pearson told USA TODAY in an interview.
People like Pearson have amassed huge followings on social media, and some hold powerful positions within the Trump administration. But black conservative candidates such as NFL star Herschel Walker and former North Carolina lieutenant governor Mark Robinson have struggled to find success in statewide races.
The shift comes as A-list rappers like 50 Cent and Nicki Minaj join a growing number of black voices in Hollywood publicly supporting policies more in line with the Trump administration’s priorities. Following Democratic Socialist Zoran Mamdani’s victory in New York’s mayoral election on November 4, 50 Cent posted a “RIP NYC” meme and Minaj praised the president who threatened to fire Nigeria’s government over reports of persecution of Christians.
A Pew Research 2024 post-election survey conducted earlier this year found that Trump won more than 15% of black voters in the last general election, up from 8% in 2020. But recent polls show that Trump, who outperformed past Republican candidates in last year’s presidential election, is losing support among black voters.
‘Raw and unfiltered’: Young black MAGAs embrace candid style
Political strategist Janiyah Thomas said President Trump has understood since the late 1980s that culture is the gateway to personal beliefs.
Trump’s career as a reality TV star mirrors the online celebrity of the black MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, which is drawing cash among young people. Gone are such celibate military figures as Colin Powell, who openly criticized President Trump in 2016 until his death in 2021, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who asked Trump to withdraw from the 2016 presidential race but praised the Trump administration’s foreign policy moves in the Middle East this year.
Thomas, 27, was a Black media director for Trump’s 2024 campaign, which jumped into urban environments and platforms to convey the president’s message. She said her former boss’ bravado is reflected in the attitude of today’s Black MAGA figures.
“Especially in today’s day and age, we’re more raw and unfiltered,” Thomas says. “I feel like the older generation of black conservatives was more formal and rigid.”
Mr. Pearson and Mr. Thomas clung to a more confrontational political style during President Trump’s second term.
For example, Candace Owens, a black conservative influencer, is facing a lawsuit from France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, after suggesting without evidence that Macron is transgender and claiming that the foreign dignitary “is actually a man.”
Trump administration officials have embraced the brazen approach of black conservatives during the president’s second term. Many of the White House’s social media videos showcase elements of black culture, and the Trump campaign frequently uses prominent hip-hop phrases and songs to promote policy developments or troll opponents.
Since Trump took office last January, he has pardoned rapper NBA Youngboy and former Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover. The president’s actions sparked online debate among Black social media users, some of whom defended his move as a sign that the Trump administration is listening to urban voters.
While Trump’s choice won over black voters last year, exit polls on Election Day 2025 revealed a different result. According to CNN, Democrats outnumbered the majority of black voters in New Jersey (94%) and Virginia (93%).
Despite the forays President Trump has made during the campaign, his actions as commander-in-chief have a greater impact on communities at large. The unemployment rate for black Americans has jumped from 6% to 7.5%, according to federal statistics, and many argue that the administration’s federal workforce cuts have hit black employees even harder.
Bilal Sekou, a political science professor at the University of Hartford, said the issues that matter to Republican primary voters often run counter to the views of many black voters.
“Some of the positions and positions that these candidates have to take to appeal to the Republican voter base actually make them alienating at times,” Sekou told USA TODAY.
Despite the rise to fame of Gen Z stars like Pearson, Black MAGA leaders are lagging at the ballot box
Although President Trump has made a deliberate gesture of currying favor with working-class voters in poor urban areas by energizing his supporters online, black Republicans have had minimal electoral success.
Among recent statewide candidates, Walker and Robinson, the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas appointed by President Trump, failed to make history amid scandal-filled campaigns.
But there are faint signs that someone in the Black MAGA ranks might finally make history.
Rep. Byron Donald (R-Florida) is the early frontrunner for the Republican nomination for Florida governor and is likely to receive President Trump’s support. “I know Byron well and have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult level, and he is a total winner,” Trump said in a Feb. 20 Truth Social post.
The potential arrival of Casey DeSantis, the state’s first lady, could complicate matters for the two-term lawmaker and potentially divide the Republican primary. A University of North Florida poll released on July 24 shows Florida’s first lady, Casey DeSantis, with a slight lead over Donald Trump in a hypothetical race for the Republican nomination, while other polls show both men beating the Democratic candidate.
Still, the fact remains that black MAGA conservatives do not have the same level of influence in states as Democrats, who have spent decades building relationships with black voters.
“Just being a Black Republican is not enough to win an election, so you actually need to do some other things,” Pearson said. He says strong fundraising and messaging are key strategies to attract voters.
Thomas agreed. “We definitely need to be active and try to make a difference, not just on the internet, but in elections,” she added. “I mean, I think the internet is great and you can get information out to a lot of people, but it’s important to be on the ground. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
After all, entering politics is about encouraging black Americans to move to the right and support top MAGA candidates.
To turn ideas into action, prominent black conservatives like Owens partnered with Kirk’s controversial organization Turning Point USA, now led by his widow Erica Kirk, to hold a series of “Brexit” events for students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) this homecoming season, a time of celebration on college campuses. The group has made successful stops at Howard University and Bowie State University this year, but the school said it was escorted from Hampton University in Virginia last month for failing to follow visitation rules.
Black conservative activists denounced the move, saying their exclusion was an act of censorship.
“We’re silent because we are BLEXIT. We stand for Christian values, conservative principles and independent thought that challenge the mainstream,” Brexit member Craig Long said in an October 25 Instagram post.
“That’s not ‘diversity and inclusion,’ it’s discrimination against free thought,” he added. “We will not be intimidated. We will not be silenced, because true diversity means hearing all Black voices, not just those echoing in the crowd.”
Black MAGA candidates are trying to win over online culture now to win later elections
And perhaps a movement of black conservatives like Pearson’s is aimed at winning this moment online so they can win future elections. Since his inauguration nearly a year ago, Pearson has been raking in publicity and funding.
In January, he accused New York Magazine of cutting out him and other 20-something Black MAGAs from the cover image to create an all-white cover titled “The Cruel Kids’ Table.” The following month, reports surfaced that Pearson had signed a contract with the influential talent agency UTA. “Is Hollywood becoming MAGA-friendly?” a Variety article posed the question in February.
Pearson was named to the Time 100 Creators list in July, along with up-and-coming names such as TikTok sensation Alix Earle, internet guru Jay Shetty and former “Bachelor” star Nick Viall. A Sept. 2 article in the Washington Post, “MAGA Kids Are Not All White,” a week before Mr. Kirk’s death, chronicles the upset in Mr. Pearson’s group of friends.
He has been gaining new attention by throwing parties for his cause, drawing people together over McDonald’s and drinking alcohol, and appearing in interviews on Fox News. He also hangs out with fellow black Democrats — “good people,” Pearson declares.
Pearson has also been busy defending the party’s pro-Trump, anti-diversity, equity and inclusion agenda, and what online conservatives like to do: “own your freedom.” “Some of you need to worry less about EBT and more about getting to work,” Pearson told his online followers in an Oct. 29 post about Americans who lost government food aid due to the federal government shutdown.
Three years from now, Mr Pearson, 23, may be able to solve one of his party’s problems when he passes the minimum age of 25 to become an MP.
“This country has always given me so much,” he said. “I’d like to give back someday, too. I don’t know what that will look like, whether it’s in elected office or something else.”
But for the time being, Pearson is enjoying his time being young, black, and a MAGA-type right-winger.
Jay Stahl covers the intersection of politics and pop culture for USA TODAY. You can contact him at Instagram Contact jstahl@gannett.com.
Philip M. Bailey is USA TODAY’s chief political correspondent. You can contact him at × Email pbailey@gannett.com.
