Rumors of secret GOP payments to influencers now confirmed by ex-insider: expert
Ashley St. Clair, a 27-year-old former brand ambassador for Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, has turned into one of the fiercest critics of the movement she helped build.
St. Clair, who amassed more than a million followers on X, published an anti-transgender children's book, appeared on Fox News and took selfies at Mar-a-Lago, now alleges that many of President Donald Trump's top online cheerleaders are "mercenaries of the attention economy" coordinating with administration officials for paid promotional deals, reported the Washington Post.
"There is no free thinking here," she said in a recent TikTok video. "They are waiting to get marching orders and a direct deposit."
In near-daily TikTok monologues to over 77,000 followers, St. Clair claims to expose secrets of her former allies and the "hidden machinery" that created social media stars, alleging that top MAGA personalities portrayed as grassroots activists received coordinated talking points from administration officials and congressional Republicans through group chats with names like "Fight, Fight, Fight."
St. Clair revealed in February 2025 that she had secretly had a child with Elon Musk, the owner of X, and after their relationship ended and custody disputes emerged, she withdrew from public life for several months, describing it as a period of doubt and self-reflection when she realized she "didn't understand what [she] was talking about."
She emerged in January expressing "immense guilt" over spreading anti-transgender views and contributing to a movement built on "fear and false patriotism," where she said "everything is staged, everything is for a dollar, everything is about making money."
St. Clair has shared screenshots of direct messages offering her thousands of dollars per post to boost conservative candidates, and documented campaigns from influencer-marketing platforms instructing creators to coordinate messaging around political issues.
She provided evidence of Trump campaign official James Blair requesting her help amplifying posts attacking the Biden administration, with communications suggesting coordination between political operatives and social media personalities.
“Can E help gas this fire?” Blair wrote her in October 2024, likely referring to Musk, who later responded and promoted at least two of his posts attacking Democrats before the presidential election.
Critics, including fellow influencer Rogan O'Handley, have dismissed her as a disgruntled attention-seeker, but Renée DiResta, a Georgetown University researcher who studies political influencers, said St. Clair is "saying out loud what people who track the space have observed on the outside to be highly likely," confirming suspicions about the lucrative nature of right-wing influencer networks.
St. Clair said she is speaking out despite risks to her career because she fears the "viral-outrage infrastructure" will outlive Trump's presidency, fostering continued secretive cooperation between political operatives and influencers that could damage American politics.
She is currently raising two children, completing her undergraduate degree and preparing for law school.
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