Did Donald Trump pay actors to show up at his campaign launch in New York City yesterday?
Angelo Carusone, an Executive Vice President for Media Matters and #DumpTrump organizer, seems to think so:
Media Matters guy has circumstantial evidence Trump hired paid actors to pack his campaign launch https://t.co/VA3MwtVz9B
— Reid J. Epstein (@reidepstein) June 17, 2015
Carusone posted this now deleted picture from Instagram of two people he says are actors:
Carusone went into further detail on who he thinks hired the alleged actors in a post on Medium:
The gentleman who posted the pic is a paid actor who regularly posts photos from his gigs on social media. This seemed like all the others from his gigs that he posts. Sure. It seemed fishy. But, but I figured that perhaps it was just a coincidence? Paid actors can support presidential candidates too. No big. I persisted in my incredulity at the thought that Trump might actually pay actors to attend his campaign launch.
Then I discovered the other person pictured in the photo is also a paid actress. Hmmm. That got me thinking a bit. So, I did some digging. Here’s what I discovered…
According to sources: some actors were hired to attend and participate in the event; and, a company called Extra Mile NYC connected Trump’s campaign/event organizers with the paid actors.
I reached out to Extra Mile NYC for comment, but they did not respond.
So there you have it. Donald Trump, who has promised to help repair America’s brand (despite doing some serious damage to Macy’s brand) seemingly paid some actors to participate in his presidential campaign launch.
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However, BuzzFeed’s McKay Coppins received a “roundabout denial” when he asked Trump’s campaign manager if they paid people to show up as supporters:
https://twitter.com/mckaycoppins/status/611224506439438336
From BuzzFeed:
When I asked a Trump spokesperson whether they had hired actors to fill the event, his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowoski, called back with a roundabout denial. “I recommend you go and do your homework before you write something that’s completely factually untrue,” he said. “You’ve tried that already.”
But…
The Daily Mail is now reporting that it has confirmed that Trump did indeed pay people to show up at the event yesterday:
Daily Mail found additional sources that confirmed for the paper the use of paid actors at Trump's campaign event: http://t.co/QjYFrOKwJn
— Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) June 17, 2015
From the Daily Mail (emphasis ours):
In an article published on the Medium social media platform, Carusone points to an Instagram post by actor Domenico Del Giacco, showing him posing in the lobby with the tag ‘Trump Mania’.
Sources close to Del Giacco confirmed to DailyMail.com that he was paid to attend.
The woman next to Del Giacco in the photograph was also named on social media as Courtney Klotz, who promotes herself as a member of the Screen Actors’ Guild.
Back over to you, Donald. Paid or not?
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