On Tuesday, business tycoon Donald Trump made his official announcement with the help of various paid actors to help stimulate a larger roar of support for the new presidential candidate. Apparently, $50 was a small fee to pay for his fair-weather supporters.
An e-mail blast was sent out last Friday from Extra Mile Casting to its background actors in hopes to raise a successful turnout during Trump's announcement.
"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," states the June 12 email, acquired 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."
For less than three hours of work, the actors would receive $50 a pop. Extra Mile was extending their search to extras involved with Gotham Government Relations and Communications, a political consulting group known to have worked with Trump previously.
.@realDonaldTrump staffer not too pumped i took pic of "homemade" signs (passed out to people before event) in trash pic.twitter.com/zLL2ETBI79
— Megan Specia (@meganspecia) June 16, 2015
Anti-Trump activist, Angelo Carusone, was the first to question if Trump's campaign hired extras as he stumbled upon a questionable Instagram post, reports The Independent. He recognized background actor Domenico Del Giacco who posed at the event, immediately screen-shotting the photo and creating his own blog post. Del Giacco, who has since deleted his entire Instagram account, is pictured alongside actress Courtney Klotz.
When contacted for a comment about the political astroturfing, an Extra Mile worker said, "We don't know anything about that." The woman on the other end of the phone eventually said she couldn't make further comments and hung up when asked if she was denying the story.
Trump's campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, refuted the accusations of paying actors and explained that he never heard of Extra Mile or Gotham GR. "Mr. Trump draws record crowds at almost every venue at which he is a featured speaker," Lewandowski told The Hollywood Reporter. "The crowds are large, often record-setting and enthusiastic, often with standing ovations. Mr. Trump's message is, 'Make America great again.' "
