John Smyth
2025-01-14 13:38:38 UTC
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Permalinkmy liberal influencer life behind to raise money for Trump
<https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14278643/lindy-li-liberal-defected-democrat-cult-raising-money-trump.html>
'A former high energy Democratic fundraiser, failed congressional
candidate and social media influencer is now raising money for
President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee.
Lindy Li made the shocking 180 after an extraordinary journey though a
crazy year in Democratic politics culminating in Kamala Harris' historic
loss to Donald Trump.
‘It’s been one of the most painful and rewarding moments of my life,’ Li
told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.
During the 2024 election, Lindy was considered a consummate Democratic
influencer combined with her ability to fundraise for the Democratic
Party.
She was invited to join events with President Joe Biden, Vice President
Kamala Harris, and First Lady Jill Biden and she championed all of them
on her social media platform.
Named by WIRED magazine as one of the top influencers of the 2024
election, Li was invited to the Democratic National Committee last
August as an official credentialed influencer and given access to
events.
On TV she celebrated Biden’s vitality, Kamala Harris’ political
strengths and condemned Trump’s racism and the overall toxicity of the
MAGA movement.
At the last Kamala Harris campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
Li was there in the front row with prominent figures and Biden’s
daughter Ashley and others to cheer on Harris as the historic first
female president on the United States.
But that all came crashing down on Election Day, when Harris lost badly
and it was clear that Democrats had seriously oversold their chances at
beating Donald Trump.
Political influencer and Democratic fundraiser Lindy Li on her journey
to the Republican party
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Political influencer and Democratic fundraiser Lindy Li on her journey
to the Republican party
Political influencer and Democratic fundraiser Lindy Li snaps a photo
with President Joe Biden
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Political influencer and Democratic fundraiser Lindy Li snaps a photo
with President Joe Biden
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That infuriated Li, who had invested a great deal of personal time and
energy in the campaign.
She was outraged that for months, Democrats had told her and others that
Harris would easily sweep the election and encouraged them to raise more
money and work harder. Crestfallen, she explained that she realized that
top leaders in the Democratic Party were just 'lying' to her the entire
time.
That inspired her to go public to criticize the campaign for their
obvious failures and outrage at the way Democrats spent her and her
fellow donors money.
She was angry, but still a Democrat who wanted to voice her criticism
and frustration for the party.
‘It was just startling how there was no sense of responsibility. They
essentially set $2 billion on fire in 100 days,’ she said in an
interview after the election with NewsNation.
For Li to criticize the party post-election was a massive shift in her
life, but one she did not expect would change her political identity.
Lindy Li poses for a photo with Vice President Kamala Harris
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Lindy Li poses for a photo with Vice President Kamala Harris
Lindy Li participates in a Hotties for Harris event during the 2024
campaign
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Lindy Li participates in a Hotties for Harris event during the 2024
campaign
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Born in China, she moved to America at the age of four and went to
Princeton. She self-described herself as a ‘book worm’ and a
‘wallflower’ who majored in philosophy, championing issues of climate
change and even ran and won and unlikely campaign for class president.
After college, she took a job at Morgan Stanley, but continued pursuing
a dream of running for political office. She worked enthusiastically to
boost Democrats for decades, interning with former congressman Joe
Sestak, and even unsuccessfully running for Congress herself at the age
of 25.
In many ways Lindy Li could have been the next rising political star in
the Democratic Party. A Chinese immigrant, whose great-grandfather was
murdered by communists, ran as an inspirational figure who believed in
the promise of America. But every attempt at running for office ended in
the establishment figures in Pennsylvania crushing her political
aspirations.
She continued on as a fundraiser and a media personality, trashing Trump
and his MAGA movement at every opportunity.
In March 2013, Li described Trump as a ‘serial rapist’ and that the
Conservative Political Action Conference was ‘a gathering of sexual
predators.’ Any criticism of the ‘woke’ Democratic Party, she insisted,
was just an excuse for Republicans to be ‘anti-black.’
But when Kamala Harris lost, Li turned her criticism to the failed
political consultants within the Democratic Party.
Her criticism was not received well by the wounded Democratic influencer
community who had sat with her in the same events with Joe Biden, Kamala
Harris, and White House officials.
“All I did is tell the truth I literally that’s all I did, all I did is
tell it like it was,’ she reflected.
Predictably, Li found her social media accounts swamped with accusations
of being a Chinese spy, a traitor and a flood of the usual racist and
sexist slurs from angry followers.
Lindy Li at the White House
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Lindy Li at the White House
Political influencer Lindy Li on her instagram
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Political influencer Lindy Li on her instagram
‘The Chinese communist party killed my great grandfather and that’s why
we left the country, like give me a f***ing break ….. for someone to say
something that heinous it just shows that the racism of the Democratic
Party was there all along,’ she said.
Despite her love for the Democratic party, Li was no socialist, as she
had participated in a Fox News documentary in 2020 revealing her
loathing for communist China and a warning to supporters of committed
Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Republicans took notice, spotting an opportunity to recruit a
disaffected Democrat to the Trump team.
Prominent Republicans put Li in touch with Trump’s son Eric who directed
her to RNC officials and Trump transition organizers.
Now she is doing the unthinkable, raising money for the president-elect
she fought against for nearly a decade.
Li estimated to DailyMail.com that she had raised funds within
six-figure range for the Trump transition team in the short time she
started soliciting donations. The Trump transition team did not respond
to a request for comment.
Republicans, Li said, accepted her with open arms, even inviting her to
Trump's club Mar-a-Lago for the year-end fundraisers and festivities.
She did not go to Mar-a-Lago but was touched by the warm welcome that
Trump supporters were willing to give her.
With Democrats, Li said she ‘fought tooth and nail’ just to get
recognized. Republicans, she said, were far more welcoming.
‘It’s like night and day,’ she said, citing daily communications from
Republicans on the committee.
Many Democrats are furious at her betrayal, but Li argued they made a
mistake by failing to recognize their failures and accept criticism.
‘They’d rather destroy the critics rather than than accept that the
party might have done something wrong, it’s more convenient to blame
me,’ she said.
Li says her family and lose friends are accepting of her identity flip,
but the influencers she spent time with during the election are now out
to destroy her.
Political influencer and former Democratic Fundraiser Lindy Li
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Political influencer and former Democratic Fundraiser Lindy Li
Political influencer and former Democratic Fundraiser Lindy Li appears
with Sen. John Fetterman
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View gallery
Political influencer and former Democratic Fundraiser Lindy Li appears
with Sen. John Fetterman
‘My real friends are all supportive, but my political friends, it’s just
been really bad. It’s a cult. The way that they’ve treated me is
difficult,’ she said.
She is also quietly recruiting former DNC donors on Trump’s behalf, as
many in her community are already looking beyond the Democratic Party.
‘I’m not the only donor, I’m just the only one who is a public figure
and willing to speak out, everyone else is afraid for their own necks,’
she said.
Trump’s reelection represented a shift, she argued, as more Americans
were ready to give him a chance.
‘I think people have had enough of the “Oh Trump is really bad we’re
going to pre-hate everything he does,” she explained. 'I think it’s
dead.’
Once a prominent Democratic guest, Li is preparing to attend the
inauguration of the man she worked for months to defeat.
At the moment, she's grateful that Trump-supporting Republicans welcomed
her into their party.
‘They are so much more human with me,' she explained. 'With the DNC it
was so mercenary it felt that everyone had dollar signs in their eyes,
they treated me like a wallet it was just so disgusting and gross'