The Strait of Hormuz may still be closed. But the MAGA influencer-to-foreign agent pipeline remains wide open.
As The Wall Street Journal reported in January, we’re witnessing a growing trend of influencers from President Donald Trump’s purportedly “America First” movement being hired to advance the interests of foreign nations in Washington. The Journal’s report specifically mentioned popular MAGA social media influencers — in many cases, people without any diplomatic expertise — being sought out to act as paid agents for nations seeking to sway the United States government, including Israel and Qatar.
The latest beneficiaries of this trend? Extremist Trump adviser Roger Stone and fellow MAGA activist CJ Pearson — both of whom played key roles in Trump’s failed attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss — have been hired as lobbyists for the Bahamas.
On Friday, the Miami Herald reported on court filings showing that Stone and Pearson have agreed to serve as agents for the Bahamas in lucrative deals:
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Coreco “CJ” Pearson, a MAGA youth influencer and commentator, has registered as a foreign agent and will be paid $20,000 a month.
In his filing, Pearson said he will “assist the Commonwealth of the Bahamas in its communications efforts to build stronger relations with the United States.”
Ahead of Pearson’s filing, Trump ally Roger Stone amended his own filing as a foreign agent on behalf of the country. Initially, Stone said DCI Group AZ, L.L.C, would be paid $125,000 a month to help The Bahamas “build stronger relations” with the U.S.; on March 25, he amended the filing to say he is being paid $100,000.
Contacted by the Miami Herald, Stone declined to comment. Joining him in lobbying efforts for The Bahamas is Doug Davenport, a former Trump attorney.
It seems the Bahamas has become a cushy outpost for Trump allies. Last year, Trump appointed failed Senate candidate Herschel Walker to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas. The Herald noted that the Bahamas’ hiring of Pearson and Stone as lobbyists comes amid a rift between Walker and Bahamian leadership over the country’s decision to accept Chinese money to help build a hospital.
Put another way: The lobbying deals, which have garnered backlash from critics of the Bahamas’ current leadership, come at a time when the Bahamas is incentivized to ingratiate itself with MAGA world.
As I see it, there are two equally concerning issues to raise about these and other such hirings. First, there’s the issue of pro-Trump influencers being showered with cash to try to sway an administration that has proved to be oriented toward cronyism, and which has shown complete disregard for ethics and the Constitution.
But there’s also the growing issue of prominent right-wing influencers signing on as foreign agents despite comporting themselves as “America First” ideologues who are averse to foreign interests. Hypocrisy abounds.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.