White nationalist explains why he's spending thousands on pro-Trump robocalls
If you live in Wisconsin and have a landline, chances are you've received a phone call urging you to vote for Donald Trump, paid for by William Johnson — lawyer, persimmon farmer, and white nationalist.
The robocall's narrator has a "sweet, grandmotherly voice" and only briefly mentions white nationalism, Johnson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That was entirely on purpose, Johnson said, because his ultimate goal is to get people "to hear, to feel comfortable with, the term 'white nationalist.'" This wasn't his first time dabbling in robocalls — he's been behind similar calls in Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota, and Utah — and Johnson estimates he spent about $6,000 on this round. The calls started going out Saturday night and continued into Sunday, just before the state's primary on Tuesday.
The woman on the robocall says her name is Mary and she's a member of the American Freedom Party (described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a group "established by racist Southern California skinheads that aims to deport immigrants and return the United States to white rule"). Trump, she says, will "respect all women and help preserve Western civilization," and will make a "fine president." At the end of the call, Mary says her message was not authorized by Trump, and recites Johnson's phone number. Johnson says he's received "hundreds and hundreds of calls," both positive and negative, but one person rejecting his message is Trump himself. "We have no knowledge of this and strongly condemn these views," spokeswoman Hope Hicks said. Catherine Garcia
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June



