Trump and the MAGA crowd like to talk about “Soros-funded paid agitators,” partly because they can’t imagine anyone doing something out of a sense of civic duty or community, and partly because paying people to act as if they believe in a certain thing, even if they don’t actually believe in or endorse it, is just the way they operate.
So it should come as no surprise that they’re now paying people to watch the unwatched (and from some reviews, unwatchable) Melania film. Pictured above is a screenshot I took from Craigslist Boston at around 4 p.m. on Thursday, January 29th. (Here’s the link to the Craigslist ad.)
Here’s the thing, and this is me putting on my “developer relations” and “community building” hat:
The optics are poor, and there are better ways to “seed” an audience.
They could have easily just bought out the theatre, sent out invitations to pro-Trump groups, influencers, people in the area who are on their email/phone/texting lists, give out popcorn and soda for free, make it a party, and capture the entire thing on video.
Look, I know times are tough out there, so I’m not going to judge you if you’re in Boston and need the money. It’s also an opportunity to do hilarious things — I’ll leave those as an exercise for the reader.