Busted! Former Republican Candidates Posed As Constituents at Trump's PA Town Hall
Trump's Pennsylvania town hall was fake and staged, a MeidasTouch analysis finds.
Written for MeidasTouch by J.D. Wolf
At Trump’s bizarre town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania on Monday, not many questions were asked after audience members fainted while others in the crowd shouted for Trump to turn on the air conditioning. Trump cut the event short and played recorded songs instead of taking additional questions in a puzzling display weeks away from Election Day.
Town halls are a format designed for constituents to be able to ask questions of politicians. In this format, politicians can be asked questions that are not expecting or be asked to address something they wish to avoid.
This format can be more authentic, but poses a risk for the candidate, especially if multiple questions can be asked. At Trump's town hall, only four individuals, who were only identified by first name (Reed, Angelina, Yanni, and Heather), were able to ask questions in Trump's town hall format.
MeidasTouch has been able to identify two of these four constituents, Angelina Banks and Yanni Lambros, as being former MAGA Republican political candidates. In other words, Trump's campaign had MAGA Republican operatives posing as regular voters asking questions as his Pennsylvania town hall event, a move that mitigates his risk of holding a town hall, and reveals the entire event to be a sham.
One thing striking about all four individuals, often reading from notecards, was that the questions they asked were written in a way that were very favorable to Trump, allowing him to hit on his favorite topics like the economy, inflation, and immigration. Two of the four individuals used their questions to attack the Biden / Harris administration, and the two others mentioned leaving the Democratic Party.
Trump's town hall was not hosted by a news organization, but by the Trump campaign itself. Admitted puppy killer Kristi Noem served as Trump’s town hall moderator and introduced these constituents as “American patriots” who “want to ask you some questions.”
Kristi Noem: “Mister President, as you can see we’ve got a lot of American patriots here tonight that want to ask you some questions.”
Reid
Noem introduced the individuals by name starting with Reid. The man, wearing a black hoodies in support of the Philadelphia Eagles, was sitting in the audience.
Reid asked Trump a question about home ownership which included an attack on the Biden / Harris administration:
"Good evening, Mr. President. My name is Reid. I'm a single father and Iraq war veteran. I dream of owning a home for me and my son, but mortgage rates under the Biden / Harris administration have made that impossible. What can you do to help make home ownership affordable again?"
Trump praised Reid's question as a "great question" and used it to attack Kamala Harris.
Angelina Banks
Noem later introduced Angelina, who MeidasTouch has been able to identify as Angelina Banks, a former MAGA Republican candidate in Pennsylvania.
Banks appeared on stage with Trump and implied she left the Democratic Party she grew up in, and hit on Trump's favorite topics of immigration, inflation, and specifically mentioned "dangerous cities," all topics the Trump campaign emphasizes:
"My name is Angelina and I was raised in a Philadelphia Democrat household, a union household. As a mother of a blended family, my top issues are the same issues that face all Americans. Illegal immigration hurts Black Americans. Inflation hurts Black Americans, and dangerous cities hurt Black Americans. Like my fellow Americans, my grocery bill has not gone down. Everything is still so very expensive. What steps will your administration take to help American families suffering from this inflation?"
Trump called Banks question "such a great question" and used it to brag about himself, attack Kamala Harris, and claim migrants are taking jobs from Black Americans.
In 2022, Banks ran for both Township Commissioner and State Representative in Pennsylvania and was endorsed by the Montgomery Country GOP. The Montgomery County GOP tweeted confirmation that Banks asked Trump a question at his town hall on Monday.
The Montgomery GOP promoted Banks' campaign events in 2022. Banks also has promoted other candidates for the GOP such as Dr. Oz and Dave McCormick and has appeared on air on a local pro-Trump radio show.
In July, Banks was at the RNC as part of the Pennsylvania Delegation where she served as an alternate delegate. Banks also appeared on stage with JD Vance at a Moms for American event on Tuesday.
Yanni Lambros
The next person Noem introduced was Yanni, who MeidasTouch has been able to identify as Yanni Lambros, another former MAGA Republican candidate who ran for Lansdale Council Ward 1 and runs the Landsdale Republican Club.
Lambros asked his question from the audience area, a question that was very Trump-friendly, attacking both the economy and the Biden / Harris administration:
"Thank you for being here today, Mr. President to answer questions from all the voters of Pennsylvania and just to work hard and show support. I appreciate that. I'm a small business owner in Landsdale. I have a small breakfast / lunch restaurant, Koffee Korner...and to be honest, Mr. President, I really am, you know, praying for you to get in there and change the policies. Ever since the gas prices started spiking I noticed literally everything started spiking from deliveries to services, goods, even maintenance, overall maintenance. Everything's spiked up and it's really hurting small businesses, small business owners, and those who work within them. So, my question is, what's you plan to help bring common sense back and help small businesses that got destroyed by Democrats after COVID and the Biden administration?"
Yanni Lamdros: "To be honest, Mr. President, I really am, you know, praying for you to get in there..."
Trump called Lambros' question "great" and then used it to launch an attack on electricity and push his ideas on energy.
On Twitter, Lambros posted a picture of himself at the town hall near the empty stage. According to a candidate interview in 2023, Lambros is a realtor at Berkshire Hathaway and runs the breakfast and lunch restaurant called Koffee Korner which he also revealed in his town hall question.
Lambros, who has ran at least twice for office, said he was running because "Republicans in Lansdale have not had representation of policy and ideas for years" and he "would like to be a voice for them." Lambros indicated he was helping rebuild the Republican Party in Lansdale, but according to Patch, lost his race for borough council, Ward 1 in 2023.
Heather
Lastly, Noem introduced Heather who also indicated she left the Democratic Party. When the crowd booed, Trump stated that Heather is "on our side."
Trump: "She's on our side."
Heather, who was sitting next to Lambros, also offered up a Trump-friendly question allowing him to address one of his favorite topics, immigration:
"Yes, I saw the light. I no longer identify with the Democratic Party. They've put criminals and foreign enemies ahead of American citizens. The border is the issue of this election because if we can't secure the border we won't have a country. We know you're going to finish the wall, but how are you going to handle the deportation of criminals?"
There were four "constituents" at Trump town hall which was ran by the Trump campaign and MeidasTouch identified two of them as MAGA Republican candidates who work to elect Republicans. Trump has staged delivering pizzas to firefighters, had MAGA Republican operatives waiting for him at an Atlanta Chick-fil-A, held a fake union rally at a non-union shop with non-union workers holding union signs, and visited a bodega that was full of members of a Republican club.
CNN reported that Fox News failed to disclose that their hosted town hall for Trump was stuffed with Trump's supporters. Trump's campaign events continue to prove themselves to be fake and staged. This is just the latest installment.
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Wonderful reporting! Above and beyond corporate media. Everything in Trump’s life has been staged, like a reality show (those aren’t really realty). At present, Trump’s cognitive, mental, and physical condition are even more difficult to stage since he is decompensating and aging at an accelerated rate.
Seriously not surprised by this. Pretty much everything he does is staged or rigged to his favor. Including, but not limited to those "attempted assassinations".