Donald and the super fan ... was it all just a stunt?
A DONALD Trump ‘super fan’ who was supposedly invited spontaneously on stage at a rally by the President faced accusations last night that it was a
pre-arranged stunt. After being asked on stage, Gene Huber, 45, told the 9,000- strong crowd that he has a 6ft cardboard cutout of Mr Trump at home. ‘I salute that every day and I pray and I tell him, “Mr President, I pray for your safety today”,’ he said. ‘I’m not lying – I do that every single day to the President, but he’s cardboard.’ Delighted by the force of Mr Huber’s support, President Trump told the crowd in Melbourne, Florida, that his biggest fan had somehow managed to avoid his tight security and get on stage. ‘I wouldn’t say the Secret Service was thrilled with that, but we know our people, right?’ Mr Trump told cheering supporters as his wife Melania looked on admiringly. ‘we know our people. Great guy. And so many others.’
In what would have been another serious security risk if he had indeed bypassed Secret Service checks, Mr Huber was able to hug Mr Trump as he praised his first month in office.
As the car salesman and father of two exited the stage, the President remarked: ‘A star is born.’
But Mr Huber faced suggestions yesterday that his turn on stage was not as spontaneous as he and Mr Trump suggested.
His Facebook page has several posts that appear to indicate he was in touch with the President’s staff or visiting Trump-connected properties earlier this month.
Last week, he posted a screenshot from his phone suggesting Mr Trump had called him. ‘I guess our great President knows how much I love him, and support him every second!’ he wrote. He said he initially thought the call was from his employer then realised it was from ‘our smart leader’.
His Facebook page also shows him ‘checking in’ at the white House and the Trump International Golf Club in west Palm Beach, Florida, this month.
The following day he visited Trump Tower in New York and, four days after that, the Trump winery in Virginia.
But Mr Huber told the New York Daily News his social media posts were ‘a joke’ and ‘for fun’ and he never talked to the Trump team before his moment on stage.
‘This was not planned, this was not planted, this was unexpected,’ he said. ‘I had no idea about this. I mean, look at the way I acted.’
He pointed out that he had posted live videos of himself waiting in the crowd for the rally as early as 4am and talking to reporters throughout the day. He said he suspected Mr Trump chose him because he saw such footage.
A new version of Mr Trump’s ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries is being planned. It will not stop those holding green card residency permits or travellers already on planes from entering the US.