Gurnee, IL

when Salas-garcia was a Sophomore, she also decided to create a Young America’s Foundation chapter at her Chicago high school, never considering it might conflict with her duties as a board member of the campus Latino club. She learned she was wrong, she said, when teachers kept her after school for more than two hours trying to force her to choose one club over the other. “They were basically scolding me. I was so scared and didn’t know that I should lawyer up,” she said. “I was barely getting my feet wet in politics. I felt so alone at the time. I was 16, and they were accusing me of harassing students with my views.” (The school did not respond to Newsweek’s request for comment.) Not only did she go ahead with the YAF chapter but she got a job as an intern with Bruce Rauner, the Republican governor of Illinois at the time. The incident with her teachers reminded her to be bold in the face of adversity. “My dad always told me the greatest defense mechanism is silence in the moment, but when the Lord gives you the opportunity to speak truth, take it.” Now 18 and studying political science at Liberty University, Salas is also a product ambassador for Chic Politico, where she models T-shirts aimed at conservative women, emblazoned with slogans like “Raised on Reaganomics” and “You Had Me at Limited Government.” She said her Christian faith and her attendance at a conference by conservative organization Turning Point USA, turned her away from her former liberalism. “They saw me for my ideas and who I am,” she said. “Jorge Ramos and the others at Univision and Telemundo tell me I can’t make it in politics because I have a president who doesn’t like me and the paleface won’t allow it. But look at the values of Latinos: We love our families and my grandfather owns two AR rifles; we have a strong work ethic; and we try to stay away from social programs even if we have to work three jobs. Those are the Latinos I know.” simple act of putting on that red hat would unleash hate from the left?” he asked. “The truth was not important; advancing their anti-christian, anti-conservative, anti-donald-trump narrative was all that mattered .... That would teach him not to wear a MAGA hat!” Since his speech, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell has hired Sandmann as a grassroots director for his re-election campaign.