WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.759 Hi, I'm Tori and I love MAGA. Hey guys, Rich 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.919 Comadier here at WeavingMAGA .org with the Midas 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.279 Touch Network. We got a brand new Weaving MAGA 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:11.339 testimonial for you today. I want to bring her 00:00:11.339 --> 00:00:15.880 in. Her name is Tori Hurst. She's from the great 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:19.539 state of Texas. She reached out to us after seeing 00:00:19.539 --> 00:00:22.359 a story that we had put out there along with 00:00:22.359 --> 00:00:24.160 our other testimonials, which you can find at 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.559 WeavingMAGA .org. Tori, first off, thank you 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:30.649 for being here today. Really appreciate you reaching 00:00:30.649 --> 00:00:32.829 out to us and having the bravery to do this. 00:00:32.869 --> 00:00:36.369 Let's just get right into this. Tell us what 00:00:36.369 --> 00:00:40.030 it was about the MAGA community and Trump's campaign 00:00:40.030 --> 00:00:42.969 that you found alluring and why you gravitated 00:00:42.969 --> 00:00:46.850 to it. Yeah, so I've seen a lot of people talk 00:00:46.850 --> 00:00:49.789 about MAGA being the party for people who feel 00:00:49.789 --> 00:00:52.450 left behind. And I grew up really, really poor. 00:00:53.909 --> 00:00:56.090 And a lot of the people in my life who showed 00:00:56.090 --> 00:01:00.189 kindness to me were MAGA. So I was kind of told 00:01:00.189 --> 00:01:03.070 that the way to be successful was to be a Republican 00:01:03.070 --> 00:01:05.329 and to vote for Trump and to do MAGA things. 00:01:06.010 --> 00:01:09.709 And when he first ran, it was my first election 00:01:09.709 --> 00:01:13.310 where I was allowed to vote. So I remember voting 00:01:13.310 --> 00:01:15.250 for him and feeling really proud and like, hey, 00:01:15.349 --> 00:01:18.489 I did the right thing. I'm going to finally be 00:01:18.489 --> 00:01:20.549 able to not live paycheck to paycheck anymore. 00:01:20.950 --> 00:01:22.790 Like he's going to do great things because this 00:01:22.790 --> 00:01:24.909 is what every trusted adult in my life was telling 00:01:24.909 --> 00:01:33.700 me. Yeah, I think that the economic worries that 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:37.079 a lot of people had in supporting Trump, I feel 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:42.920 like those were and are valid reasons. I don't 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:45.739 think that candidate Trump then or President 00:01:45.739 --> 00:01:50.840 Trump now actually has any solutions for working 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:54.700 families and for small business owners. I don't 00:01:54.700 --> 00:01:57.519 say it is a self -defense, but I do think that 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:02.719 it was a legitimate and good reason that people 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:05.219 had for supporting Trump at the time. You know, 00:02:05.219 --> 00:02:08.159 seeing jobs go overseas, watching once vibrant 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:13.080 communities get hollowed out. I knew people who 00:02:13.080 --> 00:02:17.280 had lost business to foreign nations from their 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:20.939 own small business. So Trump really spoke to, 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:25.789 hey, the system. is rigging or the system is 00:02:25.789 --> 00:02:31.669 rigged against so many working americans lower 00:02:31.669 --> 00:02:35.289 income americans small business owners and i 00:02:35.289 --> 00:02:39.629 don't i don't know that hillary really spoke 00:02:39.629 --> 00:02:43.050 to that as well as she could have in hindsight 00:02:43.050 --> 00:02:45.169 now of course looking back on it if i could do 00:02:45.169 --> 00:02:47.530 it again i would have voted for hillary and for 00:02:47.530 --> 00:02:52.060 and for joe in 2020 but Talk a little bit about 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:56.360 how you feel like your upbringing shaped some 00:02:56.360 --> 00:03:00.120 of your political beliefs that led you to go 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:03.919 and support Trump. Yeah. So like I had mentioned, 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:06.539 I grew up really poor. I lived in Florida at 00:03:06.539 --> 00:03:10.639 the time and my family, it was so bad that we 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:12.479 didn't have electricity sometimes in the summer. 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:15.680 And so I spent a lot of time really angry at 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:17.680 systems. Like I was told welfare is supposed 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:20.800 to save people and get them out of poverty. But 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:23.219 here I am a 16 year old girl and I can't even 00:03:23.219 --> 00:03:25.379 afford a new pair of jeans to go back to school 00:03:25.379 --> 00:03:27.840 this school year. So I'm being told like these 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:29.500 systems are here to save you. They're here to 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:31.759 protect you. But I felt really left behind by 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:34.960 them. And that was, like I said, a lot of time 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.419 where my friend's parents stepped up. And I'm 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:39.479 not going to discredit the kind things they did 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:41.780 for a child in poverty, but I do think that they 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:45.039 used that as a way to teach me what they felt 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:47.699 was right. And so I didn't take the time to develop 00:03:47.699 --> 00:03:52.340 my own political opinions. And my parents never 00:03:52.340 --> 00:03:55.340 talked about politics, really. So like I said, 00:03:55.379 --> 00:03:57.439 I was really resentful of my parents for our 00:03:57.439 --> 00:04:01.810 financial situation. I moved out of my parents' 00:04:01.930 --> 00:04:05.789 house when I was 17. I was 17 when I moved out. 00:04:06.150 --> 00:04:08.229 And I was living in this little trailer in the 00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:10.229 back of an old woman's property. God bless her. 00:04:11.990 --> 00:04:15.569 And like I said, I just really wanted to not 00:04:15.569 --> 00:04:17.790 have to buy my food at the dollar store anymore. 00:04:17.930 --> 00:04:20.569 And here comes Trump saying, hey, I'm going to 00:04:20.569 --> 00:04:22.610 make America great again. And that you have to 00:04:22.610 --> 00:04:26.290 couple that with I was never really taught American 00:04:26.290 --> 00:04:28.170 history, right? Like this whole make America 00:04:28.170 --> 00:04:30.779 great again thing. what period of time were we 00:04:30.779 --> 00:04:33.120 talking about because in my mind i'm just thinking 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:35.740 about white families specifically and i'm a big 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:39.680 fan of owning my biases um white families specifically 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:43.000 being able to live on one income like a dad working 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.100 mom staying home being able to have a pension 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:47.879 have a car have a house and i was like man i 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:51.079 just i want that like i want to not have to work 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:54.100 60 hours a week and go to college to be able 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:57.129 to afford food not from the dollar tree And you 00:04:57.129 --> 00:04:59.050 couple that with the people in my life that I 00:04:59.050 --> 00:05:02.790 saw that were successful and they were MAGA. 00:05:02.889 --> 00:05:06.290 I remember specifically one of my friend's parents 00:05:06.290 --> 00:05:08.410 had a cup that said the liberals are coming with 00:05:08.410 --> 00:05:10.050 a Paul Revere on it. And that was my favorite 00:05:10.050 --> 00:05:12.949 coffee cup. I thought it was so funny. Ironically, 00:05:12.949 --> 00:05:14.649 now that I've changed, I still want the coffee 00:05:14.649 --> 00:05:20.050 cup. But it was like the perfect storm of I just 00:05:20.050 --> 00:05:22.110 don't want to be poor anymore. Here's this man 00:05:22.110 --> 00:05:24.790 that's from outside the system. I know he has 00:05:24.790 --> 00:05:27.250 name recognition. I remember him from The Apprentice 00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:31.189 growing up. And again, I was young when all of 00:05:31.189 --> 00:05:33.410 that happened. So in my mind, he's super successful. 00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:35.430 He had a whole TV show where he fired people 00:05:35.430 --> 00:05:38.009 all the time. He has to be the best. And I didn't 00:05:38.009 --> 00:05:42.550 know about the bankruptcies or any of that. Yeah, 00:05:42.589 --> 00:05:45.129 I think that, again, you're illustrating how 00:05:45.129 --> 00:05:50.139 there's a... There was a part of Trump's campaign 00:05:50.139 --> 00:05:53.399 then, and I think it was applicable in 20 and 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:58.339 24, where apolitical Americans were attracted 00:05:58.339 --> 00:06:05.779 to his candidacy. And you're saying it here about 00:06:05.779 --> 00:06:09.180 him being an outsider. And again, I will not 00:06:09.180 --> 00:06:15.040 say this as a self -defense, but to try to demythologize 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:18.470 a little bit some of the reasons that people 00:06:18.470 --> 00:06:20.149 said, yeah, I'm going to go with Trump, especially 00:06:20.149 --> 00:06:23.350 in 16, is that, yes, he ran as a Republican, 00:06:23.449 --> 00:06:25.870 but he was a true outsider. He had no government, 00:06:25.949 --> 00:06:30.310 no military, and no political experience whatsoever. 00:06:31.389 --> 00:06:36.370 And I felt like, and I'm curious about your feelings 00:06:36.370 --> 00:06:38.970 on this also, I felt like we needed somebody 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:42.930 who would come in and essentially obliterate 00:06:42.930 --> 00:06:45.920 the established political order. I felt like 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:48.060 both parties were the same. I felt like they 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:51.160 neglected most Americans, just like you said 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:54.839 a moment ago, feeling unheard, unseen, left behind. 00:06:56.500 --> 00:07:00.720 Those feelings and phenomena are real, and they're 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:04.500 valid. Did you feel that way with Trump? I know 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:08.259 what you're saying about maybe not knowing a 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:12.019 lot about his own history. Given your upbringing, 00:07:12.259 --> 00:07:15.000 did you share some of those sentiments I did? 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:17.100 Which is, yes, we need somebody to come in and 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:19.199 just take a sledgehammer and a flamethrower to 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:24.579 the system. Yeah, absolutely. I think that, and 00:07:24.579 --> 00:07:27.120 he made a lot of promises like that. And I want 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.000 to touch on something you said about not making 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:31.500 excuses. I'm a big fan of accountability. I made 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:35.420 my choices and I held my beliefs. So me sharing 00:07:35.420 --> 00:07:38.779 this is not me making any excuses for that. I 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:40.560 have a lot of work to do to make up for those 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:42.980 choices. However, I do want people to understand 00:07:42.980 --> 00:07:45.560 how you get there. And I guess that probably 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:49.740 goes better at the end of why I left. But yeah, 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:52.879 he came in. He made a lot of promises about, 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:55.139 I'm an outsider. I can see all these problems 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:57.360 because I'm an outsider and I'm not going to 00:07:57.360 --> 00:07:59.759 take their money. And I was like, well, he's 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:01.579 an underdog. What does he have to lose? He's 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:04.220 not taking any money from it. He just wants to 00:08:04.220 --> 00:08:08.310 help the American people. You know, I almost 00:08:08.310 --> 00:08:10.589 feel like in this conversation, I'm bringing 00:08:10.589 --> 00:08:15.029 my I'm putting myself back in 2015 and 16. And 00:08:15.029 --> 00:08:21.550 some of those some of those feelings of exhilaration, 00:08:21.589 --> 00:08:23.790 some of those feelings of we're making history, 00:08:23.910 --> 00:08:25.730 you know, even right now they're being conjured 00:08:25.730 --> 00:08:29.389 because I remember very well how I felt. And 00:08:29.389 --> 00:08:32.230 I felt like, OK, just like you said, this person 00:08:32.230 --> 00:08:36.690 doesn't need the job, doesn't need to do it. 00:08:37.769 --> 00:08:40.529 Thus, he must be doing it for the right reasons 00:08:40.529 --> 00:08:44.429 to make the country a better place for all Americans. 00:08:45.389 --> 00:08:49.950 For me, Make America Great Again was not nostalgic. 00:08:49.970 --> 00:08:54.690 I was 39 years old in 2016, so I'm now giving 00:08:54.690 --> 00:08:58.129 my age out there for everyone. For me, it was, 00:08:58.149 --> 00:09:01.769 and this sounds a little bit delusional to say 00:09:01.769 --> 00:09:03.809 this, but it's the truth. I felt like Make America 00:09:03.809 --> 00:09:06.669 Great Again was actually very progressive. and 00:09:06.669 --> 00:09:09.970 forward -facing. I felt like it would be a new 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:13.529 epoch in American history. In fact, I even went 00:09:13.529 --> 00:09:16.230 so far to say that Trump's victory in 2016 was 00:09:16.230 --> 00:09:20.230 like a second founding of America. That's what 00:09:20.230 --> 00:09:23.789 I thought. I thought it was that momentous of 00:09:23.789 --> 00:09:28.049 a moment. Talk a little bit about after 2016. 00:09:28.409 --> 00:09:30.629 We're on the winning side. You and I are both 00:09:30.629 --> 00:09:34.429 on the victorious side. We're vindicated. were 00:09:34.429 --> 00:09:38.590 validated. The entire world was against us. And 00:09:38.590 --> 00:09:44.230 it's quite literal to say that we won against 00:09:44.230 --> 00:09:49.049 the entire world. What was life for you like 00:09:49.049 --> 00:09:53.990 in MAGA after 2016? What were some of the media 00:09:53.990 --> 00:09:55.950 that you were consuming? What were some of the 00:09:55.950 --> 00:10:01.590 activities that you engaged in? Yeah. So ironically, 00:10:01.929 --> 00:10:04.860 the day I went to go vote, It was the day I, 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:06.759 the first time I ever got a promotion. I was 00:10:06.759 --> 00:10:09.220 19 years old and I was finally promoted to a 00:10:09.220 --> 00:10:11.039 manager within the insurance company I was working 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:14.320 for. And I was like, man, Trump is already doing 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.600 it for me. Like this has to be a cosmic sign. 00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:21.000 And I remember when he won, things got easier, 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:23.720 obviously, because I started doing better financially. 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:26.700 And it really like helped feed into that idea 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:30.379 of this was the right choice. And then you start, 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:33.429 like I talked about the perfect storm. The first 00:10:33.429 --> 00:10:36.870 Trump YouTuber I remember watching was John Burke. 00:10:37.070 --> 00:10:38.870 I don't even know if he's mainstream anymore, 00:10:39.009 --> 00:10:41.330 but that's who got me into it. And I have family 00:10:41.330 --> 00:10:43.710 who's military. So John Burke was actually on 00:10:43.710 --> 00:10:45.830 a military base when I happened to be visiting 00:10:45.830 --> 00:10:49.769 in Louisiana. And I was still dealing with a 00:10:49.769 --> 00:10:52.350 lot of big feelings about my upbringing and finally 00:10:52.350 --> 00:10:54.330 starting to be able to afford things. And I remember 00:10:54.330 --> 00:10:56.450 talking to him for a minute. And am I allowed 00:10:56.450 --> 00:10:59.750 to cuss? he said heck those liberal nerds and 00:10:59.750 --> 00:11:02.049 i felt so vindicated because he was like in my 00:11:02.049 --> 00:11:04.950 mind this famous dude who was showing me kindness 00:11:04.950 --> 00:11:08.750 and compassion and that fell into i watched a 00:11:08.750 --> 00:11:12.549 lot of ben shapiro i lived for a ben shapiro 00:11:12.549 --> 00:11:14.950 gotcha moment like that made me feel so superior 00:11:14.950 --> 00:11:17.110 to everyone else so much smarter those little 00:11:17.110 --> 00:11:20.610 gotcha traps um and that's a big thing with maga 00:11:20.610 --> 00:11:25.610 are those gotcha traps i loved him um Oh my gosh. 00:11:25.629 --> 00:11:27.190 There was a gentleman. His first name is Terrence. 00:11:27.269 --> 00:11:29.470 I don't remember his last name anymore. Loved 00:11:29.470 --> 00:11:31.950 him. And he was a black man who supported MAGA. 00:11:31.990 --> 00:11:34.889 So I use that to like fuel my idea that Trump 00:11:34.889 --> 00:11:36.970 can't be racist. Look at this black man on YouTube 00:11:36.970 --> 00:11:39.909 sitting here defending him and like sharing his 00:11:39.909 --> 00:11:42.250 ideals. There's no way that this is as bad as 00:11:42.250 --> 00:11:46.350 it's being painted. Yeah. You see those, those 00:11:46.350 --> 00:11:49.970 names, a lot of the testimonials that we've done, 00:11:50.029 --> 00:11:53.490 which everyone can find that. Leaving MAGA .org. 00:11:53.649 --> 00:11:55.649 You can also find them at our Leaving MAGA playlist 00:11:55.649 --> 00:11:59.350 at the Midas Touch Network. A lot of the same 00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:03.490 names keep popping up, Tori. You know, you're 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:05.590 talking about Ben Shapiro. You know, it's like 00:12:05.590 --> 00:12:07.769 a Charlie Kirk moment at the Turning Point events. 00:12:07.909 --> 00:12:10.529 You know, we own the libs in the debate. You 00:12:10.529 --> 00:12:12.429 know, the liberals are coming, right? You know, 00:12:12.429 --> 00:12:16.509 Paul Revere. And even though I didn't think of 00:12:16.509 --> 00:12:19.009 it this way, and I don't think most in MAGA think 00:12:19.009 --> 00:12:22.360 of it this way now, the shared enemy. of MAGA 00:12:22.360 --> 00:12:26.960 is liberalism and liberal democracy, because 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:32.860 people feel like liberal democracy has failed 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:36.539 them and failed the country. And maybe you felt 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:40.259 that way also, right? Maybe you felt like this, 00:12:40.340 --> 00:12:43.639 right? The system let you down. And here came 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:46.759 a guy who said, hey, let's tear it down. Let's 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:50.960 build it anew. These names, the way that you're 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:55.899 citing them, these are the influencers so many 00:12:55.899 --> 00:12:59.779 others have mentioned in the stories that they've 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:06.879 told. Talk a little bit about why you left. Put 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:11.620 us in your life at that time, when the doubts 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:14.820 commenced, how you were feeling, some of the 00:13:14.820 --> 00:13:17.889 moments that made you start to think. And I should 00:13:17.889 --> 00:13:20.110 say, rethink your support and belief system. 00:13:21.389 --> 00:13:23.710 Yeah. So, and this is a spot where I see a lot 00:13:23.710 --> 00:13:25.690 of people say that nobody cares to leave MAGA 00:13:25.690 --> 00:13:28.629 until it personally affects them. And I'm kind 00:13:28.629 --> 00:13:30.970 of against the grain on that, right? So COVID 00:13:30.970 --> 00:13:33.870 happened and I lost my mom and my grandpa within 00:13:33.870 --> 00:13:37.110 two weeks of each other. And we don't know why 00:13:37.110 --> 00:13:39.210 my mom passed, but we know my grandpa was confirmed 00:13:39.210 --> 00:13:43.639 to have contracted COVID. And even then people 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:45.580 were saying, oh, COVID's fake, it's made up. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:47.039 And I was like, you know what? I don't really 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:49.000 care why he died. All I know is I'm sad that 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.019 he did die. So that didn't really affect me. 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:53.919 I started to question the followers a little 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:56.940 bit then. I was like, yeah, but people are like 00:13:56.940 --> 00:13:59.539 really sick. Why are we saying this doesn't exist? 00:14:00.259 --> 00:14:02.700 And that kind of started the cracks. As far as 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:04.419 like the moment where I was like, okay, no, this 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:07.419 is not it. I was in college. I was on a road 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:10.490 trip actually. And I'd been assigned to watch 00:14:10.490 --> 00:14:14.330 a PBS documentary about January 6th. And I was 00:14:14.330 --> 00:14:17.769 sitting next to my now husband. And he was never 00:14:17.769 --> 00:14:21.269 MAGA. We just didn't talk politics. And he never 00:14:21.269 --> 00:14:23.350 forced me to leave MAGA either, to his credit. 00:14:24.090 --> 00:14:26.230 But we were in the car, he was driving, and I 00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:28.250 was watching this documentary for college. And 00:14:28.250 --> 00:14:31.009 I remember them talking about the Proud Boys. 00:14:31.210 --> 00:14:33.809 And I was like, what are the Proud Boys? What 00:14:33.809 --> 00:14:37.620 is this? And watching that documentary, I learned 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:40.340 a lot of really, really not so nice truths about 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:43.700 Trump. And that led me down this path of asking 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:47.200 questions. Did this really happen? Could I have 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:51.720 context on this? Another example is like when 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:53.779 Trump mocked that disabled reporter. I never 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:56.740 saw that until 2022. I had no idea that happened 00:14:56.740 --> 00:15:00.629 until I was already on my way out. So January 00:15:00.629 --> 00:15:03.350 6th happened. I had no idea it happened. I really 00:15:03.350 --> 00:15:05.330 thought it was like a peaceful protest. And everyone 00:15:05.330 --> 00:15:08.610 in my echo chamber was MAGA. So nobody was talking 00:15:08.610 --> 00:15:10.970 about it in a negative light. It kind of just 00:15:10.970 --> 00:15:12.929 came and went. It was just another day for me. 00:15:13.490 --> 00:15:15.889 When I found out what really happened, like, 00:15:15.909 --> 00:15:18.490 sorry, I'm rambling now. When I found out what 00:15:18.490 --> 00:15:20.370 really happened, that's when I started to question 00:15:20.370 --> 00:15:22.230 it. I watched the rest of that documentary. I 00:15:22.230 --> 00:15:25.480 found out how violent it really was. And that's 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:27.440 another thing is like at the core of MAGA, I 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:29.960 believe that people want to love America, not 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:32.460 the America that is, but the idea of America, 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:35.200 right? And I love the idea of America. So to 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:38.580 think that people could go and assault like the 00:15:38.580 --> 00:15:42.320 foundations of what this country is, like they 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:44.860 preach constitutionalism, but then disregard 00:15:44.860 --> 00:15:48.259 it when it does not suit them. And that was a 00:15:48.259 --> 00:15:50.580 big breaking point for me were the contradictions. 00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:53.759 Once I saw them, like there were so many contradictions. 00:15:56.399 --> 00:15:58.899 We actually just released. Thank you for that. 00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:04.559 And our condolences to you for your mom and your 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:09.279 grandpa. Thank you for sharing that. Cause I, 00:16:09.299 --> 00:16:11.860 I'm sure that it's quite difficult to relive 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:16.759 those moments and COVID was a breaking point, 00:16:16.820 --> 00:16:20.179 or I should say it, it started the breaking point 00:16:20.179 --> 00:16:24.360 for so many. It was for me also. I did a, I gave 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.059 it. a video testimonial at the DNC convention 00:16:27.059 --> 00:16:33.320 this past summer. And I said in there that, you 00:16:33.320 --> 00:16:39.120 know, where a lot of my doubts started was really 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.159 with Trump's COVID mismanagement. There were 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:44.840 other reasons as well. And you and I left almost 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:48.879 around the same time because my official, I have 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:51.820 a leaving MAGAversary date. It's my official 00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:54.840 departure date. I published Amea Culp on August 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:59.840 30th, 2022. And you were right around that time 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:04.359 also. November of 2022. Yeah, so I'm August, 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:08.339 you're November. And now here we are, three years 00:17:08.339 --> 00:17:11.759 later, talking about our stories of leaving MAGA. 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:17.559 This is really a testament to your courage in 00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:20.140 telling your story. And I want to segue into 00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:24.809 that as we look to wrap up here. So why do you 00:17:24.809 --> 00:17:27.250 feel the need to speak out? Why do you want to 00:17:27.250 --> 00:17:32.190 tell your story for others? What do you feel 00:17:32.190 --> 00:17:34.009 like you really want others to know and hear? 00:17:34.990 --> 00:17:38.390 Yeah, I think that people assume that you go 00:17:38.390 --> 00:17:40.730 into MAGA and you're just this hate -filled individual. 00:17:41.049 --> 00:17:44.250 And for me, again, that's not true. I was volunteering 00:17:44.250 --> 00:17:46.970 at animal shelters. I would volunteer for anything, 00:17:47.190 --> 00:17:49.589 really. I was a loving friend. I was a loving 00:17:49.589 --> 00:17:53.640 girlfriend. I was a good employee. MAGA was never 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:55.720 about hate in the beginning for me. MAGA was 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:57.700 about what opportunities it could provide to 00:17:57.700 --> 00:18:01.500 me, which is selfish. And I'm a big fan of owning 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:05.920 that. I want people to know that the reason that 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.980 I speak out about MAGA is not to absolve myself 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:11.119 of that. It's because there are people who are 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:12.920 starting to see those cracks, who are starting 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:15.380 to... kind of take that exit out and the only 00:18:15.380 --> 00:18:18.200 reason i was ever comfortable like really denouncing 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:20.559 maga was because my now husband allowed me a 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.599 space to like ask those really tough questions 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:27.019 and feel safe so i think for us to end kind of 00:18:27.019 --> 00:18:29.140 what's going on there and get people to leave 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:32.279 the movement it takes them feeling safe and having 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:34.400 a space to ask those questions and that doesn't 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:37.339 mean that everybody has to allow them that space 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:40.250 right like real harm has been done But it does 00:18:40.250 --> 00:18:42.009 mean that if you are somebody who's willing and 00:18:42.009 --> 00:18:43.950 able to put yourself out there and have those 00:18:43.950 --> 00:18:46.089 conversations and allow those people a chance 00:18:46.089 --> 00:18:49.650 to ask their questions, we can eventually get 00:18:49.650 --> 00:18:51.910 him out of office, get more people on our side 00:18:51.910 --> 00:18:54.490 and start to make those changes that we wanted 00:18:54.490 --> 00:18:57.069 to see in MAGA. Like I really, I'm a huge fan 00:18:57.069 --> 00:19:00.470 of, I just want everyone to do well and be happy 00:19:00.470 --> 00:19:03.549 and safe and healthy. And obviously MAGA is not 00:19:03.549 --> 00:19:05.250 the way, but how do we get there if we can't 00:19:05.250 --> 00:19:07.809 get those people off of his side? We're with 00:19:07.809 --> 00:19:10.849 Tori Hurst from the great state of Texas. I want 00:19:10.849 --> 00:19:14.009 to thank you again for being here with us and 00:19:14.009 --> 00:19:17.349 sharing your odyssey with us. I like to close 00:19:17.349 --> 00:19:19.769 every episode with a positive affirmation and 00:19:19.769 --> 00:19:25.230 say I'm rich and I left MAGA. Hi, I'm Tori and 00:19:25.230 --> 00:19:28.549 I left MAGA. Tori, thank you so much for joining 00:19:28.549 --> 00:19:30.730 us. Really appreciate you being here. Thank you. 00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:33.420 Hey guys, if you like this video, make sure you 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:35.480 subscribe and leave a comment down below. Also 00:19:35.480 --> 00:19:38.180 visit us at leavingmaga .org. Make sure you subscribe 00:19:38.180 --> 00:19:40.920 to our newsletter. Follow us on our socials. 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:42.579 Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel. 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:45.400 Also at our site, we've got an ebook called My 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:48.859 MAGA Odyssey. And also we've got a guide for 00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:50.500 friends and family for those of you out there 00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:52.920 who have... who have loved ones and close ones 00:19:52.920 --> 00:19:55.140 who are still in the thrall of MAGA. As always, 00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:57.180 appreciate your support. Thanks so much for watching.