Amber Rose’s ‘MAGA Era’

After doing her research, meeting President Donald Trump’s supporters, and speaking to her veteran father, “I realized Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re black, white, gay, or straight; it’s all love. And that’s when it hit me: These are my people. This is where I belong,” model, rapper, OnlyFans star, and author of How to be a Bad B**** Amber Rose said during her speech at the Republican National Convention last night.

Rose represents one archetypical Trump voter: the voter who was wrong and realized she was wrong about the former president only after he left office. American families were better off under Trump’s presidency, Rose said last night, and she’s since had a political awakening. The model is likable, funny, attractive, and has a cultural sway that Trump probably thinks will help him among young black voters. She’s not a typical RNC speaker. But this year, Rose became a staunch MAGA-ist, posting her support for Trump all over social media and criticizing Joe Biden’s presidency. Her loyalty has earned her a spot at Trump’s table and an RNC platform.

Commentator Matt Walsh lamented that “the evolution from new conservative to conservative thought leader takes about 12 hours these days,” and when Republicans shot back to say that Rose was a good speaker with the potential to rally outsiders who might otherwise vote Democrat, Walsh responded: “If it is outrageous and offensive to suggest that a person such as this is perhaps not fit to be a prime time Republican speaker, then conservatism as a movement is in even worse shape than I thought.”

In a rare moment, Walsh is right — Rose wasn’t the best person to platform. She founded the SlutWalk to destigmatize slurs commonly used to refer to promiscuous women and to speak out against victim-blaming; it is a sex-worker-inclusive movement. She’s sex-positive and loud about it, and Rose’s OnlyFans page, on which she provides fans with “the most exciting, wild, and real version” of herself according to her bio, is 50 percent off until July 17 (a sale that coincides perfectly with her RNC debut). She told her 9-year-old son when he asked about her career on OnlyFans that “when it comes to women, you have to let women do what they need to do to support their families. . . . You want to go to a nice school? Six Flags? Universal? Travel? Mommy has to make money.”

She also recently gave credit to Satanists for helping women access abortions. In February, she interviewed the Satanic Temple spokesman, Lucien Greaves, on her podcast. Greaves explained to Rose that in order to challenge Indiana’s abortion ban, a member of the Satanists would first have to get pregnant, then seek an abortion, in order for the Satanists to procure a plaintiff to bring a court case.

“[That] is just increasing human suffering, by making sure somebody needs to go through all of this, and then put their name on a public record, as a Satanist advocate of abortion, and all that comes with that — the death threats,” Greaves said.

“Right. Right,” Rose concurred. “And in Indiana, by the way. In Indiana. That’s terrible.” She then asked if Greaves would take such a case to the Supreme Court, “if you have to.”

Rose’s political conversion may not be complete, and she may eventually change her mind on Satanism, or abortion, or sexual exploitation. She does think things are too expensive and knows that Trump can help. She thinks DEI programs are bogus and knows Republicans agree. That’s good enough for the president. And, Trump doesn’t need to wonder whether it does more good to platform Rose, or platform another young black woman aligned with Republican values, because any Republicans angered by Rose’s speech — there were many pro-lifers and pastors who expressed concern that she was platformed — won’t be upset enough to ditch him.

Rose’s pivot isn’t disappointing just for conservatives. SlutWalk progressives who have applauded Rose’s feminist activism in the past should be alarmed that Rose, a leader of the anti-victim-blaming movement, is now campaigning for a man who said, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything . . . grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”