Last night’s rally for Donald Trump in Pensacola, Florida, was no ordinary rally — it featured a special musical performance by a group called the USA Freedom Kids. Three members of the group, Bianca, Izzy, and Alexis, sang, danced, and synchronized-gestured their way through an original song complete with Trump-themed lyrics such as “Cowardice, are you serious?” “Apologies for freedom — I can’t handle this!” “President Donald Trump knows how to make America great,” and “Deal from strength or get crushed every time.”
One might mistake these lines for something off Trump’s Twitter account, but they were written by Jeff Popick, a Florida-based entrepreneur and the manager of USA Freedom Kids. (His daughter, Alexis, is front and center in the video.) “That line was originally going to be about General George Patton,” Popick says. “But when Donald Trump announced his candidacy, I was inspired to change it to something more contemporary.”
Popick, who calls himself an “independent” and a “free thinker,” says the group doesn’t take cues from Trump: “We’re trying to spread an inspirational message of freedom, so we go to wherever we’re called to do that.” There are, however, certain aspects of Trump’s platform that appeal to him personally: “I think the single most important job of the president of the United States, without even a close second, is our national security,” he says. “I think we need to protect our land, we need to protect our people, and we need to protect our freedom, and that’s one of Donald Trump’s priorities.” He also backs Trump’s (vague) economic policies because “he knows what he’s doing, and he makes the right decisions.”
“I’ve studied Donald Trump personally, and I’ve read every book he’s written, and I think he’s a genius on many fronts,” Popick says. “He’s always inspired me.”
As for the girls, Popick says they just love to perform. “These girls can go to any school and sing the national anthem, they know all the words to the Pledge of Allegiance, and they’re even well on their way to being scholars of the Constitution,” he says. “This is the best of America.”
He, Bianca, Izzy, and Alexis even got to meet Trump: “It was awesome. I just think he’s a terrific guy. The more you get to know him, the more you understand he’s a real human being with a great heart and a brilliant mind.” Popick’s been in touch with every single campaign — every Republican campaign, he’s quick to clarify — but Trump’s was “by far and away the most responsive.”
Why no Democrats? “When you have a business you have to identify who the market is, and the Democrats are not our market,” he explained. “They don’t seem to really respond to the patriotic call, if you will, in the way the Republicans do. The Republican people, like me, have tears in their eyes when they hear the national anthem. I think you’re either on the side of freedom or you’re not, the Republicans choose that team more than the Democrats do.”
So what’s next for the now-famous USA Freedom Kids? According to Popick, they’re set to release a new album (including some EDM singles) and perform a Memorial Day show. “We have more requests than we can handle at the moment.”
