One TikTok user accidentally became a MAGA icon when she posted a video making fun of the way Trump dances. Now, she’s using her viral status to encourage people to vote for Joe Biden.
Julia Keith, 26, was mistakenly embraced by Trump supporters after she posted a video of herself mocking Trump’s awkward dance moves as he moved to the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” She was shocked to find tons of Trump supporters flocking to her TikTok page with supportive comments and pro-Trump messages.
@julia_keith_ #duet with @crisnate0 This just might be the hardest tik tok dance I’ve ever done
♬ Viva La Swing aka #SandoTwist by @Abiud_Sando – Mingaling 2.0
Keith said she was making fun of how the president “dances like how a lot of white people in America dance” and didn’t expect people to think it was a supportive video.
“I was just making people laugh,” Keith told Buzzfeed News. “I don’t want to be a MAGA icon.”
Instead of slowing fading away, Keith’s video gained even more traction as TikTok’s algorithm picked up on the Trump supporters watching the video—which led the platform to send even more conservatives to Keith’s post. To Keith’s horror, she also discovered that her video was being shared on Facebook by everybody’s racist uncles.
And then Ivanka Trump shared the video on Twitter.
Love it! https://t.co/taww2dUgqD
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) October 19, 2020
That was the last straw for Keith. She realized that she had to set the record straight. So she posted a follow-up video showing her horror at accidentally becoming a “MAGA icon.” Then, she ended the TikTok with a photo of Joe Biden to show who she supports.
@julia_keith_ This is ✨not✨ what I intended #trump #trumpdancechallenge #trumpdance #vote #biden2020
“I can’t even fathom that I would have a hand in this election and that people see [my video] and thinking, ‘Oh he’s a great guy,’” Keith said. “How many people did I cause to vote? But also, who would vote based on a video?”