A man holding a Blacks for Trump 2020 sign during President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” rally in Phoenix, Arizona caught eyes of many people around the country.
Michael Symonette, also known as “Michael The Black Man” was the person standing behind President Trump during the rally. His real name is Maurice Woodside according to several reports.
Symonette was standing in the background, just over the president’s shoulder, cheering for Trump and raising a Blacks for Trump 2020 sign while the president delivered his remarks. Symonette was also wearing an interesting T-shirt that read: “Trump & Republicans Are Not Racist” with Gods2.com at the bottom.
According to Black Enterprise, Symonette is the owner of the Blacks for Trump 2020 website and he is not paid by the Trump administration. When you visit the site, it appears to just be filled with links to other sites, including an endorsement for Florida Republican Congresswoman Carla Spalding.
There’s a link that brings you to the website HonestFacts.com – a conspiracy theory site that shares views about Cherokee Indians.
Symonette is no stranger to political rallies. In October 2016 he was seen behind Trump during a campaign rally in Lakeland, Florida with the same type of sign and T-shirt.
Trump noticed the signs and said, “I love the signs behind me. Blacks for Trump. I like those signs. Blacks for Trump. You watch. You watch. Those signs are great.”
.@realDonaldTrump praises “Blacks for Trump” signs at FL rally: “Blacks for Trump. You watch. You watch.” https://t.co/nbcZRDpXl9
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 25, 2016
Symonette has also appeared at a Rick Santorum event in 2012, where was talking about the Democrats and saying they are “the worst thing that ever happened to the black man” and called them “slave masters.”
The Miami New Times reports Symonette is a former member of the Yahweh ben Yahweh cult led by Hulon Mitchell Jr.
Symonette and other members of the cult were charged with allegedly conspiring in two murders, but was not found guilty despite his own brother claiming he helped beat a man who later died.
In 2008, Symonette claimed he was a member of “Blacks Against Obama” and told the Miami New Times that Obama’s “henchman” wanted Symonette assassinated.
Since then, Symonette has been extremely vocal about his political views and has been charged with multiple felonies, according to Heavy.com. Symonette keeps an active YouTube channel, where he has a series of videos denouncing Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
