When Donald Trump narrowly won the 2024 election, one of the things that frustrated Democratic strategists was the inroads he made with Generation Z. Many of those Gen-Z supporters were male, including avid consumers of Manosphere content. But Trump had female Gen-Z allies as well, including Ashley St. Clair.
Now 27, St. Clair was a brand ambassador for the late Charlie Kirk's MAGA youth group Turning Point USA, and she was known her attacks on transgendered Americans.
In an article published on May 5, however, The New Republic's Virginia Heffernan details St. Clair's transition from prominent MAGA influencer to outspoken MAGA critic.
"For the last few months," Heffernan explains, "St. Clair has been posting to TikTok about her escape or exile from the MAGA carnies. She sums it up this way: 'I became a cringe MAGA influencer for 8 years before I found my brain.' Now, she is ready to 'talk about my experience within this machine of MAGA' and 'speak about the inside of a system that nobody else is.' Though she makes serious reference to having renounced her previous creed and making earnest amends, St. Clair is mostly conducting her multipart exposé with Catskills-style comedy."
Heffernan adds, "She's well suited to it, as she resembles a young Fran Drescher, and has something of Drescher's manner, manicures, and nasality."
St. Clair, Heffernan notes, is the mother of one Elon Musk's children but had a major falling out with the Tesla/SpaceX head. And she now "vehemently opposes" the "whole movement she once embraced," according to Heffernan.
In one of her TikTok videos, St. Clair declared, "I encourage people within MAGA to really look at what's happening in this country and what you're a part of." And she isn't shy about criticizing herself, saying, "I am speaking openly and honestly about my experiences. I understand that there's a lot of skepticism and critique, and I am open to that. And I am understanding that there are a lot of people that are still going to be angry at me. And I don't fault them for that because of my role in harm."