I was completely indoctrinated into the “cult” of the Democratic Party. Here’s why I gave up my life as a liberal influencer to raise money for Trump

The once energetic Democratic fundraiser, failed congressional candidate and social media influencer is now raising money for President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee.

Lindy Lee has undergone an extraordinary journey to achieve a shocking 180th place after a crazy year in Democratic politics that culminated in Kamala Harris’ historic defeat over Donald Trump.

“This was one of the most painful and rewarding moments of my life,” Lee told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

Lindy was considered the perfect Democratic influencer during the 2024 election, coupled with his ability to raise money for the Democratic Party.

She has been invited to events with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and others, and championed them all on her social media platforms.

Lee, who was named one of the top influencers for the 2024 election by WIRED magazine, was invited to the Democratic National Committee as an official certified influencer last August and was given access to events.

On television, she praised Biden’s vitality and Kamala Harris’ political strength, and denounced Trump’s racism and the toxicity of the entire MAGA movement.

At Kamala Harris’ last campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lee sat in the front row with celebrities and Biden’s daughter Ashley, cheering on Harris, the first female president in U.S. history. I supported you.

But that all came crashing down on election day. Harris suffered a landslide defeat, and it became clear that Democrats had oversold their chances of defeating Donald Trump.

This infuriated Mr Lee, who had devoted a great deal of his personal time and energy to the movement.

She was furious that Democrats had been telling her and others for months that Harris would easily win the election and encouraging them to raise more money and work harder. Depressed, she explained that she realized that top Democratic leaders had been “lying” to her all along.

That prompted her to publicly criticize the apparent failures and anger over how Democrats used her and her fellow donors’ funds.

Although she was angry, she was still a Democrat who wanted to express her criticism and dissatisfaction with the party.

“I was stunned by the total lack of accountability. They essentially burned $2 billion in 100 days,” she said in an interview with NewsNation after the election.

For Li, criticizing the party after the election was a major change in her life, but she never expected that it would change her political identity.

She was born in China and came to America at the age of four to attend Princeton University. She calls herself a “bookworm” and a “wallflower,” majored in philosophy, championed climate change, and ran and won an unlikely campaign for class president. I’ve done it before.

After graduating from college, she took a job at Morgan Stanley, but continued to pursue her dream of running for political office. She worked hard to boost the Democratic Party for decades, interning with former Congressman Joe Sestak and even unsuccessfully running for Congress at age 25.

In many ways, Lindy Lee could have been the Democratic Party’s next rising political star. A Chinese immigrant whose great-grandfather was murdered by communists ran as an inspirational figure who believed in America’s promise. However, every attempt to run for office ended in Pennsylvania’s establishment crushing her political aspirations.

She continued to work as a fundraiser and media personality, slamming Trump and his MAGA movement at every opportunity.

In March 2013, Lee called Trump a “serial rapist” and said the Conservative Political Action Conference was “a bunch of sex offenders.” She argued that any criticism of “woke” Democrats is just an excuse for Republicans to be “anti-Black.”

But after Kamala Harris lost, Lee turned her attention to failed political consultants within the Democratic Party.

Her criticism was not well received by the aggrieved Democratic influence community, who sat with her at the same event as Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and White House officials.

“All I did was literally tell the truth and tell it like it is,” she recalled.

As expected, Li’s social media accounts have been filled with accusations of being a Chinese spy, a traitor, and more, and she has been bombarded with the usual racist and sexist slurs from angry followers. I noticed.

“The Chinese Communist Party killed my great-grandfather. That’s why we left the country. Give me a break…For someone to say such a horrible thing is because the racism in the Democratic Party has always existed. “It just shows that I was,” she said.

Despite his love of the Democratic Party, Mr. Lee was not a socialist. In 2020, he appeared in a Fox News documentary in which he revealed his distaste for communist China and issued a warning to supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, a committed Democratic socialist.

Republicans took notice and saw an opportunity to recruit disaffected Democrats to the Trump campaign.

Prominent Republicans contacted Ms. Lee to Mr. Trump’s son, Eric, who directed her to introduce her to RNC officials and Mr. Trump’s transition organizers.

Now she’s doing the unthinkable: raising money for the next president, something she’s been fighting for for nearly a decade.

Lee estimated to DailyMail.com that he has raised in the six-figure range for the Trump transition team in the short time since he started soliciting donations. Trump’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment.

Lee said the Republican Party has welcomed her with open arms, even inviting her to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club for year-end fundraisers and celebrations. Although she didn’t go to Mar-a-Lago, she said she was touched by the warm welcome Trump supporters were willing to give her.

In the Democratic Party, Lee said he “fought tooth and nail” just to be recognized. Republicans, she said, were far more welcoming.

“It’s like night and day,” he said, citing daily communications from Republicans on the committee.

Many Democrats are furious at her betrayal, but Lee insisted they were wrong in not recognizing their failures and accepting criticism.

“Rather than admit that the party may have done something wrong, they would rather destroy their critics. It is more convenient to blame me,” she said. .

Ms Lee said her family and deceased friends have accepted her identity reversal, but influential people she spent time with during the election are now trying to destroy her.

“My real friends are all supportive, but my political friends are in a really bad situation. It’s a cult. The way they treated me was difficult,” she said.

She’s also secretly recruiting former DNC donors on Trump’s behalf, as many in her community are already looking beyond the Democratic Party.

“I’m not the only donor. I’m the only public figure who’s actively trying to speak out. Everyone else is worried about their necks,” she said.

Trump’s reelection represents change, she argued, because more Americans are ready to give him a chance.

“I think people are tired of thinking, ‘Oh, Trump is a really bad person and we’re going to hate everything he does beforehand,'” she explained. “I think he’s dead.”

Lee, once a high-profile guest of the Democratic Party, is preparing to attend the inauguration of the man he spent months defeating.

For now, she’s grateful that Trump-supporting Republicans have welcomed her into their party.

“They became very human to me,” she explained. “With the DNC, it was so mercenary that it felt like everyone had dollar signs in their eyes. They were treating me like a wallet, which was really disgusting and disgusting. .”