Students for Trump

Students for Trump (S4T) is an American group whose mission was to elect President Donald Trump. The group was founded in 2015 by two college students, Ryan Fournier and John Lambert. In July 2019, Charlie Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, became chairman of Students for Trump. History Students for Trump was founded in 2015 by Ryan Fournier and John Lambert, students at Campbell University in North Carolina, United States, who started tweeting positive information about Donald Trump. The Houston Chronicle reported that George Lombardi, a New York City real estate developer and friend of Donald Trump who—among hundreds of Trump-supporting Facebook groups—had set up a "Students for Trump" Facebook group, acted as an advisor. On August 6, 2015, Fournier and Lambert were impressed by then high schooler Alexander Chalgren, who appeared as a questioner on the first Fox News Republican primary debate. Alexander asked a question of the candidates concerning ISIL, which was cited as the "most important" question of the evening. The question sparred an intense debate between then Mr. Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz. Students for Trump founders reached out to Mr. Chalgren via Instagram inquiring as to his political affiliation, and found him to be an early supporter of Donald Trump. After a brief interview and screening process, Chalgren was offered an integral early position within the organization as South Carolina Director, but eventually rose to the post of National Director. Mr. Chalgren is South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster's adopted cousin. Alexander made his second debut onto the national scene in his This American Life interview with Zoe Chace in 2016. According to the New York Times, Chalgren was the most famous young Trump supporter in America. Fournier's first television appearance for the organization was on TBS. Students for Trump activities were highlighted in a BBC documentary, "Trump's Unlikely Superfans," and an NBC News exclusive titled "Students for Trump: Meet the Millennials Who Want Him to Win." In 2016, the organization switched from a traditional campaign model with Regional, State, and Chapter coordinators, to a model with Campus Ambassadors that perform roles similar to that of a campaign field intern. In August 2016, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that the organization "had nearly 300 campus chapters and a bevy of social-media followers – 29,000 on Twitter, 59,000 on Instagram, thousands more on Facebook."