CJ Pearson pulled up to the mic with a pressing question on a recent episode of his new podcast "Family Matters."

"Have y'all ever noticed that Black people on the left love to hate white people in the streets but love them in the sheets?" the Black Republican Gen Z breakout star asked.

To prove his point, Pearson finger-pointed to the interracial marriages of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, fired CNN anchor Don Lemon and former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The conservative wunderkind, 23, garnered national attention when he was 13 years old for his viral rebuke of former President Barack Obama. Pearson was annoyed with the then-president for inviting Ahmed Mohamed to the White House. The Texas teenager and young inventor had been arrested at school for bringing a homemade clock that was mistaken for a bomb, sparking Islamophobia claims.

Over a decade later, Pearson is now the face of the Black conservative movement's next generation.

They boast about growing influence during President Donald Trump's second term while bashing liberals and hosting elaborate bashes in Washington D.C social circles.

As Democrats take aim at Trump over policies they say disproportionately injure Black people, Pearson and other right-leaning Black creators are targeting voters in the same style as slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, hoping that viral influence will continue to siphon support off what was once the Democratic Party's most loyal voting bloc.

"Right now, my priority is simply doing all I can to win young people over to our side and help us win the culture war because politics is downstream from culture," Pearson told USA TODAY in an interview.

Figures like Pearson have amassed mammoth social media followings and others hold powerful positions within the Trump administration. However, Black conservative candidates such as NFL star Herschel Walker and former North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson have struggled to find success in statewide races.

The shift comes as A-list rappers such as 50 Cent and Nicki Minaj join a growing chorus of Black voices in Hollywood who are publicly supporting policies that more align with Trump administration priorities. 50 Cent posted a "RIP NYC" meme after Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, won the New York City mayoral race Nov. 4 while Minaj praised the president for threatening to sack the country of Nigeria's government over reported persecution of Christians.

A Pew Research 2024 post-election study earlier this year found that Trump won over 15% of Black voters in the last general election, up from 8% in 2020. But recent polls show that Trump's support among Black voters is tanking after he outperformed previous Republican nominees in last year's presidential contest.

'Raw and unfiltered': Young, Black MAGA embraces upfront style

Since the late 1980s, Trump has understood that culture is a gateway to personal beliefs, according to political strategist Janiyah Thomas.

Trump's background as a reality TV star mirrors the online celebrities in the Black MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement who have cache among young people. Gone are the stoic military service members like Colin Powell, who was openly critical of Trump in 2016 before his death in 2021, and former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice - who called on Trump to withdraw from the 2016 election but has praised the administration's foreign policy moves in the Middle East this year.

Thomas, 27, served as Black media director during Trump's 2024 campaign that dived into urban settings and platforms carrying the president's message. She said that her former boss's bravado is reflected in the posture of today's Black MAGA figures.

“We're more raw and unfiltered, especially in today's time," Thomas says. "I feel like the older generation of Black conservatives were more buttoned up and stiff."

Pearson and Thomas have clung to a more confrontational style of politics during Trump's second term.

Black conservative influencer Candace Owens, for example, is facing a lawsuit from the French first lady Brigitte Macron after claiming that the foreign dignitary "is in fact a man," suggesting without evidence that Macron is trans.

Trump administration officials have embraced the brazen approach of Black conservatives in the president's second term. Many White House social media videos showcase elements of Black culture and Team Trump often uses prominent hip-hop phrases and songs to promote a policy rollout or troll an opponent.

Since retaking office last January, Trump has pardoned rapper NBA Youngboy and former Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover. The president's actions sparked online debates among Black social media users, some of whom defend Trump's moves as a sign that his administration is listening to urban voters.

While Trump's choices won over Black voters last year, exit polls told a different story on Election Day 2025. Democrats outperformed with the majority of Black voters in New Jersey (94%) and Virginia (93%), according to CNN.

Despite the inroads Trump made during his campaign, his actions as commander-in-chief have had a sharper impact on their communities overall. The jobless rate for Black Americans leaped from 6% to 7.5%, according to federal statistics, and many allege the administration's slashes of the federal workforce hit Black personnel harder.

Bilal Sekou, a political science professor at the University of Hartford, said that issues that matter to Republican primary voters often run counter to many Black voters' views.

"They really are turned off sometimes by some of the positions and some of the stands that these candidates have to take in order to appeal to that Republican base of voters," Sekou told USA TODAY.

Despite fame of Gen Z stars like Pearson, Black MAGA leaders are lagging at ballot box

While Trump makes intentional gestures to court working-class voters in poorer urban neighborhoods by animating his supporters online, Black Republicans have had minimal electoral success.

The most prominent statewide candidates in recent cycles – Walker, Trump's appointee to be U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, and Robinson – failed to make history amid scandal-ridden campaigns.

But there are glimmers that someone from the Black MAGA ranks may finally make history.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., is an early frontrunner to be the Republican nominee for Florida governor and is likely to receive Trump's endorsement. "I know Byron well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a TOTAL WINNER," Trump said in a Feb. 20 post on Truth Social.

The potential entrance of the state's first lady, Casey DeSantis, could complicate matters for the two-term congressman and divide the GOP primary. In a University of North Florida poll released July 24, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis slightly led Donalds in a hypothetical matchup for the GOP nomination as other surveys show both defeating any Democratic nominee.

Still, the fact remains that Black MAGA conservatives lack the same level of influence in individual states as Democrats, who've spent decades cultivating relationships with Black voters.

"Being a Black Republican is not enough to win an election, so you got to actually have a few other things going for you as well," Pearson said. He says strong fundraising and messaging are key strategies to win over voters.

Thomas agreed. "We definitely need to dive in and try to make a difference electorally, not just on the internet," she added. "I mean, the internet is great, and I do think you reach a lot of people, but it's important to be on the ground. There's work to be done."

After all, foraying into politics is about encouraging Black Americans to turn rightward and support MAGA candidates at the top of the ticket.

To turn ideas into action, prominent Black conservative like Owens have partnered with Kirk's controversial group Turning Point USA, now led by his widow Erika Kirk, to target students at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) with a series of "Blexit" (Black exit) events this homecoming season, a celebratory time on college campuses.The group has made successful stops at Howard University and Bowie State University this year, but it was escorted off of Hampton University -- located in Virginia -- last month for failure to comply with visitation rules, according to the college.

Black conservative activists decried the move, saying their removal was an act of censorship.

"We were silenced because we are BLEXIT — because we stand for Christian values, conservative principles, and independent thought that challenge the mainstream narrative," Craig Long, a "Blexit" member, said in an Oct. 25 post on Instagram.

"That’s not 'diversity or inclusion' — that’s discrimination against free thought," he added. "We will not be intimidated. We will not be quiet. Because real diversity means hearing every Black voice, not just the ones that echo the crowd."

Black MAGA candidates seek to win online culture now to prevail in elections later on

And maybe the crusade of Black conservatives like Pearson is also about winning the moment online now so they can win elections in the future. Since Inauguration Day nearly a year ago, Pearson has been raking in name recognition – and cash.

In January, he slammed New York Magazine for an all-white cover titled "The Cruel Kids' Table" after they cropped him and other Black MAGA twenty-somethings out of the cover image. The next month, reports surfaced that Pearson signed with powerful talent agency UTA. "Is Hollywood becoming MAGA friendly?" a Variety article questioned in February.

Pearson was named to the Time100 Creators list in July alongside other rising names like TikTok sensation Alix Earle, internet guru Jay Shetty and former "Bachelor" star Nick Viall. "The MAGA kids are not all White" – a Sept. 2 story published a week before Kirk's death in The Washington Post – chronicled the sway of Pearson's friend group.

He has thrown those parties for his cause, bringing people together over McDonald's and libations, appearing for Fox News interviews, basking in the newfound attention. He even hangs out with his Black Democratic peers – "The good ones," Pearson clarifies.

Pearson has also been busy "owning the libs" − a favorite practice by online conservatives − and defending his party's pro-Trump, anti-diversity, equity and inclusion narrative. "Some of y'all need to be less concerned about your EBT and more concerned about getting a J-O-B," Pearson told online followers in an Oct. 29 post about Americans losing government food assistance due to the federal shutdown.

Three years from now, the 23-year-old Pearson may solve one of his own party's problems when he is over 25, the minimum age to become a member of Congress.

"This is a country that has always given so much to me," he said. "I want to give back to it one day as well. What that looks like, whether it's elected office or something else, I don't know."

But for the time being, Pearson is enjoying his time being young and Black and the MAGA type of right.

Jay Stahl covers the intersection of politics and pop culture for USA TODAY. He can be reached on Instagram and at jstahl@gannett.com.

Phillip M. Bailey is the chief political correspondent for USA TODAY. He can be reached on X and at pbailey@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meet the young Black MAGA fans trying to grow Trump's movement

Reporting by Jay Stahl and Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect