USA Freedom Kids

History

As of 2016, there are 5 girls in USA Freedom Kids: Alexis, age 8, Bianca, age 11, Izzy, age 11, Sarah, age 13, and Victoria, age 12. The group was formed and is managed by Alexis' father, Jeff Popick, a former television stunt man and Trump supporter. They came together from a casting call. Sarah, a member of the group has been blind since birth. The group is from Naples, Florida.

Bianca, Alexis, and Elena performed the song "Freedom's Call" at the January 13, 2016 Donald Trump rally in Pensacola, Florida, during his 2016 presidential campaign. The performance was viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube by January 15. "Freedom's Call" was written by Jeff Popick and is sung to the tune of George M. Cohan's "Over There" (1917), which was popularized during World Wars I and II.

The group also performed in front of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

On August 30, 2016, the group sued Trump's campaign for not paying for their performance; it was at least the sixth lawsuit against the campaign.

Reception

In response to the group's January 2016 performance, Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic said, "To quote New Girl, this is what every day is like in North Korea." The Huffington Post' Paul Blumenthal tweeted: "Unsurprisingly, American fascism is kind of tacky." James Corden of The Late Late Show called the performance "horrific". Glen Weldon, an NPR pop culture contributor, said in disbelief, "I don't. Is this. What."

The USA Freedom Kids were named one of the "45 Americans Who Defined the Election" by Time.

Parodies

The group was parodied by Jimmy Kimmel Live!, who had the "Number One America Liberty Children" perform a song in support of Jeb Bush.

The parody group "USA Freedom Grown-Ups", comprising four women and one man, performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Colbert introduced the group by saying, "Well folks, Donald Trump thinks he can get away with [neglecting to pay the group], but I'm going to hold him accountable and get his attention with a flashy song-and-dance number. And because I don't think children should be involved in the dirty world of politics, here with a new song for Donald Trump, please welcome the USA Freedom Grown-Ups." The song was sung to the same tune as "Freedom's Call" and included the lyrics, "Don't be such a douche, pay your I-O-Youche" and "That might be your real hair, but you're a fake billionaire. Pay people what they've earned, and release your tax returns!"

Discography

Singles