North Texan joins pro-Trump, anti-media bias effort

Katrina Pierson’s combative, made-for-TV personality made her a key surrogate for Donald Trump on the campaign trail, but she won’t be part of Trump’s White House.

Instead, the North Texas Tea Party advocate will run communications for America First Policies, a pro-Trump nonprofit that will “support key initiatives and policies of the White House.” The group’s launch was made official Monday.

The nonprofit, which is modeled after the pro-Obama group Organizing for Action, aims to raise millions to assist in Trump’s re-election — along with taking on the media.

“The organization will promote policy, support leaders, coalitions, and other organizations who back America First policies, and communicate directly to citizens — directly challenging the agenda of the liberal and biased media,” America First said in a press release.

Pierson will work with Brad Parscale, a San Antonio native who led Trump’s digital efforts during the campaign. Other top Trump and Mike Pence staffers will work for the nonprofit.

Nonprofits are not required to disclose their donors but it is not clear whether America First will do so voluntarily.

Pierson gained infamy during the campaign for blaming Barack Obama for the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the death of Capt. Humayun Khan in 2004 during the Iraq War. During an appearance on Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor in 2015, Pierson asked, “What good does it do to have a good nuclear triad if you’re afraid to use it?”

Although Pierson was often combative during television interviews during the campaign, she took a backseat during Trump’s transition process.

Pierson has come a long way from her humble beginnings, pulling herself up by her bootstraps after being born to a teenage mother and growing up on welfare.

She followed in her mother’s footsteps, having a child of her own at a young age. She has said being arrested for shoplifting in 1997 turned her life around, propelling her to become the first college graduate in her family.

Former Cruz backer

She became passionate about political causes, spearheading some Tea Party gatherings, helping Ted Cruz on his long-shot but successful bid for the U.S. Senate and eventually making an unsuccessful congressional bid herself.

She initially supported Cruz in his presidential bid — until she met Trump in January 2015.

That’s when Pierson told the New York businessman that if he ever ran for the White House, she would do everything she could to help.

“I knew that if we were going to defeat Hillary Clinton, it would have to be a candidate that had two qualities,” Pierson told the Star-Telegram in December. “First, they would have to drop the political correctness. Second, they would have to be able to bypass the mainstream media. In other words, a nonpolitician. I knew that Donald Trump would be the only candidate that could get the job done. And besides, he’s a winner.”

This report contains information from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 3:08 PM with the headline "North Texan joins pro-Trump, anti-media bias effort."