This Trump Fan’s Attempt at Framing Protesters Failed Spectacularly

Donald Trump loves to accuse the protesters at his rallies of being “professionals” who desecrate American flags, but at his rally in Orange County, California, last week, Vanity Fair’s cameras witnessed a different kind of professional at work.

Joey Salads, a YouTube personality and self-described Trump fan, posed as an anti-Trump protester and tried to get other, actual protesters to stomp on the American flag. Things didn’t exactly work out. Watch the video above to see something rare in politics: an ill-intentioned actor accidentally bringing together Trump supporters and critics.

Trump rallies continue to draw critics who protest his immigration policies, which call for mass deportations, and his divisive rhetoric, which has included racist characterizations of Mexican immigrants as rapists as well as language that demeans women.

The Wednesday rally took place just across the street from Disneyland in Anaheim, California. The situation was tense—police made at least eight related arrests, and, as has become the norm, the rally inside the venue was interrupted at least once by protests. “The safest place to be in our country is a Trump rally,” Trump said in response to one disruption.

Salads posted a series of tweets about the incident depicted in the above video, and eventually released a video of his own, in which he describes it all as a “prank gone wrong.” Salads also tweeted that he “almost got killed” while filming the video. Such is the courage of a pro-Trump YouTuber: try to bait genuine protesters, run away when caught, then claim the high road. Not all heroes wear capes.