French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen hired Tony Fabrizio, a renowned pollster who worked on famously poll-obsessed Donald Trump's presidential run, during the closing days of France's election last year.



Le Pen's candidacy was international news in 2017, as the National Front party —founded by her father and known for its history of overt racism — appealed to voters' fears about immigration and Muslims, and came closer than it ever has to winning the French presidency. Le Pen managed to make it through to the second round of voting, eventually losing out to current French President Emmanuel Macron.

In emails obtained by BuzzFeed News, Fabrizio exchanged ideas with Damien Philippot and Philippe Vardon, two members of Le Pen's official campaign staff, as well as Frédéric Chatillon and Paul-Alexandre Martin, two other campaign aides. Vincent Harris, a US campaign strategist that Le Pen had also brought on board, also took part in the emails.

One thread Fabrizio participated in took place in April 2017, just after a terrorist attack on the Champs-Elysées killed a police officer, days before the first round of voting opened.

"Was he an immigrant?" Fabrizio asked in the email. "If he was an immigrant and committed crimes, had he been deported he couldn't have attacked last night."