White House Staffer Exposed As The Face Behind

Wired magazine had a big scoop on Wednesday: A major pro-Trump X account, that of “Johnny MAGA,” appears to be secretly run by a White House staffer.

According to the report, “Johnny MAGA” “isn’t just a regular account.”

A popular right-wing account that called a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes “a masterpiece” appears to be run by a White House staffer, according to records reviewed by WIRED. https://t.co/iRZHfodFkI

— WIRED (@WIRED) February 25, 2026

“Johnny MAGA appears to actually be a White House staffer named Garrett Wade who works for the Trump administration as a rapid response manager, helping to run the very same White House account his anonymous MAGA account amplifies,” the story says. “A phone number associated with Wade is linked to Johnny MAGA, according to a WIRED review of publicly available records, and the connection was confirmed by a source close to the White House.”

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The account has long been known for effusive praise of Trump, as well as for sharing official Trump communications from Truth Social. The account had never disclosed that it was associated with Trump himself, or with an active government employee.

“The Johnny MAGA account was created in September 2021, according to its X profile. (It originally used a different handle, which referenced Wade’s birth year, according to records reviewed by WIRED.) While the account’s earliest available posts focused on NFTs, it has been a consistent pro-Trump presence since at least 2022,” the Wired story said.

One perhaps typical “Johnnny MAGA” post touted Trump, in 2024, carrying a stack of pizzas.

Trump is carrying around 8 pizzas like it’s nothing. Biden would face plant with more than 2. pic.twitter.com/aSkw194wh0

— johnny maga (@johnnymaga) January 14, 2024

“Since Trump took office last year, the Johnny MAGA account has supported administration priorities like immigration enforcement, and allies like Turning Point USA,” the Wired story added. “After Trump posted a racist AI-generated video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes earlier this month, the Johnny MAGA account boosted the White House’s claim that the president didn’t watch the entire video, posting, ‘the most obvious tell that Trump’s Truth Social post wasn’t intentional is that he would’ve posted the entire thing if he had seen it. It’s a masterpiece.'”

Would doing so be unethical? Or possibly illegal?

“People have a right to know who is trying to manipulate public opinion, and they have a right to know whether or not they’re experiencing astroturf politics,” Samuel Woolley, a University of Pittsburgh professor who studies disinformation and media ethics, told Wired. “This lack of transparency and the conflict of interest surrounding this account and the lack of disclosure all amount to a breach of public trust.”

Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.