Melania Trump andErika Kirkwere lampooned in New York City on 16 April as drag queens in full cosplay raised $20,000 for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at a raucous fundraiser skewering MAGA politics.
Melania Trump, the First Lady, andErika Kirk, the Turning Point USA CEOand wife of right‑wing activist Charlie Kirk, have become fixtures of the MAGA universe, often held up by supporters as styled embodiments of the movement's values. Both have also become lightning rods for critics online. The Brooklyn event picked up that thread and pulled hard, turning months of viral mockery into a live, ticketed performance with a pointed political edge.
The show, titledTurning Point US Gay, took place at 3 Dollar Bill, a well‑known queer venue in Brooklyn. A troupe of drag queens leaned into caricature, inhabiting Melania Trump, Erika Kirk and other right‑wing female figures for a night dedicated to fundraising for the ACLU, which campaigns to defend civil liberties under US law.
Organisers said the night pulled in $20,000 for the group.
The casting was intentionally pointed. RuPaul's Drag Race alum Brita Filter appeared as Nicki Minaj, who has become an unlikely MAGA darling in some corners of the internet. Another former Drag Race contestant, Plasma, took on the role of Trump loyalist and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The message was hard to miss; the drag queens were not simply poking fun at Melania Trump and Erika Kirk, they were staging an entire alternative universe of MAGA womanhood.
The choice of beneficiary added an extra layer. Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against the ACLU, publicly dismissing it and similar organisations as a 'group of beauties' aligned with the 'hard left' and a legal thorn in his side.
Channelling money directly to that same organisation, while dressed as his allies and family's political circle, felt closer to a taunt than a neutral charity drive.
Drag queen event mocking Charlie Kirk and his widow Erika raises $20,000 for far-left ACLU organization.pic.twitter.com/Ytu2S1mDWM
On stage, the drag queens did not just reference Melania Trump, Erika Kirk and the wider MAGA set; they dissected them. One of New York's better‑known performers, Kiki Ball Change, arrived in an exaggerated version of Melania's famously oversized hat, turning a much‑memed fashion choice into a centrepiece gag.
Source: International Business Times UK
