Brad Parscale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brad Parscale
|
|
|---|---|
Parscale in 2018
|
|
| Born |
Bradley James Parscale
January 3, 1976 |
| Education | Trinity University (BS) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
Candice Parscale
(m. 2012) |
| Children | 3 (2 deceased) |
Brad Parscale (born January 3, 1976) is an American expert in digital media and politics. He helped run Donald Trump's presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020. He was in charge of how the campaigns used the internet and social media. He also managed the 2020 campaign for a while.
Brad Parscale started working for the Trump Organization in 2011. He built websites and managed their online presence. In 2015, Donald Trump hired Parscale to make a website for his first presidential campaign. Parscale's company, Giles-Parscale, helped with this important task.
During the 2016 election, Parscale managed Trump's campaign website. He also handled online fundraising and digital advertising. In 2016, he became the official digital media director for the campaign. He oversaw all online efforts, plus some traditional media like radio and TV ads.
After the 2016 election, Parscale helped start an organization called America First Policies. This group worked to support President Trump's plans. Later, in 2025, Parscale became the Chief Strategy Officer for Salem Media Group.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Brad Parscale was born in Topeka, Kansas. His father, Dwight Parscale, was a lawyer in Kansas. His parents owned a restaurant and other businesses. In the 1990s, his father was the CEO of a computer products company called NewTek.
Parscale is very tall, at 6 feet 8 inches. He played basketball at Shawnee Heights High School in Tecumseh, Kansas. He graduated in 1994. He then went to two junior colleges, playing basketball. He earned a sports scholarship to the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Parscale left UT-San Antonio after one year because of a knee injury. He then went to Trinity University in San Antonio. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance and economics in 1999.
Career Beginnings
After college, Parscale moved to Orange County, California. He worked for his father at an animation software company. This company later went out of business in 2002. Parscale and his parents then moved back to San Antonio.
In San Antonio, Parscale became a website developer. In 2005, he started his own website business. He mostly made simple websites for local businesses. Parscale said he started his company with just $500.
Giles–Parscale Company
In 2011, Parscale teamed up with designer Jill Giles. They formed a company called Giles–Parscale. By 2015, their company had 46 employees and 800 clients.
In 2012, the company was hired to build a website for Trump International Realty. They offered a very low price of $10,000 for the job. This led to more work for the Trump family. They built websites for Trump Winery and the Eric Trump Foundation. This also led to their big role in the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign.
In 2017, Parscale started a new company, Parscale Strategy, for his political work. He moved this new business to Florida. The original Giles-Parscale company was later sold to another firm.
2016 Donald Trump Presidential Campaign
In early 2015, Parscale's company, Giles-Parscale, built a website for Donald Trump's first campaign. They charged $1,500 for this work. Over the entire election, the Trump campaign paid Giles-Parscale $94 million. Much of this money was used for advertising.
In 2016, Parscale became the campaign's digital director. He used social media ads and tried different ideas. He tested various face expressions, font colors, and slogans. Parscale was in charge of online advertising and fundraising. He also helped with the campaign's budget and polling.
Parscale worked closely with employees from Facebook, Twitter, and Google. He embedded them with his staff to use all the features of these platforms. He said he did not get any help from Russia. Parscale did much of the social media advertising from his own home.
Parscale used Facebook ads to target specific voters in important states. He said he could reach people who cared about things like improving roads and bridges. He promoted Trump's message about these topics. Parscale believed Facebook was key to Trump's victory. He said, "Facebook was going to be how he won."
The Trump campaign started with only Donald Trump's own money. Parscale set up a large online campaign on Facebook. This quickly brought in money from people across the U.S. He said that social media companies helped the campaign use their money well. The Washington Post later said Parscale deserved credit for Trump's win.
The voter information database used for Parscale's social media ads was called "Project Alamo". This name eventually covered all the fundraising and advertising efforts.
2020 Donald Trump Presidential Campaign
On February 27, 2018, President Trump named Parscale his campaign manager for the 2020 election.
In March 2020, The New York Times reported that Parscale was paying money to Lara Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle for campaign work.
In June 2020, Parscale worked to get supporters for a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He claimed over 800,000 people requested tickets. However, many seats were empty at the event. The fire marshal estimated fewer than 6,200 people attended.
On July 15, 2020, Trump announced that Bill Stepien would replace Parscale as campaign manager. Parscale continued to advise the campaign.
After Parscale left, questions arose about his spending. Over $800,000 had been spent on boosting Parscale's own social media pages. Also, $39 million was paid to two companies owned by Parscale.
On September 30, 2020, Parscale announced he was "stepping away from my company and any role in the campaign." He said he needed to focus on his family and deal with stress.
After the 2020 Election
After the election, Parscale shared his thoughts on the campaign's strategy. He believed Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the election outcome. He also mentioned claims of voter fraud.
After the election, Parscale started working in real estate. He also restarted his political consulting firm. In 2021, he worked for a political campaign in Ohio.
Reaction to January 6th Capitol Event
On July 12, 2022, a hearing by the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack shared text messages from Parscale. These messages were exchanged with another campaign advisor after the events at the U.S. Capitol.
In the messages, Parscale said he felt guilty for helping Trump win. He mentioned that a woman had died during the events. He also said that Trump's words were like "pushing for uncertainty" and "asking for civil war."
One month later, Parscale tweeted a message to Trump. He suggested that if Trump was impeached twice, he should run again. He said, "history remembers those that didn't conform."
Personal Life
Parscale became a father in July 1999. He had a daughter with a woman he met in San Antonio. They married in 2003 but divorced in 2007.
In 2012, he married Candice Blount. They had twin children, a son and a daughter, in 2016. Sadly, both children passed away shortly after birth.
