It’s only been seven months since musician Joy Villa announced to the world and her industry that she supported President Donald Trump. At the Grammy Awards in February, she wore her by now iconic dress that sported the president’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, earning plenty of attention — and not all of it good.
Villa, 26, has since released best-selling music, including a song titled “Make America Great Again,” pushed her beliefs through social media and talk shows, and connected with fans. She even recently flew to Houston, Texas (along with fellow musician Kaya Jones) to help in the Harvey relief efforts there.
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It’s been a long journey in a short amount of time for her — one that will not be ending anytime soon. The California native has an exciting new step to add to her adventure as an artist and commentator, which she announced on Twitter Tuesday night: She’ll now be an official member of the advisory board for President Trump’s campaign.
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“It feels like it’s been years,” Villa told LifeZette exclusively about all that’s happened since she donned her headline-making dress. “So much has happened in that time.”
Villa said she is still “being briefed” on her duties as a member of the Trump campaign’s advisory board, but she knows thus far she’ll be doing a lot more media to help promote the president’s agenda — and to keep the public informed.
“Part of my duties will be to know what the president is doing before a lot of the public knows,” Villa said, adding that inside knowledge about White House events will allow her to better inform people of the good that is happening. “Making sure the good news gets out” is how she sums up part of her work.
“Part of my duties will be to know what the president is doing before a lot of the public knows.”
In her effort to do more media, Villa said she wants to expand beyond outlets like Fox News — she and Kaya Jones recently closed out an episode of Sean Hannity’s program — and move into networks such as CNN and MSNBC to better let detractors of the president know of the good Trump is doing.
Beyond that, Villa will be “possibly spearheading some events,” which could include rallies as the campaign puts on and produces many of them. She may also work “directly with the campaign [to get] ready for 2020,” when Trump will presumably run for re-election.
As a supporter of the president, she said she’s most looking forward to a moment of “stability” for the U.S. “This country needs stability more than ever,” she said, noting the need is felt everywhere from the economy to the military.
She added that cultural and political stability will give citizens more freedom to “create, build, and grow.”
Along with her new duties on the advisory board, Villa has been busy in Houston helping victims of Harvey. She’s been working through the charity Mercury One; she and Kaya Jones have helped raise over $2 million for Houston.
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When asked about helping and interacting with people affected by the hurricane, Villa paused and said, “It was intense … at times terrifying, tragic, devastating.”
The artist described the heartbreak of seeing the devastation around her. She said she smelled “putrid water, dead animals, mold coming off the houses, air is dank –– you feel the loss of all those homes.”
However, the singer also has a renewed sense of hope — people inspired her and showed the best of America, she said. Villa said she saw “people holding hands in prayer, people helping other people despite their homes being destroyed. That’s America.”
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For one video done through Periscope and posted to Villa’s social media, she asked a woman what she most wanted to tell the rest of America. “Please tell them it’s [destruction] much worse than you could ever imagine,” Villa recalled the woman saying.
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What shocked her most was what the woman said next. “Please let America know we are not racist,” Villa remembers the woman saying — a woman who was nearly in tears and who was flying the Confederate flag in her yard. “She and others were saying, ‘We have neighbors of all colors. We love each other. We’re not thinking of race. We’re thinking of humanity.'”
Villa added, “Even when they’re fighting for their lives, they still want that message to come out because they know what the news is saying about them.”
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Her interactions with the people of Houston, she said, show that the stereotypes and divisiveness pushed in the media are hurting the country more than some may think. “That’s tearing apart the country more than any hurricane ever could.” she said.
To help in Joy Villa’s Harvey relief efforts, donate here.
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