'Nodding lady' from Trump town hall reveals her employees have been targeted with hate mail urging them to quit and her law firm is getting poor online reviews from opponents of the president
A woman who became an internet meme after repeatedly nodding and giving a thumbs up at President Trump's town hall last week has revealed she and her employees are being targeted by hate mail and bad reviews.
Mayra Joli, a Miami-based immigration lawyer from the Dominican Republic, became known as the 'Nodding Lady' after sitting in the audience directly behind Trump at the NBC News town hall at Perez Art Museum in Miami on Thursday.
She told Fox News that since clips of her nodding in agreement went viral, her employees have been contacted and urged to quit, and she has received a string of criticism to her law firm.
'Nobody can call an employer to fire me,' she said. 'What they're doing is calling my employees so they quit.'
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Mayra Joli, a Miami-based immigration lawyer from the Dominican Republic, became known as the 'Nodding Lady' after Trump's town hall last week. She says that since she went vital for nodding her head behind the president, she has received hate mail and abuse online
'Nodding Lady' (pictured in the background in a white blouse and red mask) became the breakout star of NBC's town hall event with President Trump in Miami, Florida
'They start sending other saying, "I can't believe you're working for that person. I thought you were better",' Joli added to Fox. 'I am a fighter, but my have a private life. They aren't used to this commotion.
She has posted some of the letters she has received to her social media, where she has celebrated her new nickname as the 'Nodding Lady' with videos identifying herself and explaining why she supports Trump.
On some of the letters she posted, Joli has replied to each of the points the writer made with her own, telling them to accept her decision to be a Trump supporter.
'You made your chocie and I respect that,' the letter from New York said, to which Joli answered 'Period'.
'You were annoying. Laughing stock for bobbing your head. Shame on you for making me nauseous. Vomit,' another letter from California read.
'The is NOTHING good about Trump or you. Disgusting,' said yet another Facebook message.
Joli, who claims she donated to Hillary Clinton in 2016 but was later won over by Trump, said that the criticism would do nothing to stop her from supporting the president.
'The more they trashed him, the more I wanted to find out more about him, and I’ve been supporting him since. The rest is history,' Joli explained.
'Donald Trump taught me that I cannot just be silent, and I have to think for myself.'
Joli shared pictures of some of the hate mail her law firm has been receiving
One letter told Joli that she was a 'laughing stock' after the Trump town hall
Joli has also received abusive messages through her social media accounts
She also said that the online reviews to Joli Law form don't bother her and don't make her worry about her business.
'Somebody’s going to see that review, then see the career I’ve led helping people, so I don’t need that client,' Joli said
The lawyer said that while some of her clients have a problem with Trump because of his stance on illegal immigration, the president's hard line has made them come forward and try to find a path to citizenship.
'They were coming to me, telling me, "I want to fix my situation because of Donald Trump." I told them, "No, you want to fix your situation because of you." The fact that Donald Trump is the president means nothing because with or without Donald Trump ... nothing will change,' she said.
'It just prolongs your agony. You have to find a way to fix it, and that’s why attorneys are there.'
Joli also believes that a Biden administration will deport a large number of people as the Obama administration did, despite touting progressive policies.
Pictured: Mayra Joli and Don Jr., the President's oldest son
Joli revealed that anti-Trump strangers have been calling her employees and urging them to quit her law firm because of her political beliefs and that she has been targeted online
Just two years ago, Joli ran for Congress as an independent, pro-Trump candidate, but lost to her Democratic opponent. She claims that she backed Clinton in 2016 but Trump won her over
'With Donald Trump, he showed people they have to carry their own weight; they have to make themselves responsible for their pasts, their presents and their futures,' Joli claimed.
'The clientele, now, is more proactive.'
Herself an immigrant, Joli revealed that she studied law by candlelight in the Dominican Republic because she didn't have electricity or running water at the time.
'This country gave me everything my country couldn’t give me, but I didn’t escape my country,' said Joli, who worked at Hooters before completing her law degree, of the United States.
'I left my country because the corruption was larger than the island itself.'
In an interview wit Fox News' Sean Hannity last week, Joli also explained why she was nodding so much during the town hall.
'I was following exactly what he was saying and that is my sentiment as well, not emotionally but from a logical point of view,' she told Hannity.
'It's just natural to follow the conversation ad then when you feel that what the person is saying is correct, I nodded in approval.'
Joli posed for a selfie with the president's youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump
The Miami woman frequently voices her support for the president on social media and even shared photos with the Trump women at last week's town hall event
She also condemned those criticizing her as well as Democrats who she claimed laughed at her when she was part of their party.
'I've been the victim of attacks just because I expressed my views,' she stated.
'I'm a person who thinks on my own and I'm a grown woman, a business woman and I believe that that's the right that I do have, to come to this country and think for myself.
'I was a former Democrat. The Democratic party laughed at me. When we have a party that is willing to kill a baby, I can not get along with that.'
Joli, who was wearing a red face mask and a white blouse, caught viewers' attention last week after nodding in approval at nearly every statement as Trump spoke to host Savannah Guthrie.
Her behavior quickly generated buzz on Twitter as she earned herself her new nickname.
'I wish I had someone who believed me the way that woman with red mask believes Trump. We could all be so lucky,' one person joked.
Joli became a social media meme after the town hall last week, with many users cracking jokes about wanting someone to look at them the way she stared at Trump
Mayra Joli in 2018: 'I am not looking to run because I need a paycheck, like Donald Trump. I'm not looking to run because I need fame, like Donald Trump'
Joli has since been revealed to be an ardent Trump supporter, who has dabbled in politics in the past.
Her law firm specializes in immigration and uses 'Your American Dream Starts Here' as its slogan.
Among its areas of practice are family-based petitions, temporary protected status , detentions and naturalizations, according to the website.
Just two years ago, Joli ran as a candidate for Florida's 27th Congressional District but lost to Democratic opponent Donna Shalala after gaining just 2.5 per cent of the vote, The Miami-Herald reported.
Joli is also a five-time beauty queen who sometimes serves as a pundit on Spanish networks.
While she described herself as a non-party affiliate and ran as an independent, campaign videos show her platform was closely aligned with conservative views.
During her 2018 campaign she revealed Trump had inspired her congressional bid.
'I am not looking to run because I need a paycheck, like Donald Trump. I'm not looking to run because I need fame, like Donald Trump. I'm running because I need this country to succeed,' she wrote on Facebook. 'Like Donald Trump, I don't drink.
'Nodding Lady' was identified as Mayra Joli (left and right), a vocal Trump supporter and former congressional candidate who said she is now being targeted by hate mail
Videos also showed Joli weighing in on issues such as a affordable housing, which she described as being poorly run.
'You know what happened with affordable housing? The special interest - for which I am against, anything anti-establishment I'm there,' she said.
'They take the subsidized money that the government gives them, they build the houses, they don't maintain it and fill it with crime, drugs and guns.'
The one-time aspiring politician is vocal about her support for the president on social media and frequently posts messages and photos rooting for Trump.
She even managed to speak with the president after the town hall event and shared a video of the interaction on her Facebook page.
'We have your back! You see, you see you are the best,' she told Trump in the video.
When asked where she's from Joli told Trump, 'I'm from the Dominican Republic, but I'm American, I'm an American.'
'Hey, Sammy Sosa?' Trump replied, referring to the famed Dominican baseball player. He imitated a baseball swing as Joli continued to praise him.