Lara Trump came under fire Saturday night after a “bipartisan” panel of Michigan voters she interviewed on Fox News turned out to be stacked with Mike Rogers supporters, including one individual who helped lead a super PAC that spent millions backing the GOP Senate candidate.
“One of the strangest things I have ever seen,” wrote Acyn Torabi, senior digital editor for MeidasTouch. “Apparently, they had to use an astroturfed voter panel because it seems they couldn’t find five non-campaign-affiliated voters who actually support Mike Rogers.”
Appearing on Fox News’ “My View with Lara Trump,” a panel of five people described by the network as a “bipartisan voter panel” shared their thoughts on the Senate race between Rogers and Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Panelists spoke poorly of El-Sayed, and some indicated they would support Rogers.
As flagged by MeidasTouch, however, Fox News made “one rather glaring omission.”
“Four of the five panelists had appeared at official Mike Rogers campaign events, where they publicly endorsed the Republican and urged voters to support him. Their endorsements were published on Rogers’ own campaign website,” MeidasTouch reported.
“A fifth had previously expressed support for Rogers on national television. And one of the supposed ordinary voters had an even more significant connection: She was the treasurer of a super PAC that had raised more than $5.7 million and spent millions supporting Rogers and opposing El-Sayed.”
That voter was Michigan state Rep. Karen Whitsett, an outgoing conservative Democrat who pushed to block abortion bills in the state. Whitsett, according to MeidasTouch, served in a leadership role in a super PAC that spent millions of dollars supporting Rogers. Fox News, however, identified her simply as a “Michigan voter.”
“The deception is just staggering,” wrote Brett Meiselas, co-founder of MeidasTouch, in a social media post on X Saturday night.
Democratic strategist Mike Nellis called the Fox News segment “pathetic,” and former Michigan state Rep. Mari Manoogian said she “legitimately laughed out loud” upon seeing Whitsett identified simply as a “Michigan voter.”
One of the strangest things I have ever seen. Apparently, they had to use an astroturfed voter panel because it seems they couldn’t find five non-campaign-affiliated voters who actually support Mike Rogers.
— Acyn (@Acyn) November 1, 2026