This week we tracked down Danielle Muscato. She’s the activist who fired off a series of tweets in response to Trump’s latest Twitter tantrum because Alec Baldwin impersonated him on SNL. Muscato’s tweets were picked up by first by Groop Speak and Occupy Democrats, followed by Mashable, HuffPo, and NBC News. (Tweets and handle published here with Danielle’s permission.)

Jesus fucking Christ, @realDonaldTrump. You are the president-elect. Pick your fucking battles, man. You’re embarrassing yourself. — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump Baldwin’s impression isn’t “Sad.” You know what’s sad? In 7 wks you’ll be responsible for 330m lives & you can’t think of — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump (cont) anything better to do than tweet abt a comedy show. You know that actual lives are at stake, right? You’re pathetic. — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump This is not a joke, Donald. Don’t you have anything better to do? Are you so narcissistic that a PARODY is your priority? — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump Do you know how many trans people were murdered since Election Day? Do you know how many veterans killed themselves?

— Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump Do you know how many children went to bed tonight without enough food to eat? Do you even care? What is *wrong* with you?! — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump No, of course you don’t know those things. You don’t even know what a “blind trust,” and you call yourself a businessman.

— Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump You’re pathetic. You ran for prez for attention. You are a fake,a fraud. You never wanted to win anyway; we can all see it.

— Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump You are not fooling anyone. You’re scared, and overwhelmed, and you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. And it shows — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump You think we’re all too polite, too aghast, to call you out. I see through you, Donny. I’m calling you out. You’re a joke. — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump With every fiber of my being, I am disgusted by you. And you know what the real secret is? You’re disgusted by you, too. — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump That’s why you surround yourself with gold, and beautiful women that you objectify. You know you’re a loser, so you try to — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump make yourself feel better, feel successful, authoritative, with things, and money. You are an impostor. You are a fraud. — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump I’m ashamed of you. The world is ashamed. You spout NONSENSE, millions of illegal voters?! Even you don’t believe it — absurd — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump Do you think we’re stupid? You think we don’t know what you’re doing? Trying to control the narrative, get your followers.. — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump ..to distrust the media, the polls, news reporters, so that they must turn to YOU for what’s true, what’s real? There’s a — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump ..name for that. It’s “propaganda.” We know what you’re doing. We will not allow you to suppress votes with this nonsense. — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

@realDonaldTrump We will not allow you to trample our civil rights! We will not allow you to destroy the progress we’ve made! WE WILL RESIST — Danielle Muscato (@DanielleMuscato) December 4, 2016

Give us a quick bit of background about yourself.

My name is Danielle Muscato and I’m a 32-year-old transgender woman from Missouri. I’m a civil rights activist, writer, public speaker, and musician. I’ve been an activist since 2011, mostly focusing on the separation of religion and government and fighting discrimination against atheists, but also many other areas of progressive social and political interest, such as abortion access, science education, Black Lives Matter, and more.

What was going on when you decided to reply to Trump’s SNL tweets?

I was, and remain, angry and aghast at Trump for failing to take his job seriously. In seven weeks, this man will be the only thing standing between peace and launching nuclear weapons. I consider it a national emergency that the president-elect can’t even be trusted to handle his own Twitter account.

I was, and remain, angry at Trump for failing to take his job seriously.
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Is there any additional info you want to add around your tweets? (140 characters can be limiting!)

We must resist. Bottom line, resist. That’s why yesterday, I was using the hashtag #RESIST. The day we accept ANY of this as normal, we have already lost. Fascism accumulates power by pushing people, by testing us, by testing boundaries. We must call him out literally every time he says or proposes something that is unacceptable; we must actually label it as “unacceptable”; and we must demand change. From access to health care, to LGBTQ rights, to international relations, to so much more, complacency is literally death in this case, for potentially millions of people around the world, and also for people here in the USA. If you do not already, I encourage everyone reading this to start identifying, personally, as an activist, and to work toward that end accordingly. Resistance, en masse, is our only hope.

What has the response to your tweets been so far? Positive? Negative? Any Trump supporters flooding your feed?

Well, I’m actually suspended from my Facebook account for three days, because a bunch of people — I assume Trump supporters — filed community standards reports against me, and Facebook’s algorithm automatically locks you out if enough people do that. But aside from that, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. As a civil rights activist, I was already verified on Twitter before this went viral, but I went from 3,500 followers to 90,000 overnight. I’m absolutely thrilled that my message has resonated with so many people. I think these things simply needed to be said, and I absolutely intend to use this platform to continue fighting for good. I’m sitting on literally thousands of emails, and going through them as quickly as I can. I’d guess that perhaps 1 out of 200 or fewer messages has been negative. The negative ones are easy to spot, because of all the spelling errors and anti-trans slurs.

I absolutely intend to use this platform to continue fighting for good.
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How do you feel about your portrayal in the media concerning your tweets? (I noticed, for instance, that many platforms simply stated “this woman’s Twitter rant” without naming you or providing any background information.) Did sites ask permission before republishing your Tweets?

Some did, some did not. I don’t mind. Twitter is public; as long as they link to my feed, it’s just more visibility. My goal is to spread the message that we must resist Trump, and media coverage amplifies the signal.

What are you working on right now? Any projects our readers can support?

I’m a full-time civil rights activist, and I’m always working on new talks for conferences, universities, and local groups, in addition to writing, and doing media appearances, event organizing, and formal debates. If you are interested in supporting my work, I do have a Patreon, and I’m also available for bookings and freelance writing through my website.

Where can folks find you online (besides Twitter)?

I’m on all the major social media sites under Danielle Muscato, including a Facebook page, an Instagram feed, and a YouTube channel. You can also reach me through my website at www.daniellemuscato.com. I get a lot of email and I can’t always reply to everyone, but I do my very best to read them and respond as much as I can! I love hearing from people.