COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Cookeville woman was invited to the White House as President Donald Trump gave a speech days after he was discharged from a hospital for COVID-19.
At first, Jasmine Woodson said she was contacted by the BLEXIT Foundation. They asked her to attend a peaceful protest in support of law enforcement in Washington D.C.
"We wanted to change the narrative to show that minorities do like the police. Not all of us want to defund the police," Woodson said.
Woodson said BLEXIT paid for her flight and hotel. The movement is led by conservative activist Candace Owens.
"The whole point of BLEXIT, which I wasn’t a member before going, is just Blacks exiting the left. You don’t have to be Republican or anything, I don’t identify as Republican, I just like Trump," Woodson said.
On Friday, she got another email as she was getting on the plane.
"It was an official invitation from the White House. It said that 'you are personally invited by Donald J. Trump to attend a speech on law and order.'"
His appearance comes days after he was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following treatment for COVID-19. Woodson said she wasn't concerned about getting sick.
"The White House staff would all walk around in the group to make sure we had our masks on, and President Trump did walk out with a mask at first, but he took his off," Woodson said. "It was crazy. There were so many Trump supporters of other races that you don’t really get to see on the news."
Attendees were given BLEXIT T-shirts to wear to the event. For Woodson, it was an unexpected weekend she likely won't forget.
"It was just a great experience," Woodson said.
