Who Is Mayra Joli, The Nodding Woman At Donald Trump's Town Hall?
The mystery nodding woman has an identity.
YouTube On October 15, President Trump delivered a town hall on NBC with moderator Savannah Guthrie, opposite Joe Biden's town hall on ABC with moderator George Stephanopoulos. However, all eyes were not on Trump because a mystery nodding woman behind him stole the show. The woman behind him was wearing a red mask and continuously noded in agreement at what Trump had to say throughout the entire event.
Naturally, everyone was questioning who the nodding woman was — who so enthusiastically agreed with all of Trump’s statements. Well, good news: she's been identified!
Who is Mayra Joli, the nodding woman at Donald Trump's town hall?
Mayra Joli used to be a beauty queen.
Joli is an ex-beauty queen/ Joli notably won the Mrs. Coral Gables beauty pageant in 2015. She also stated that she admires women who are “simple, happy, familial, unapologetic, no braggadocios, classy, and very American.” AMayra Joli doesn’t drink alcohol and said in an interview that, “Like Donald Trump, I don’t drink.”
Joli ran for congress.
In 2018, Joli ran for the congressional seat of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a retiring Miami Representative. Joli won 2.5% of the vote and ran as an independent but Democrat Donna Shalala ultimately won the race. In Joli’s Twitter page bio, she describes herself as “always conservative” but a “former Democrat” and a “Republican Affiliate.”
Joli met Donald Trump after the Town Hall.
After nodding at Trump throughout the Town Hall, Mayra Joli got the opportunity to meet the President. The interaction was posted on Joli’s Facebook. She approached Trump and said, “We have your back! You see, you see you are the best.”
Trump then asked her where she is from and Joli responded with, “I’m from the Dominican Republic, but I’m American.”
She's an immigration attorney.
Mayra Joli is an immigration lawyer and on her website it states that she specializes “in detention and removal proceedings.” She went to law school at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo and graduated in 1989. Joli is a member of the American and Federal Bar Associations and was recognized by the Supreme Court of Louisiana in 2001.
In 2012, she founded the Joli Law Firm and now works litigating cases across the country.
Who is Mayra Jolie's husband?
Joli’s husband was a Marine. Mayra Joli has been married to her husband, Steven Befera, since 1995. She said that her husband taught her the “value of responsibility and discipline, the American way.” Brefera used to be a Marine but is now practicing law in Miami, just like Joli and also teaches at the University of Miami Law School.
They couple has a son together and they used to have a dog named Chester. However, in April 2011, Chester was killed in what might be a retaliatory killing. Joli said that her neighbors believed Chester killed one of their cats so the neighbors wanted to get revenge on their dog. Joli told CBS Miami, “I want to see justice for Chester. This is not a matter of vengeance. This is not a matter of getting back at anybody. Our dog was innocent.”
Joli became a lawyer because of the movie The Verdict.
Mayra Joli said that she became a lawyer because she was so inspired by the Paul Newman film The Verdict. She stated that, “The plot in the movie and the impact of it was so clear that at that point I decided, that is it! I will be an attorney. Yup, it was a movie. I am an attorney today, thanks to Paul Newman.”
Jaycee Levin is a writer who covers celebrity news, spirituality, love and relationships.