“I stood by you for 20 years… now I don’t even recognize you”: Former Miss California accuses US President Trump of abandoning his most loyal supporters
Former Miss California Carrie Prejean Boller has publicly accused President Donald Trump of abandoning his most loyal supporters after she was dismissed from a position on the Justice Department’s Religious Liberty Commission.
The 38-year-old, who is married to former NFL quarterback Kyle Boller, said she was removed from the commission after what officials described as “hijacking” a February 9 hearing that was meant to examine the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States.
During the hearing, Prejean Boller engaged in tense exchanges with Jewish witnesses, including rabbis and students, who were testifying about abuse they had experienced following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that left around 1,200 people dead.
In an open letter addressed to Trump and published Thursday, Prejean Boller said her removal shocked her, especially given the president’s past support for her free speech.
She reminded Trump that he had once defended her during the 2009 Miss USA pageant controversy, when she sparked national debate by stating that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Trump owned the pageant at the time and allowed her to keep her crown despite the backlash.
“I have not changed one bit since the day you stood beside me in 2009. That is why it is so shocking to now be removed from a Religious Liberty Commission for doing the very same thing you once defended,” Prejean Boller wrote.
The mother of two also accused Trump’s evangelical spiritual adviser, Paula White, of launching a “witch hunt” against her, claiming White attempted to restrict her from posting about Israel and Gaza on social media.
Prejean Boller went further in the letter, criticizing what she described as a shift away from the political principles that first attracted her to Trump.
She wrote that she had supported the president for two decades but now felt disillusioned. “The MAGA I knew would never allow American troops to die for a foreign government,” Prejean Boller wrote.
Referring to the ongoing Israel-backed war in Iran, which she said has killed seven U.S. service members in the past two weeks, she added: “America’s sons and daughters are being sent to the Middle East to be sacrificed at the altar of heresy and false prophecy.”
Addressing criticism that she disrupted the anti-Semitism hearing, Prejean Boller defended her actions. “I did exactly what commissioners are supposed to do. I asked questions,” she wrote.
She also challenged the idea that criticism of Israel should automatically be considered anti-Semitic. During the hearing, she asked witnesses: “Catholics do not embrace Zionism, just so you know. So are all Catholics anti-Semites?”
More than 70,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict escalated, with civilians making up the vast majority of casualties.
Prejean Boller concluded her letter with a personal message to Trump. “Your eternal legacy is dependent on you entering the Kingdom of heaven, and I sure hope that one day, I will see you there,” she wrote.
Several conservative figures praised the letter. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin wrote on X that “Agree with Americans’ right to question an influential country’s leadership decisions or not, censoring citizens’ concerns is… well… concerning.”
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn also praised it, calling it a “powerful and very honest letter.”
The Religious Liberty Commission, where Prejean Boller served, was created by Trump through an executive order on May 1, 2025. The body is tasked with advising the White House on religious freedom issues and identifying threats to religious liberty in the United States. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick chairs the commission, with former Housing Secretary Ben Carson serving as vice chair.
READ NEXT
- “I stood by you for 20 years… now I don’t even recognize you”: Former Miss California accuses US President Trump of abandoning his most loyal supporters
- Alex Warren Says His Grammy Performance Went So Wrong He Wanted to Leave the Ceremony
- Nicole Kidman shares how she coped after ending her marriage with Keith Urban
- Rihanna shooting suspect previously targeted Billie Eilish before arrest
- Meghan to appear at women’s retreat in Sydney with tickets starting at £1,400