Brad Parscale

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US Republican digital strategist, Donald Trump's 2020 campaign manager, whose firm Clock Tower X has been paid $15 million on behalf of the State of Israel since 2025


Brad Parscale

Born 1976
Nationality American
Occupation Digital strategist; owner of Clock Tower X; chief strategy officer of Salem Media Group
Known for Digital director of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign; Trump 2020 campaign manager; Israeli government contract through Havas Media Germany

Brad Parscale (Bradley Parscale, born 1976) is a US Republican digital strategist. He ran the digital operation of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and was Trump's re-election campaign manager from February 2018 until July 2020.[1][2] Since September 2025 his company Clock Tower X has been registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to run a US campaign for the State of Israel, paid through Havas Media Germany.[3][4] By March 2026 the firm had received $15 million and had passed about $13.1 million on to other firms, many run by his political allies.[5][6]

The Quincy Institute describes the contract as "the largest active Israeli contract under FARA".[7] (Critical.)

Career

CBS News reported that in 2016 Parscale, "a mostly unknown campaign operative", ran the Donald Trump campaign's "digital ad buying and data operation" with Jared Kushner. By the end of the campaign 100 people worked under him, and he had brought in $240 million in small donations.[1] Responsible Statecraft describes him as "the adviser who hired the controversial microtargeting firm Cambridge Analytica during Trump's 2016 campaign".[8] (Critical.)

He was named campaign manager for Trump's re-election bid in February 2018, "unusually early", according to The New York Times.[2] On 15 July 2020 Trump replaced him with Bill Stepien, saying Parscale would stay on to lead "digital and data strategies" as a senior adviser.[9] Reuters reported that he had been blamed internally for the poorly attended Tulsa rally the previous month.[10]

By 2025 he was chief strategy officer of the conservative Christian broadcaster Salem Media Group.[8][11] The Intercept reported that he also runs the digital strategy company Campaign Nucleus, and that Florida records show him founding a company called Jackson Parker with the oil billionaire Tim Dunn in early 2025. It quoted a Jackson Parker job advertisement describing "a mission-driven organization focused on combating anti-Semitism and strengthening public understanding of Israel as America's closest ally in the Middle East".[6] (Critical; single source.)

Clock Tower X and the Israeli contract

Clock Tower X LLC, a Delaware company organised on 11 June 2025 and wholly owned by "Bradley Parscale", registered under FARA on 18 September 2025 (registration number 7649). It named the "State of Israel" and "HAVAS Media Network" as foreign principals. Its stated purpose was "strategic communications, planning, and media services in support of Havas' engagement by the State of Israel to develop and execute a nationwide campaign in the United States to combat antisemitism."[3] Parscale filed two short-form registrations the same day as "Owner" and "sole Member/Manager". The one for "HAVAS Media Network" gives his fee as "$1,500,000.00 per Month".[4][12] The State of Israel was later removed as a direct principal, the firm saying it had been listed "in error".[5]

The statement of work with Havas Media Germany required at least 80 per cent of content to be "tailored to Gen Z", "Integration of narrative messaging into Salem Media Network properties", and "Deployment of websites and content to deliver GPT framing results on GPT conversations".[13] The firm's Exhibit A for the State of Israel names its Israeli contact as Eran Shayovich,[14] whom Responsible Statecraft identifies as chief of staff at the Israeli Foreign Ministry.[8] The Hill also reported that Parscale was "primarily corresponding with Israel's minister of Foreign Affairs and Eran Shayovich".[15] Later Havas orders raised the filed contract value to $49.5 million to the end of 2026.[16][17]

Money received and paid out

For the six months to 31 March 2026, Clock Tower X reported receiving $15,000,000 from Havas Media Germany and paying $13,061,802.50 to eight firms. The largest payments went to Sparkfire Technologies ($6,500,000) and Portman Road Strategies ($4,952,000). It also reported a $750,000 "loan repayment" to Parscale on 11 December 2025, and a $10,000 contribution from Parscale to Max Miller Victory on 22 December 2025.[5]

The Intercept reported that Parscale had "directed $13 million from Israel to several Republican digital strategy firms and allies". It said Portman Road Strategies is run by his long-time ally Mike Shields, and that 14 of the 18 Clock Tower X team members were staff of Shields's firm Convergence Media. It added that more than $500,000 went to Salem Media Representatives, a subsidiary of the company where Parscale is an executive.[6] (Critical.) Parscale told Time that none of the money from the FARA-registered contract had been used to pay influencers. "My contract with Israel does not influence Salem hosts or independent influencers," he said.[18] (Journalistic.)

Texts, websites and chatbots

Responsible Statecraft reported in February 2026 that groups calling themselves "Friends for Peace" and "Partners in Peace" were texting Americans links to websites and videos created by Clock Tower X. One video claimed the suffering in Gaza was "fabricated content".[19] (Critical.) The firm's filed websites include allyvia.org, cognitura.org, factsignal.org and paxpoint.org.[5] Nine of them are listed as independent resources in the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs' Iron Web directory.[20]

Reaction in Israel

Ynetnews reported in 2026, citing an investigation by Time, that Israel paid Parscale about $1.5 million a month to influence US opinion, "particularly among young conservatives and MAGA supporters". It quoted a senior Israeli official: "We paid a lot of money, but the situation only kept getting worse."[21] (Journalistic.)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 CBS News, Trump replaces campaign manager Brad Parscale with Bill Stepien CBS News, 16 July 2020. Journalistic.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The New York Times, Trump Replaces Brad Parscale as Campaign Manager, Elevating Bill Stepien The New York Times, 15 July 2020. Journalistic.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Clock Tower X LLC, Registration Statement (FARA no. 7649) FARA eFile, US Department of Justice, 18 September 2025. FARA filing (primary).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bradley Parscale, Short Form Registration Statement (Clock Tower X LLC; HAVAS Media Network) FARA eFile, 18 September 2025. FARA filing (primary).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Clock Tower X LLC, Supplemental Statement for the six-month period ending 31 March 2026 FARA eFile, 18 May 2026. FARA filing (primary).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Nick Cleveland-Stout and Jacqueline Sweet, Ex-Trump Campaign Chief Funneled Millions of Israeli Government Money to His Longtime Allies' Companies The Intercept, 28 May 2026. Critical.
  7. ↑ Nick Cleveland-Stout, The Eighth Front: Inside Israel's $1 Billion Influence Campaign Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Quincy Paper No. 19, 24 July 2026. Critical.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Nick Cleveland-Stout, Israel wants to train ChatGPT to be more pro-Israel Responsible Statecraft, 29 September 2025. Critical.
  9. ↑ Associated Press, Trump replaces campaign manager amid sinking poll numbers AP News, 15 July 2020. Journalistic.
  10. ↑ Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt, Trump replaces campaign manager amid slide in opinion polls Reuters, 16 July 2020. Journalistic.
  11. ↑ Donald Shaw, Israel's New U.S. Influence Campaigns Target TikTok, Churches, and ChatGPT Sludge, 6 October 2025. Critical.
  12. ↑ Bradley Parscale, Short Form Registration Statement (Clock Tower X LLC; State of Israel) FARA eFile, 18 September 2025. FARA filing (primary).
  13. ↑ Clock Tower X LLC, Exhibits A and B: services agreement with Havas Media Germany GmbH FARA eFile, 18 September 2025. FARA filing (primary).
  14. ↑ Clock Tower X LLC, Exhibits A and B (State of Israel) FARA eFile, 18 September 2025. FARA filing (primary).
  15. ↑ Laura Kelly, Brad Parscale registers as foreign agent for Israel The Hill, 30 September 2025. Journalistic.
  16. ↑ Clock Tower X LLC, Exhibit B: Havas Media Germany order dated 6 February 2026 FARA eFile, 7 June 2026. FARA filing (primary).
  17. ↑ Clock Tower X LLC, Exhibit B: Havas Media Germany order dated 24 September 2026 FARA eFile, 5 October 2026. FARA filing (primary).
  18. ↑ Eric Cortellessa, Trump's Former Campaign Manager Is Running An Influence Operation For Israel Time, 13 July 2026. Journalistic.
  19. ↑ Nick Cleveland-Stout, Mysterious 'peace' groups are sending Americans pro-Israel texts Responsible Statecraft, 9 February 2026. Critical.
  20. ↑ Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Iron Web govextra.gov.il, accessed 20 October 2026. Official (primary).
  21. ↑ Itamar Eichner, Inside Israel's costly US influence operation: big budgets, growing backlash Ynetnews, 2026. Journalistic.
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