Doug Ford upstaged by pranksters at leadership launch rally
Doug Ford is officially back in action on the campaign trail – this time at the provincial level – and so, too, is his biggest fan/hater (fanater?) Michael Dunbar Jr.
The former city councillor and brother of late former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford launched his bid to the lead the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario this weekend with a rally that wasn't in his mom's basement.
More than 1,500 people are said to have attended the event at Toronto's Congress Centre on Saturday night, many of them with signs to show their support for Ford's bid.
People don't know whether to boo or applaud this intervention. And here comes security. pic.twitter.com/fvaXVG0w8o
— Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie) February 4, 2018
One of said sign carriers was the man on Twitter who goes by Michael Dunbar Jr. – a prankster, of sorts, who made headlines during Toronto's 2014 mayoral election by mocking Ford's liberal use of the word "folks."
Dunbar Jr. and a group of his fellow fake superfans were seen front and centre at Ford's rally on Saturday holding up a collection of letters that spelled out "FOLKS."
Ford, who entered the room to "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky and left to Twisted Sister's "We're not gonna take it," did not acknowledge the "disingenuous" signs, but one of his campaign staffers took note.
Does anyone know who this lady is? She stole our flyers from our hands (as you can see) and body-checked one of us. She said she was pro-Ford but obviously she's not. Would love to speak with 22 Division about a potential Theft Under and Assault investigation. #fordnation #onpoli pic.twitter.com/dSycmUgaeC
— Michael Dunbar Jr. (The Folks Guy) (@michaeldunbarjr) February 4, 2018
Dunbar Jr. and others on Twitter report that someone working for Ford had confiscated some flyers from the group following Ford's speech.
The flyers, which looked just like any other campaign flyer but with every word replaced by "folks," were consistent with the rest of Dunbar Jr.'s satirical pro-Ford campaign.
You can find an exact replica of Doug Ford's campaign website right now at folksfolksfolks.com but, again, every word has been replaced by "folks."
Thank you @SueAnnLevy, for taking one of our flyers from us at Doug's rally. Together, we can elect @fordnation and introduce an educational curriculum that places an emphasis on the word(s) that really matter. pic.twitter.com/VmyHos015e
— Michael Dunbar Jr. (The Folks Guy) (@michaeldunbarjr) February 4, 2018
Should Ford win the race for leader of the provincial PC Party (and then the election,) expect a long strong stretch of folksy fun aimed at Ontario's Premier.
Other candidates who've thrown their hat in the ring so far include Caroline Mulroney, PC candidate in York-Simcoe, and former Ontario PC leadership candidate Christine Elliot.
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