US firm that boasted of helping elect Trump hired to advise Reform’s Senedd election candidat

Emily Price 

A leading American political strategy firm that boasted of helping elect President Donald Trump has been hired by Reform UK to advise its candidates ahead of the Senedd election.

An insider who took part in Reform’s recent candidate selection process told Nation.Cymru that Ryan Rodgers, president of the U.S. based Strategy Group Company, delivered a presentation to Welsh election hopefuls at a special Senedd candidate “gala”.

Rodgers’ is a digital communication and marketing specialist with experience in supporting political parties with election campaigns.

His company’s website reveals that he has performed “extensive digital audits”, provided strategic social media content creation and has conducted “high-level training sessions” for leaders looking to “harness the internet’s full power”.

Rodgers’ Columbus-based firm claims to be lifting America to a “brighter future” by partnering with candidates and causes to “amplify their voice, vote, and victory” and “surpass goals, win elections, and make dreams a reality”.

The company says it has a “nation-wide client list” which it has helped to “win at all levels” – including U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Michael Pence.

It has also helped a significant number of American Republican Party politicians to win elections, including governors, senators and congressmen and women.

A screen grab of Reform’s gala itinerary showed that Rodgers’ half hour pep talk came after candidates were treated to a “new leader speech” from Dan Thomas and a “vision for Wales” talk by former Conservative cabinet minister and MP David Jones.

Our source said that Rodgers’ “high level” presentation included details about how Reform UK and its candidates engage with users and “how the party is able to extract data for voting intentions in specific areas”.

Advice

Our source said: “The talk was delivered to the majority of the 96 Welsh Reform candidates. No one batted an eyelid at the fact an American company was coming in to support a Welsh election.

“There was advice given to candidates in the way they are to conduct themselves on social media.

“Pre-election, engaging with the public should be limited and must rely on Nigel Farage’s profile and the national Reform pages being the main page and Welsh specific one.

“However, once elected, members should then set up profile pages that Reform HQ can monitor engagement and collate data – thus assisting with getting Nigel into No.10.

“Candidates were told to block followers who didn’t agree with the rhetoric as well.”

The insider added: “Mr Rodgers revealed that his company provides a wide range of social media data insights.

“These help with areas to campaign harder for example areas where there is a swing between Reform and say Labour or Conservative – thus allowing the party to target more specific areas than a general campaign.

“They also monitor usage to enable sponsored posts to be shared on the likes of Facebook, Tik Tok and X.”

Videos

The Strategy Group Company website provides examples of some of its award winning communication campaigns including art and video advertisements for 2024 Republican presidential nomination Vivek Ramaswamy, and Michael Pence’s conservative advocacy and policy group – Advancing American Freedom.

A video advertisement released by the firm during the 2016 presidential election campaign showed an American coal miner becoming emotional as he said Donald Trump had given “the working man” a renewed sense of hope for the future.

The video ends with an image of Trump wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat.

The website states: “No other firm has won more acclaim and awards. Political ads are boring. We believe they don’t have to be.

“Your message is powerful, and your ads should magnify it. We’ve spent decades perfecting the craft of communication, and we have proof.”

Influence

Rodgers’ most recent “insight” article published to the website explores “how digital momentum is reshaping Hungary’s election”.

Another article penned by Rodgers delves into how “Conservative candidates across Europe are successfully utilising TikTok to secure the youth vote”.

In an article published to the site in 2024 during the UK general election campaign The Strategy Group Company took a look at the spending and strategy of Reform UK, Labour and the Conservative party.

Rodgers’ wrote: “Nigel Farage, has significantly influenced the dynamics of the upcoming election. Polls indicate that Reform UK is now a considerable threat to the Conservative Party, particularly in specific vital constituencies.

“This shift is attributed to Farage’s decision to stand as a Member of Parliament and his takeover as party leader, which has energized the party’s campaign and broadened its appeal.”

We sent an email to the contact address listed on The Strategy Group Company’s website asking the following questions:

*Why does Mr Rodgers think it’s right that American strategists come to Wales to try to influence the Senedd election?

*Does the Strategy Group Company have an office in the UK?

*How much did Reform UK pay Mr Rodgers for the talk he gave?

*What exactly are the techniques the Strategy Group Company uses to identify voting intentions in Wales and advise Reform UK?

*Have you been engaged to support Reform UK with any further elections in the UK?

*Do you have an ongoing contract with Reform UK? Will it take you right up until the next UK general election?

However, the email bounced back marked as “address not found”.

‘No shame’

Nation.Cymru sent the same questions to Ryan Rodgers’ personal email address – but we did not receive a response.

We also contacted Reform UK and asked why the party thought a U.S. based firm was qualified to influence a Welsh election. We did not receive a response.

A Welsh Labour source said: “Farage has no shame is promoting his friendship with Donald Trump.

“He spends more time at Mar-a-Lago than he does in his own constituency. Involving agencies like this in the Senedd election shows just how little they care about Welsh communities or Welsh values.

“They will use whatever methods they can to get Farage into number 10 – and will walk over Wales to do it.”

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “While Plaid Cymru are out knocking on doors across Wales every single day, Reform UK’s claims to be on the side of working people is becoming as see-through as their un-costed manifesto.

“Reform UK choose to cosy up to super-wealthy, Trump-backing, international billionaires, proving that they don’t work for the interest of Welsh communities, and they don’t understand nor do they even care about Wales.”