Julia Coleman’s “Just A Mom” Charade
We’ve previously discussed Senator Julia Coleman’s ideological beginnings as the first hire by Charlie Kirk to found the Univeristy of Minnesota chapter of Turning Point USA, we’ve examined the political power and influence network the Coleman tribe represents, and we’ve looked at her silence in the wake of Donald Trump’s violent assault on our state and our communities.
Her next career moves after the Turning Point USA gig was as the first “reporter” hired by the local far-right MAGA media outlet, Alpha News. After that, she honed her skills as a spin doctor as a public relations manager for Medical Alley.
So, yeah, her “just a mom” tagline is doing a lot of work. No one disputes she’s a mother. What she’s hiding behind the word “just” is her MAGA movement credentials.
Then there’s her celebration of the election of Donald Trump on January 20, 2025 with a pilgrimage to Washington, D.C. for the inaugural ceremonies and parties.
So play an upper-crust British accent in your head as we follow along on Julia’s great adventure to pay homage to her dear leader.
Lifestyles Of The Poweful & Well-Connected
MAGA wishes & Coleman connections: A tour of Minnesota State Senator Julia Coleman’s trip to Washington for Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration.
Good evening, and do come along! Tonight we leave the everyday concerns of Minnesota for a world of gilded glassware, glorious gowns, and that most exquisite Washington luxury: Knowing someone who knows everyone.
Our leading lady is State Senator Julia Coleman, stepping into the capital’s inaugural festivities with a red wrap, a black evening dress, and an entrance that deserves its own orchestral arrangement.
There she is, poised in a lift. In Washington, even the machinery promises upward mobility.
But how does a state senator become a guest in this glittering national production? Stay with us, dear readers. The wardrobe is only the opening act. The supporting cast is where things become rather interesting.
Julia’s own first photo collection supplies our programme: A Cabinet reception, an American Action Network reception, a Republican Jewish Coalition gala, and a martini she says she did not drink.
An ambitious itinerary! Most holiday albums ask you to admire a sunset. This one asks you to admire the guest list.
And before anyone mistakes our heroine for a political ingenue, a little backstory. Coleman claims an early career trophy as one of Charlie Kirk’s early hires and said she founded Turning Point USA’s University of Minnesota chapter. She had been learning the conservative organising trade long before this inaugural curtain rose.
From a folding table on campus to the reception circuit in Washington. One must admire a career with such excellent table service.
Behold the Cabinet reception! The credential says Guest, which is reassuring. In a town where everyone appears to be auditioning for something, it is helpful to have one’s role printed around one’s neck.
The marble gleams. The crowd mingles. The camera records the essential fact: Julia is inside.
And here is her husband, Jacob Coleman, magnificently turned out beside a marble column. A proper introduction is in order: Jacob is Minnesota state director of Americans for Prosperity, as his own LinkedIn profile confirms.
Limited government, splendid surroundings. Happily, there appears to be no proposed limit on the family’s networking opportunities.
Now to the Republican Jewish Coalition backdrop and the Coleman family’s senior statesman, former Minnesota U.S. Senator Norm Coleman, Julia’s father-in-law.
Norm’s résumé extends well beyond his former Senate seat. The American Action Network lists him as its chairman and as national chairman of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Both organisations appear in Julia’s reception-and-gala account.
How marvellous to have a family tree that doubles as a guide to the evening’s institutions.
A Coleman family album requires rather more political footnotes than most.
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders joins our parade of political celebrity, named in Julia’s gala caption. Arkansas’s governor previously served as Donald Trump’s White House press secretary.
A woman who once fawned over Trump professionally, now appearing in a setting where the assignment is simply to smile for the camera. What a blessed reduction in the difficulty of the briefing.
And the eveningwear! In this corner of Washington, even the small talk appears to have a dress code.
Next, Congressman Tom Emmer of Minnesota’s Sixth District, the House Majority Whip. His official job involves assembling Republican votes; his social calendar evidently accommodates assembling Republican photographs.
There is a particularly exquisite Washington backstory here. Emmer abandoned his 2023 bid for Speaker after Trump opposed him. By January 2025, his office was promoting Republican unity behind Trump’s agenda.
A splendid lesson for any aspiring politician: When one door closes, check whether the gentleman who closed it is hosting a reception.
And Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina! A former contender for the presidential nomination who went on to endorse Donald Trump.
Washington does so reward versatility. One season you audition for the leading role; the next, you discover the considerable advantages of an enthusiastic supporting performance.
For Julia’s album, another distinguished name. For our programme, another reminder that proximity is this town’s most photogenic currency.
The festivities even spill into the lift lobby, where another formal group photograph awaits. Once the evening has reached this level of documentation, even waiting for the lift becomes a red-carpet opportunity.
Do keep smiling, everyone. One never knows which photograph will make the inaugural collection.
And now, a quiet moment in black and white. Julia, a martini glass, linen, lamplight. The sort of photograph that practically arrives with a jazz trio.
She explicitly says she did not drink the martini. Quite right to preserve that detail. The cocktail may have been spared consumption, but it was certainly required to perform for the album.
In Washington, dear readers, even a drink can earn its place through appearances.
The second photo collection turns our attention to the inaugural occasion itself. Donald Trump’s second inauguration took place on January 20, 2025; the swearing-in was moved into the Capitol Rotunda because of the weather. Emancipation Hall also served as an inauguration-day venue.
After the oath in the Rotunda came the leaders’ appearance in Emancipation Hall, the setting of the lectern photographs in this collection. The star attraction came to the overflow audience afterwards.
Even a presidential spectacular has seating arrangements.
Here are Julia and Jacob Coleman beside a curved table and substantial chairs in a Senate setting. Flags, books, polished wood: The full vocabulary of institutional importance.
They pose at ease amid the furnishings. The photograph supplies no new appointment, of course. But as a souvenir of access, it is considerably more impressive than a refrigerator magnet and hints at higher ambitions.
Now look closely at the table setting. Gold-rimmed glasses. Patterned linen. An eagle embossed in gold. A place card bearing the words Ms. Coleman.
Why, even the water appears to have retained a lobbyist.
This is a political adventure with a very well-appointed dining room. Even the place card seems to understand the importance of the family name.
Photographs of a television screen brings us another layer of the souvenir: The Coleman Family captured in the broadcast, with Norm Coleman tagged in the post.
What a triumph of modern collecting! Attend the occasion, appear in the coverage, photograph the television, and preserve the appearance for everyone who missed the appearance.
The family album has acquired distribution.
For our final scene, picture Julia in the very front row, phone raised, taking the photographs herself.
And now, dear viewers, the summit of our glittering excursion. Donald Trump. Melania Trump. JD Vance. Usha Vance. All framed through our heroine’s own camera, from a position so splendidly close that the zoom can take the afternoon off.
These are Julia Coleman’s heroes at the end of the pilgrimage: The presidential idols around whom the receptions, the credentials and the photographs revolve.
Melania stands beneath her dramatic hat brim, every inch the first lady of the spectacle. Usha, in pink, supplies the poised vice-presidential counterpart. Trump and Vance complete the tableau: The leading men in the political production our heroine has travelled to celebrate.
Julia steadies her phone and takes the picture. For the album, a group photograph. For our breathless narrator, practically a royal portrait. How marvellous to have one’s political pantheon fit so neatly inside a camera roll.
From her front-row seat, Julia turns her phone towards JD Vance at the lectern and takes another photograph. A red tie, a microphone, the presidential seal: A supporting hero presented with the full furnishings of power. Our senator is collecting the complete set.
The event record also places House Speaker Mike Johnson on the platform. The man who actually acquired the Speaker’s gavel after Emmer’s failed bid. Washington has a remarkable talent for getting the successful applicant and the unsuccessful applicant into the same commemorative album.
Julia keeps her lens trained on the stars. There are countless policy documents in Washington. They rarely get this flattering a close-up.
Finally, Donald Trump himself takes the microphone. The President. The principal attraction. The man whose return to power has given this entire collection its occasion.
In the very front row, Julia raises her phone once more and takes the photograph herself. No need to wait for the official photographer, dear readers. Our heroine has secured her own souvenir of the leading man.
Here is the climax of Julia’s inaugural souvenir epic: The idol at the lectern, the seal before him, and Julia’s own camera preserving the moment.
What more could our television tour require? We have had the entrance, the gowns, the family connections, the grand institutions, the glittering table and, at last, the star.
Back To Minnesota
Our cameras must now make a less glamorous journey: Back to the people represented by the woman in these photographs.
The album establishes that Julia Coleman attended and celebrated this inaugural world. The question for constituents is what has she done with her public position and political access.
Has she lobbied for an end to the Iran War that is driving up the price of gas? Has she called for an end to the tariffs that have driven up the price of groceries? Has she demanded justice for Renee Good and Alex Pretti?
No.
A senator’s guest credentials are lovely souvenirs. Her constituents are entitled to ask what her connections accomplish when the occasion calls for something more difficult than a photograph.
Until then, dear readers: MAGA wishes, caviar dreams, and perhaps a little constituent service between engagements.
Coleman’s Own Website Is Not Buying The Moderate Mom Brand
Again, Senator Julia Coleman is no moderate. But you don’t have to take my word for it. The girl seated in the photo of her own campaign website isn’t buying Julia Coleman’s moderate facade:
Also Read
The Colemans: A Family Business Built on Political Power
Julia Coleman brought out the big guns in Carver County: Her father-in-law, former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman.
The Silence Of Senator Julia Coleman
Yesterday the Star Tribune reported that the Trump administration never really intended to cooperate with Minnesota law enforcement authorities when they said they would share evidence in the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
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