EXCLUSIVE: Elizabeth Pipko captivated the public’s attention in 2019 when she revealed she kept her work on Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign a secret while simultaneously working as a model for one of the world’s top agencies.
Now, the model and founder of The Exodus Movement is ready to reveal much more than her conservative views in a new book titled “Finding My Place: Making My Parents’ American Dream Come True.”
In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Pipko, who’s been dubbed a “rising star in the conservative movement” by some, says there’s a lot more to her than a quick Google search. In her upcoming memoir, Pipko plans to address a multitude of questions surrounding her platform, but ultimately, her story is one she hopes will evoke a sense of patriotism in readers amid a political divide she feels has increased significantly in recent years.
Elizabeth Pipko will release ‘Finding My Place’ on Aug. 25.
(Annie Wermiel/NY Post)
“There is so much attention that comes with anything to do with politics nowadays and so many people had spoken about me and told my story – things that weren’t true,” Pipko tells Fox News. “I wanted to take responsibility during the writing of this book. This is not just about me. Now it’s about using this book to try to heal our country.”
The model-turned-activist has a number of accolades at age 25. Signed to Wilhelmina at age 17 and appearing in high-fashion editorials in publications like Maxim and Esquire, she is also the founder of The Exodus Movement, which is committed to fighting the rising anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism of the far left, as well as promoting support for Israel.
In “Finding My Place,” Pipko, a first-generation American, will reveal intimate details of her life, such as her parents’ and grandparents’ escape from the Soviet Union, which she says instilled in her the daily reminder of the freedom that comes from being born in America.
“There was not one day that went by where I wasn’t told how lucky I was to be brought up in our country,” the New York native shared. “Everything that I knew growing up here was that I was the luckiest kid in the world. It was an immense pressure but also a gratitude. You only realize more and more as you’re getting older what it means to get the chance to be here.”
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She also touches on the importance of individuality and going after your own dreams. Those are two notions she learned at age 10 when she found herself defending her desire of becoming an Olympic figure skater. She calls the sport “the most important, personal thing in my entire life.”
“I found family members and friends who didn’t think I could skate. I think that’s when I realized the world is not always your friend and that standing alone is better than standing with others as long as you have individual thoughts,” she said. “It shouldn’t affect other people. Then you learn early on when you find that people aren’t always going to support you that people don’t like what makes others different.”
Her interests and beliefs would be challenged yet again when she became a staffer on Trump’s 2016 campaign – a job she hid from the liberal-leaning fashion industry. It was there she met her husband, Darren Centinello, current director of social media strategy for the president’s 2020 campaign. Pivoting into the public eye as a conservative, she was reminded of what was instilled in her years prior.
“My parents didn’t give up everything to think that 20, 30 years later they’d have a daughter who wasn’t allowed to admit who she was voting for in an election,” she said.
Through her personal experiences, “Finding My Place” reiterates Pipko’s No. 1 message: America is built on the notion of free thought so Americans ought to live that way.
“It’s very easy to find problems going on right now in our society. No one’s going to deny that things are upside down. I’m fighting anti-Semitism every single day. I still get swastikas sent to my direct messages once a week. I think when supporting America, in my eyes, it’s more patriotic of me to stand against those things because I know America doesn’t stand for that,” she said.
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Pipko’s pages are filled with the beliefs she says she’s “proud” of but her work extends far beyond politics.
“I think we’re in a very bad time genuinely and politics has done nothing but torn people apart. Now if you say the term ‘conservative,’ it becomes ‘Trump Republican,'” Pipko said. “My number one message is that you don’t have to align with every single thing that someone around you aligns with or a politician you like aligns with. You have to believe in free think and free thought.”
The model continued: “I’m proud of every single one of my views. But it’s not that I’m proud because I’m a conservative. I’m just proud because I’ve gotten to whatever views I have right now – some of which are mentioned in the book – and I’ve gotten there despite people telling me to think otherwise.”
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Elizabeth Pipko’s book will be rele
(Nayo Martinez)
“Finding My Place” was in the editing stages when the coronavirus gripped the world. The global pandemic put things “even more” into perspective, she said.
“Americans actually passed away. This made me realize how important it was to heal our country and heal this stupid divide we have before preaching anything else political.”
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She concluded: “I will always defend everyone for their opinions and free speech no matter whether I agree with them or not. Politics, this election, is not going to last forever but the relationships we’re ruining, that will.”
To learn more about Pipko’s past athletic endeavors, experiences in the modeling world, her faith and unapologetic views, “Finding My Place” is set to be released on Aug. 25, 40 years to the day her father left the Soviet Union.