Trump and the GOP’s chosen fundraising platform, WinRed, is taking advantage of the elderly and, in some cases, people with dementia by signing them up for monthly recurring donations.
“Cancel account and stop billing my credit card,” Oklahoma resident Samie Elliot wrote in a January email that landed in Hurtt’s inbox. She later explained to him that neither she nor her husband, who are both retired, recalled ever signing up for recurring monthly political donations and that these charges have been occurring for at least a year.
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These donations all appear to have been small, recurring contributions. Exactly the kind that Elliot said they did not recall signing up for. Samie Elliot did not respond to requests for comment.
“Every one of them has told me a similar story: elderly, sometimes dementia, and don’t remember donating month after month,” said Hurtt, who shared nine email exchanges with CNBC for this story.
Trump’s online fundraising has plunged almost 63%, and the Republican Party heavily depends on older people for their online fundraising.
Donald Trump and his party have been running this scam on unwitting donors for years. Trump and the GOP had to return $12.5 million in automatically recurring donations to unwitting donors in the first half of 2021.
It is appalling to think that some of these people who are having money taken out of their account every month may have dementia or another illness that makes it difficult for them to understand much less approve a recurring transaction.
According to CNBC, ActBlue has had some complaints about some of these same issues, but their share of refunds has at times been much less than that of Republicans, which suggests that the issues aren’t as chronic and numerous as they are in Trump’s party.
The recurring donation opt-in is a problem, and authorities should set clear and explicit standards to protect donors and their money.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
