When I worked on then Senator John Kerry's 2004 Presidential election campaign, I was among the volunteers who handled the money. In those long ago days, the contributions came in mostly by mail. I "second checked" the paperwork before we packed up the funds and sent them to the campaign office in Boston. Were the checks made out correctly and signed? Did the name/address on the check match the contribution form? Was the contribution form filled out completely? If something was amiss, the check was returned.
I know. I'm the one who returned the checks. It broke my heart to do because I also worked the phones, soliciting the checks.
You can imagine how this story about the Trump campaign disgusts me.
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Beginning last summer -- when the nation was in the midst of a pandemic and many were struggling financially -- the Trump campaign sent supporters emails with pre-checked boxes, authorizing recurring donations.
Donors were unwittingly making monthly campaign contributions, with funds automatically coming from their credit/debit card accounts.
"According to the Times, several banks and one of the nation's larger credit-card companies confirmed that, at one point late in 2020, these cases accounted for up to 3% of all fraud complaints received."
Donald Trump's campaign ripped off its own supporters, and had to be forced to refund the money.
The former President reminds me of Texas Guinan. During Prohibition, she greeted nightclub patrons with, "Hello, Suckers! Come on in and leave your wallet on the bar." They loved her audacity and kept coming back to her place to party.
