Groups with no affiliation to
President Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign are siphoning off funds
from Trump supporters under the impression that the groups are using donations
to support the president.
An examination by Politico found that dark money groups,
pro-Trump PACs, and Facebook advertisers copy Trump’s brand to dupe Trump supporters into donating to them. But the groups
spend very little of these funds to actually support Trump, Politico reports.
The groups use Trump’s voice in
robocalls asking for “an emergency contribution to the campaign” and use POTUS’
Twitter avatar on Facebook pages.
About 20 groups with names like
“Latinos for the President” and “MAGA Coalition,” groups that are structured as
PACs or political nonprofits, brought in $46.7 million between January 2017 and
June 2019, Politico reports. The publication adds that most of the money comes from donors who give $200 or less.
Trump officials worry that the
hundreds of unofficial pro-Trump boosters are sucking up funds that would
otherwise contribute to Trump’s 2020 campaign. They also confuse the Trump
campaign’s messaging to the public and make it harder to accumulate donors, Trump
allies told Politico.
“There’s nothing we can do to stop
them,” said America First spokeswoman Kelly Sadler to Politico. America First
is the only super PAC authorized by Trump, Politico reports. “This is a problem
for the campaign, as well as us, as well as for the RNC.”
Read the rest here. If
you are inclined to contribute to any campaign, best to be pro-active and
access the legitimate online campaign sites yourself.
And Happy Boxing Day!
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