How Trump Steered Supporters Into Unwitting Donations Online donors were guided into weekly recurring contributions. Demands for refunds spiked. Complaints to banks and credit card companies soared. But the money helped keep Donald Trump’s struggling campaign afloat. https://nyti.ms/3fFCBlN Stacy Blatt was in hospice care last September listening to Rush Limbaugh’s dire warnings about how badly Donald J. Trump’s campaign needed money when he went online and chipped in everything he could: $500. But that single contribution quickly multiplied. Another $500 was withdrawn the next day, then $500 the next week and every week through mid-October, without his knowledge — until Mr. Blatt’s bank account had been depleted and frozen. What the Blatts soon discovered was $3,000 in withdrawals by the Trump campaign in less than 30 days. They called their bank and said they thought they were victims of fraud. But what the Blatts believed was duplicity was actually an intentional scheme to boost revenues by the Trump campaign and the for-profit company that processed its online donations, WinRed. The tactic ensnared scores of unsuspecting Trump loyalists — retirees, military veterans, nurses and even experienced political operatives. Soon, banks and credit card companies were inundated with fraud complaints from the president’s own supporters about donations they had not intended to make, sometimes for thousands of dollars. “Bandits!” said Victor Amelino, a 78-year-old Californian, who made a $990 online donation to Mr. Trump in early September via WinRed. It recurred seven more times — adding up to almost $8,000. “I’m retired. I can’t afford to pay all that damn money.” "Contributors had to wade through a fine-print disclaimer and manually uncheck a box to opt out."
The only good news for hard core Trump supporters like poster "Beautiful Stranger" is the Kool Aid they drank was not literal poisoned Kool Aid. They can in theory come back from this setback if they can deprogram themselves. Except for those who have to do some jail time and/or be remembered for something ridiculous they did on behalf of Dear Leader Trump. Money can be replaced. Anyone dumb enough to hand over money to a proven con man like Trump to fight mythical "Election Fraud" doesn't deserve to keep that money.