Described as an “intentional scheme to boost revenues,” donors had to read through the donation disclaimer’s fine print in order to understand precisely how much money they would be giving to Trump’s campaign. The disclaimer contained several pre-checked provisions which granted the Trump campaign permission to take additional funds from donors’ accounts as time went on. That meant potential donors had to actively scroll through the disclaimer and actively uncheck specific boxes in order to make a simple one-time donation.
In some cases, the campaign also profited from yellow boxes containing pro-Trump messages referred to internally as “money bombs,” according to the report.
For example, one pre-checked box read, in large, boldface type: “This is the FINAL month until Election Day and we need EVERY Patriot stepping up if we’re going to WIN FOUR MORE YEARS for President Trump. He’s revitalizing our economy, restoring LAW & ORDER, and returning us to American Greatness, but he’s not done yet. This is your chance – stand with President Trump and MAXIMIZE your impact NOW!”
Below that boldface type was a line which contained a smaller, non-boldface sentence: “Make this a weekly recurring donation until 11/3.”
Another pre-checked box also contained several bold sentences asking potential donors to “join Operation MAGA and help me secure VICTORY in November.” A smaller sentence underneath, unless the prefatory box was unchecked, would allow the campaign to automatically debit an additional $100 from a donor’s account on Oct. 9.
Screen shots are embedded within the tweets below — as is a chart of the economic impact.
View: https://twitter.com/ShaneGoldmacher/status/1378400310880825348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw