Trump campaign used 'dizzyingly complex' pre-checked boxes to reel in recurring donations amid dwindling finances

Trump-Pence campaign sign.
(Image credit: Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Despite deteriorating finances, the Trump campaign was able to stay afloat last year in part thanks to what amounted to "an interest-free loan from unwitting supporters at the most important juncture of the 2020 [presidential] race," a New York Times investigation found.

Reporter Shane Goldmacher writes that the campaign used pre-checked boxes, which became "dizzyingly complex" as finances worsened. If donors missed the fine print, what they thought were one-time donations wound up recurring weekly. Another pre-checked box automatically added cash to the amount given.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.