WHAT’S GOING ON: Donald Trump is running what might be the most brazen fundraising scam in presidential history—and it sounds exactly like something a Nigerian prince would send you.
In a fundraising email circulated Monday, Trump told supporters that Democrats would steal their “tariff rebate checks” if they didn’t cough up money within the hour. “Troubles are BOILING OVER,” the email reads. “Dems want to send your check to illegals if you don’t respond in the next hour!”
OF COURSE, there’s one small problem: These tariff rebate checks don’t exist. They never have. And economists have repeatedly explained that tariffs are taxes paid by importers and passed on to consumers—not some magic piggy bank the government can redistribute to grateful citizens.
THE DETAILS: Earlier this month, Trump floated the idea of subsidizing checks to offset his disastrous “Liberation Day” tariff plan. Within hours, actual scammers were already trying to cash in—the Better Business Bureau flagged calls promising recipients over $5,000 in fake rebate money. But instead of warning Americans about the scam risk, Trump’s team jumped right in with language that’s virtually indistinguishable from the fraudsters.
“Only a massive and immediate response will do,” the email continues. “I need YOU to help me hit my end-of-year fundraising goal by midnight tomorrow or EVERYTHING we’ve worked so hard to accomplish could go BYE BYE.”
A similar email earlier this month urged recipients to “confirm” their names to receive government checks, with fine print noting it was paid for by “Never Surrender, Inc.”—a Trump super PAC—and was not official government communication. (SURPRISE.)
WHY IT MATTERS: The President of the United States is using the language of internet scammers to shake down his own supporters for money while claiming Democrats will steal fictional rebate checks.
Meanwhile, his tariff policies are actively raising prices on American consumers—the very people he’s now grifting. Trump continues to claim his administration has made “millions”—or maybe “billions”—off his chaotic trade plan, despite every economist pointing out that’s not how any of this works.
BOTTOM LINE: When your president’s fundraising emails read like spam, maybe it’s time to check who’s really getting robbed.