Did Trump campaign exploit Melania's 50th birthday to collect voter data on a million Americans?
Did the Trump campaign just use Melania's 50th birthday as a pretext to collect voter data from a million Americans? That is exactly what a journalist has accused the president and his team of doing.
In an op-ed written for the Atlantic, staff writer Conor Friedersdorf said he received an email earlier this month from a joint fundraising committee composed of Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and the Republican National Committee, whose subject line read, “Can you keep a secret?”
The email began with the claim of some "exciting news to share" but the reader had to keep it a "secret." It further stressed that it was a “HUGE” surprise birthday gift for the first lady, which required the help of the email recipients to arrange. Melania's birthday was on April 26.
“Melania does so much for our Nation and I want to make sure she knows just how much she means to us,” the mail reportedly stated. “I want to surprise her with a birthday card signed by 1 MILLION Americans from all around the Country.”
Friedersdorf said he refrained from replying to the mail, which included the link to a web page where recipients were urged to “sign” the “card." A screenshot of the form, included by the writer in the op-ed, showed spaces for people to fill out personal information which included their name, zip code, and contact details.
"You see, although I am more than happy to help give Melania the gift of birthday wishes from a million Americans, I began to suspect that Trump and his RNC allies had ulterior motives when they sent that email––that they were exploiting the first lady’s birthday as a pretext to add to their databases," Friedersdorf wrote.
He added: "In my experience, people earnestly collecting signatures for a birthday card don’t typically solicit the zip codes, email addresses, and mobile numbers of signatories, whereas political operatives find great value in information of that sort. Did the people working on behalf of Trump calculate that an honest request for personal information would be less effective than a ruse about a man wanting to do something nice for his wife’s birthday?"
Friedersdorf said that his suspicions were further fueled when he found the following message at the bottom of the email: "By providing your phone number, you are consenting to receive calls and SMS/MMS messages, including autodialed and automated calls and texts, to that number from each of the participating committees in the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, Donald J. Trump for President Inc. and the Republican National Committee. Msg & data rates may apply."
He said that when he tried to close the window in his web browser, he was met with a pop-up, a screenshot of which was shared by him with the article. "It's going to take EVERY Patriot stepping up if we're going to secure FOUR MORE YEARS, and President Trump is counting on you. Please add your name NOW to support your President!" the pop-up message read.
Although it is unclear if Melania's birthday "card" ever reached a million signatures, Friedersdorf said he stayed clear of adding his name in the mix.
"I concluded that if I wanted to be sure my best wishes would reach the first lady, and my impulse would not be exploited, I’d better send them independently. Happy birthday, Melania. You deserve better than the people around you," he said.