This Email’s For You — Specifically
Let’s start with something light. The most common tactic we see in Trump’s fundraising efforts is one designed to make supporters feel as if they’ve been selected by the former president personally over literally millions of other people. Dozens, if not hundreds of emails heavily imply that no one except for the recipient has been contacted. But this is a lie. It’s not the gravest of crimes, and its one that other politicians are guilty of as well, but it is a tactic considered to be a warning sign of scam. Don’t take it from me, ask the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican and Trump devotee. He warns of this specific tactic on his website under the headline, “How to Spot and Report Mail Scams.” Claims that “you have been specially selected” rank above all others on Paxton’s list of “common warning signs” you’re being targeted by a scam.
On average, around 6.9 of these emails have been sent out a day, according to the nonprofit Defending Democracy Together Institute, which has been collecting political fundraising emails for over two decades.
