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Ring! Harris and Trump flooded their phones with political texts in the final days of the campaign

Ring! Harris and Trump flooded their phones with political texts in the final days of the campaign

WASHINGTON — For the millions of Americans on the radar of the campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and their allies, the apocalypse is just a text message away.

The future of the republic is at stake, some texts say and many others point out. But you – yes, YOU, Sally, Jose or insert your first name here – can save it. For just $7.

SMS is a cheap and easy way to reach potential voters and donors without all the rules that are meant to keep traditional paid broadcast advertising a little honest. Both sides are working aggressively on the SMS pipeline. In the final days of the campaign, the pinging of phones can be relentless.

“All day, every day,” Robyn Beyah said of the stream as she stood in line to attend a Kamala Harris rally outside Atlanta last week. “You have my number. We’re practically best friends.”

Beyah thinks that’s cool. She thinks the text bombing is “harmless” because it involves a candidate she believes in. She even invites the Harris campaign to “harass me with text messages.” Not all voters are so charitable.

“To be honest, I’ve put it out of my brain at this point,” said Ebenezer Eyasu of Stone Mountain, Georgia, who was in the same Harris rally line. He said the dozen or so text messages he receives each day have become “background noise.”

Sarah Wiggins, a 26-year-old graphic designer from Kennesaw, Georgia, who is supporting Harris, prefers personal persuasion. “I feel like it’s all about the people around you,” she said. “Word of mouth is underestimated.” As for the lyrics: “I just delete them to be honest. I don’t want to read it.”

A text is displayed on a mobile device on Wednesday, October.

A text message is displayed on a mobile device in Washington on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, as text messages from Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and their allies arrive on people’s phones across the United States in the final days of the presidential election campaign. Photo credit: AP/Jon Elswick

Many Trump supporters are also harassed. At his rally in Tempe, Arizona, last week, several expressed mild irritation about it.

“They’re more annoying than anything,” said Morse Lawrence, 57, a physician’s assistant from Mesa, Arizona. “I am bombarded with text messages even outside of political topics. People who want to buy my house, people who want to sell me insurance, that’s all.”

He reckons it’s an effective campaign marketing strategy, even if the vast majority of recipients don’t bite. “You go fishing and catch two fish, then you have one meal for the day.”

Jennifer Warnke, 57, of St. John’s, Arizona, also at the Trump rally, expressed mixed feelings about what was happening on her phone.

A text is displayed on a mobile device on Wednesday, October.

A text message is displayed on a mobile device in Washington on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, as text messages from Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and their allies arrive on people’s phones across the United States in the final days of the presidential election campaign. Photo credit: AP/Jon Elswick

“At least they’re reaching out because no one has called me for years,” she said. “I’ve been a registered Republican my whole life and no one ever called.”

She added: “It’s annoying but it’s almost over.”

The campaigns spin a fantasy

Although Trump’s campaign is solely focused on selling hats via text message, it shares certain characteristics with the Democrats.

If the other side wins, both sides issue urgent warnings. Both invent false deadlines to trick you into hurrying up with your money. Both are based on the fantasy that luminaries — whether Harris, Trump, George Clooney, Nancy Pelosi or Donald Trump Jr. — are texting you personally, rather than using the machinery that actually exists.

Texts under the name Trump Jr. have a twist, albeit a transparent one: “Please don’t give $5 to help Dad before his critical deadline.” I’m serious. Not. …Let me explain.”

The statement is a link to a page asking for tickets over $5. You can choose $20.24 if you’re a core Trump supporter in 2024, or $47 if you believe the 45th president was the greatest of all time and want to make him the 47th.

Trump himself seems to be very interested in merch. “I’m sending you a gold MAGA hat!” say lyrics on his behalf. “Should I sign it?”

Tap through and you’ll see that the MAGA hat with gold lettering is $50. But there is more.

“Here is my offer to you,” says the digital Trump. “If you place your order before the midnight deadline, I may add my signature and a short personal note right in the margin!” May – or maybe not.

Thirteen days after Election Day, as she prepared to take the stage for a CNN town hall, Harris took a moment to confide in a Virginian she didn’t know at all. At least that is the scene that a text with her name sketches.

“Hello Chris, this is Kamala Harris,” the message reads. “It would mean the world to me if you added another donation to our campaign before my town hall on CNN this evening. Donald Trump and his allies are currently spending more money than we are in all of the battleground states.”

A donation of $40 is recommended. No hat is offered. Despite the concerns expressed in the message about money, Harris’ campaign and its affiliated Democratic groups have raised more than $1 billion in just a few months and maintained a major financial advantage over Trump in the final stretch of the campaign.

The pings keep coming

Ping: “It’s Elizabeth Warren. ”

Ping: “From Trump: I just left MCDONALD’S.”

Ping: “We asked NINE TIMES if you supported Kamala Harris…but you never completed the poll.”

Ping: “I just got out of the debate phase.” – signed by Harris running mate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota.

Ping: “This is a BIG DEAL.” – on behalf of Democratic strategist James Carville.

Ping: “This is Nancy Pelosi. You have to see this.”

Ping: “But you didn’t take action to defend our Senate majority!?! Rush now $7.”

Ping: “I have a McGift for you! It’s President Trump. Would you like to take a look?”

Are they real?

Despite the silly undertones of some of the presidential election campaign texts, experts can be reasonably confident that donations to official candidate campaigns or major party organizations are being used for their intended purpose.

But there are many more groups that are advertising for your election money. Not all of them are legitimate, and sorting that out takes work. For example, some voter mobilization groups that claim to be funded by the left may be running mischief from the right or just looking to collect personal information about you.

This month, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin wrote to U.S. and state attorneys general reporting that thousands of fraudulent text messages were sent to young people from an anonymous source threatening a $10,000 fine or prison time. if you are not eligible to vote in the state in which you reside.

The aim of the scam was to intimidate out-of-state students who are legally entitled to vote in Wisconsin if they study there or to vote at home instead, the letter said.

This past weekend, thousands of voters in Pennsylvania received a text message falsely claiming they had already voted, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday. It came from AllVote, which election officials have repeatedly flagged as a fraud, the paper said. The group said the false claim was the result of a typo.

Experts recommend reading the fine print at the bottom of every fundraising link you open. It must list the name of the group and the purposes for which the money will be used.

From there, users can go to sites like OpenSecrets or the Federal Election Commission to see a breakdown of the income and expenses of groups registered as political action committees. High overhead costs and little or no spending on advertising or customer acquisition are red flags.

Despite all these pitfalls, Beverly Payne of Cumming, Georgia, who has already voted for Harris and volunteers on her behalf, welcomes the pings.

“I get text messages every 30 minutes and I answer every single one of them,” Payne said. A favorite was an ice cream flavor that Ben & Jerry’s had brought out for Harris: Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee, covered in caramel and topped with red, white and blue star sprinkles. “I had to donate to that,” she said.

“It’s our culture now, we’re all addicted,” Payne said of lyrics and Harris’ use of them. “Maybe that’s why she has a billion dollars.”