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Ping! In the final days of the campaign, Harris and Trump are blowing up your phones with political texts

Ping! In the final days of the campaign, Harris and Trump are blowing up your phones with political texts

WASHINGTON – On the radar for millions of Americans Kamala Harris AND Donald Trump campaigns and their allies, you are just a text message away from the apocalypse.

As some texts say, and many others suggest, the very future of the republic is at stake. But you – yes, YOU, Sally, Jose or enter your name here – can write it down. For just $7.

Texting is a cheap and easy way to reach potential voters and donors, without all the rules designed to maintain fairness in traditional paid TV advertising. Both sides are working hard on the SMS flow. In last days of the campaignphone pinging can be relentless.

“All day, every day,” Robyn Beyah said of the creek as she stood in line to enter… Kamala Harris rally last week outside Atlanta. “They have my number. We are practically best friends.

Beyah has no problem with that. He thinks the text bombing is “harmless” because it’s about a candidate he believes in. He even encourages the Harris campaign to “harass me with text messages.” Not all voters are so charitable.

“Honestly, it blew my mind at that point,” said Ebenezer Eyasu of Stone Mountain, Georgia, standing in the same line at the Harris rally. He said he gets about a dozen text messages every day that have become “background noise.”

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

Many Trump supporters also feel uneasy. Several attendees at his rally in Tempe, Arizona, last week expressed minor outrage about it.

“They’re more annoying than anything else,” said Morse Lawrence, 57, a physician assistant from Mesa, Arizona. “I am bombarded with text messages also about politics. People wanting to buy my house, people wanting to sell me insurance and all that.”

He believes this is an effective marketing strategy for a campaign, even if the vast majority of the audience doesn’t bite. “You go fishing, catch two fish and have a 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.

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

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

Campaigns spin fantasy

The Trump campaign, while focused solely on selling hats via text message, has some things in common with Democrats.

Both sides send serious warnings if the other side wins. They both come up with false terms to trick you into rushing your money. Both are based on the fantasy that luminaries – Harris, Trump, George Clooney, Nancy Pelosi or Donald Trump Jr. – they text you in person, not via machines, as is the case in reality.

Text messages under Trump Jr.’s name they have a twist, albeit a transparent one: “Please don’t give $5 to help dad before his critical deadline. I’m serious. NO. … Let me explain.

The explanation is a link to a site where you can buy much more than $5. You can choose $20.24 if you are a core Trump supporter in 2024, or $47 if you think the 45th president was the greatest in history and want him to become the 47th president.

Trump himself seems to be very interested in gadgets. “I’m sending you a gold MAGA hat!” text on his behalf. “Should I sign this?”

Click through and you’ll see that a MAGA hat with gold lettering costs $50. But there’s more.

“Here’s my offer,” says the digital Trump. “If you order before midnight, I can add my signature and a short personal note right on the border!” Maybe – or not.

Thirteen days from Election Day, as she prepared to appear at a CNN town hall, Harris took a moment to confide in a Virginian she doesn’t know at all. At least that was the scene sketched in the text written on her behalf.

“Hi Chris, this is Kamala Harris,” the message reads. “It would mean the world to me if you could make another donation to our campaign before my town hall on CNN tonight. Donald Trump and his allies now outspend us in every battleground state.”

A $40 donation is suggested. We do not offer hat. Despite the cash anxiety surrounding the announcement, the Harris campaign and its affiliated Democratic groups surged over $1 billion in just a few months and maintained a large financial advantage over Trump in the final stage of the campaign.

Pings keep coming

Ping: “It is Elizabeth Warren.

Ping: “From Trump: I JUST GOT OUT OF MCDONALD.”

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

Ping: “Just got back from the debate stage.” — signed by Harris’ running mate, Minnesota governor. Tim Walz.

Ping: “This is a BIG F#@%ING OFFER.” — on behalf of Democratic strategist James Carville.

Ping: “It’s Nancy Pelosi. I want you to see this.”

Ping: “But you didn’t stand up for our majority in the Senate!?! Hurry up with $7 now.

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

Are they legal?

Despite the naive tone of some presidential campaign texts, experts say you can be reasonably confident that donations to official campaigns of candidates or major party organizations will be used for their intended purpose.

But there are many more groups competing for your election season cash, not all of them are legal, and it takes work to sort it out. For example, some voter mobilization groups that claim to be funded by the left may be mischief makers from the right or simply want to collect personal information about you.

This month, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin wrote to U.S. and state attorneys general saying thousands of fraudulent text messages were sent to young people from an anonymous source, threatening them with a $10,000 fine or jail time if they voted in the state. in which they are is not entitled to vote.

The fraud was intended to intimidate out-of-state students who are legally eligible to vote in Wisconsin if they are a student there or to vote at home, the letter said.

Last weekend, thousands of voters in Pennsylvania received a text message falsely stating that they had already cast their ballots, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Monday. The newspaper reported it came from AllVote, which election officials have repeatedly called fraudulent. 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 include the name of the group and where the money will go.

From there, people can go to sites like Open the secrets or Federal Election Commission to see the breakdown of income and expenses by groups that are registered political action committees. High overhead costs and low or no advertising or acquisition spending are red flags.

Despite all these pitfalls, Beverly Payne of Cumming, Georgia, who already voted for and volunteered for Harris, welcomes the signals.

“I get text messages every 30 minutes and I respond to every single one,” Payne said. One of the favorites was the ice cream flavor introduced for Harris by Ben & Jerry’s, Kamala’s Coconut Jubilee topped with caramel and sprinkled with red, white and blue star-shaped sprinkles. “I had to donate to it,” she said.

“It’s our culture, we’re all addicted,” Payne said of texting and Harris’ use of it. “Maybe that’s why he has a billion dollars.”

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Amy reported from Atlanta, Cooper from Tempe, Arizona. Associated Press writer Brian Słodysko contributed to this report.

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