Multiple ABC affiliates aided President Trump’s campaign efforts by directing readers to wish the president a happy birthday and fill out the campaign’s fundraising lists in the process.
At least five ABC outlets ran digital news stories telling readers how they can wish the president a happy birthday before eventually deleting the posts, according to the Daily Beast. The stories linked back to a webpage run by the Trump reelection campaign with instructions on how to send the president an internet birthday card.
The birthday card asks signatories to share personal information such as their names, phone numbers, and ZIP codes. The page requires each person to input an email address, which the campaign would contact later for funds or promotions.
“Happy Birthday, Mr. President!” each story said. “To help him celebrate, the GOP has made him a digital birthday card … Those who want to leave their well wishes can do so on the GOP’s website.” Trump turned 73 on Friday.
The stories published did not follow ABC’s editorial standards, an ABC spokesperson said.
The initial story was published by an overnight producer and other stations quickly syndicated it in several large markets including New York, Philadelphia, and Houston. The stories have since scrubbed from each site.
Many politicians use their birthdays to help fill out fundraising lists, but a media outlet aiding in the strategy is rare. In 2010, Time magazine helped then-President Barack Obama fill out his campaign’s fundraising lists by directing readers to wish the president a happy birthday.
Publicly available fundraising figures show Trump leading all the Democratic presidential candidates. Trump’s campaign committee has raised roughly $93 million so far, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Bernie Sanders’ committee has the second most cash of any 2020 presidential candidate at roughly $21 million. However, many of the figures are weeks old and other candidates, such as former Vice President Joe Biden, have yet to officially report their funds.
