The GoFundMe to raise money for Trump’s wall has imploded as GoFundMe is offering refunds to donors.
The Daily Beast reported:
A decorated veteran who raised more than $20 million to finance construction of a wall along the southern U.S. border has announced that he will instead use the money to finance a new nonprofit group that will build the wall itself—or at least a couple miles of it. Brian Kolfage’s crowdfunding campaign on the website GoFundMe went viral in December, before news outlets uncovered previous instances in which the triple-amputee veteran appeared to have pocketed funds raised through similar, if far smaller, campaigns billed as efforts to assist wounded warriors.
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In a statement, GoFundMe cited Kolfage’s initial statements on the fundraising page as proof that the initial campaign had failed to achieve its goal. In GoFundMe’s view, that means they can refund donors’ money.
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Kolfage promised to give the money back if the campaign did not meet its goal. Instead, he tried to take the money and form a new “board” featuring Trump hangers-on like Kris Kobach, Tom Tancredo, and David Clarke to try to build the wall themselves. They have raised enough money to build roughly two miles of the wall.
Who knew that a sketchy president who is most well known for not paying his bills and taking money from Russia would attract shady people who would use “the wall” as a fundraising tool then take the cash and change the mission. What Kolfage should have done was announced the campaign’s failure, return the donors’ money, start his new board, and launch a different campaign.
That would have been ethical. Instead, he tried to change the mission and make off with the cash.
It isn’t a shock to anyone that wall GoFundMe fell apart.
Everything associated with Trump ends in failure, which includes shifty fundraising to build the wall.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
