The Science Behind the Trump Campaign's Recurring Donations

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that starting in March 2020, the Trump campaign had tricked many donors into signing up to make repeated donations, even when the donor intended to donate only once.

When supporters made donations through the WinRed website, the default setting—a checked box that the user would have to uncheck to opt out—would sign them up to make recurring donations—once a month or (later in the campaign) once a week, at the same dollar amount. The Times told the story of a donor...