I have a special email address that receives Trump fundraising emails. Most of the time I just shake my head and hit delete. This morning something different arrived from his camp: an invitation to vote for who his VP pick should be.

Really? Well, in true Trump fashion it was not even close to what it was supposed to look like.

Screenshot of Trump campaign email.

As you can see, his theme is unchanged: everyone is out to do him in and steal the election, again and everyone is a liar but him. As we have published here quite often, this is the standard pitch of a criminal and liar—augmented by the fact that this one is now also a convicted felon. But that actually veers from the point here.

The various links on this email all lead to the same place: a web page where visitors are invited to indeed write in the name of a VP pick. The email might generate a hope for journalists that one could at least see if there was a short list and therefore be a legitimate test of popularity of those prospects. No such luck. There is no list of picks to select.

It turns out, like everything else Trump says, it is something else entirely. People can suggest a pick. But in order to make your “vote” count for you, it really has to count for Trump and that means you have to pay him some money.

This fundraising gag provides something that Trump and his people probably did not intend: a fact check of his revelation a few days ago, “I don’t care about you. I just want your vote. I don’t care.”

Trump: Do you feel the breeze? I don't want anybody going on me. We need every voter. I don't care about you. I just want your vote. I don't care. pic.twitter.com/IirvQs123c

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 9, 2024

That statement should probably be modified to read, “I don’t care about your vote, I just want your money.”