Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Trump Supporter Mocked for Seeking Refund of Millions He Donated to Help Uncover Voter Fraud in 2020 Election

Trump Supporter Mocked for Seeking Refund of Millions He Donated to Help Uncover Voter Fraud in 2020 Election
The News & Observer/ YouTube // ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images

In the months before the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald Trump and the Republican party launched a smear campaign against mail-in voting, anticipating an unprecedented number of pandemic-induced mail ballots and falsely claiming these were more susceptible to voter fraud.

Because mail ballots swung mostly left and took longer to process than those cast in person, the initial returns on election night showed Trump in the lead. As more and more mail ballots were counted, this lead soon evaporated and—days later—experts and news outlets called the election for now-President Joe Biden.


With the help of his allies in the Republican party, Trump accused dozens of swing state counties of surreptitiously "finding" the votes necessary to deliver Biden a win.

In addition to siccing his supporters on counting facilities, pressuring state officials to throw out votes, and launching frivolous lawsuits against the integrity of U.S. elections, Trump and other right wing entities solicited donations from supporters who believed their lies about voter fraud.

These solicitations raised hundreds of millions of dollars but turned up no new information about alleged voter fraud.

Now, at least one high profile GOP donor wants his money back.

Shortly after election night, Fred Eshelman donated over $2 million to True the Vote, a so-called election integrity organization.

A report from Washington Post's Shawn Boburg and Jon Swaine details that in the weeks following the gargantuan donation, Eshelman became skeptical of the legitimacy in these voter fraud claims.

Eshelman has since sued the organization, with the Post reporting:

"Eshelman has alleged in two lawsuits — one in federal court has been withdrawn and the other is ongoing in a Texas state court — that True the Vote did not spend his $2 million gift and a subsequent $500,000 donation as it said it would. Eshelman also alleges that True the Vote directed much of his money to people or businesses connected to the group's president, Catherine Engelbrecht."

True the Vote filed lawsuits in a number of swing states Trump lost, while claiming the evidence they had for these lawsuits was still being uncovered. Engelbrecht claims that they never promised a "smoking gun" that would overturn the election results.

Nearly three months and one President later, Eshelman is still out $2.5 million.

After lies about election fraud prompted a mob of pro-Trump extremists to storm the United States Capitol in a deadly failed insurrection attempt last month, people weren't feeling sympathetic toward Eshelman's loss.






Those outside of the election fraud conspiracy sphere weren't surprised to learn that a grift was afoot.



A recent study found that over 70 percent of Republicans still believe the lie that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from Donald Trump.

More from People/donald-trump

Jesse Watters
Fox News

Jesse Watters Dragged After Adding Another Mind-Boggling Rule For 'Real Men'

Fox News host Jesse Watters, who is apparently an authority of what it means to be a manly man, gave jazz hands to make a point about how "real men" should or shouldn't wave.

The target of his ridicule was Tim Walz, the enthusiastic Democratic Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate who often greets the public by raising both hands in the air to wave.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of crowd at town hall and Rep. Mike Flood
@MorePerfectUS/X; KETV NewsWatch 7

GOP Rep. Goes Viral For His Response To Crowd Chanting 'Tax The Rich' At Town Hall

Nebraska Republican Representative Mike Flood was criticized following his incredulous response to a crowd that chanted "Tax the rich!" during a town hall meeting.

The Columbus High School auditorium hosted the town hall on Tuesday evening, drawing "nearly 380" attendees, according to local network KETV Omaha. The event was lively, with Flood facing both sharp criticism over Trump administration policies and some appreciation for showing up in person.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Awkward Typo In Elon Musk's Bizarre 'Education Department' Trump Meme Is A Total Self-Own

Billionaire Elon Musk was widely mocked after he celebrated President Donald Trump's executive order to begin to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE) by posting a meme of Trump at the department's grave, only for an awkward misspelling to get all the attention.

Polling indicates that eliminating the Education Department is largely unpopular, with 60% of registered voters opposing the move, according to a Quinnipiac University survey conducted March 6-10. Support stands at 33%, with opposition particularly strong among Democrats—98% oppose it, while just 1% support it.

Keep ReadingShow less
JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Dem Governor Reveals Trump's Bonkers Demand In Exchange For Equipment During COVID

Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker revealed during a speech this week that he clashed with President Donald Trump during the first Trump administration after Trump promised necessary medical equipment during the COVID pandemic on the condition that Pritzker praise him publicly.

Five years ago, the United States was grappling with the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country had entered shutdowns that had severe economic consequences, leaving businesses and industries on the brink of collapse.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scrabble tiles spelling the word scam
Scam spelled with scrabbles on a wooden table

People Break Down How They Realized An Entire Industry Was A Total Scam

We unfortunately live in a world where scams are on the rise.

Thankfully, some of them are pretty easy to detect, such as an automated call from the IRS telling you a warrant is out for your arrest, or an email claiming to be from Amazon or the USPS asking for your credit card information, only to look closer and see the email address is a yahoo account.

Keep ReadingShow less