Data for millions of Trump supporters up for rent

Consultants close to President Trump are offering to rent a list with the email addresses and cellphone numbers of millions of his supporters to GOP candidates and conservative groups, according to a report by The New York Times.

The highly prized database is even being made available to businesses, according to the Times.

Trump’s campaign recently signed a contract with Excelsior Strategies, which is based in Virginia, to rent its list at the rate of $35 per 1,000 addresses, according to the Times.

Eighty-five percent of the money earned from the rental will go to the Trump campaign, according to the report.

“Republicans have suffered from being behind in small-dollar fund-raising, and the president, over the course of the campaign and his presidency, has built the largest Republican first-party data list,” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale told the Times. Parscale is responsible for the agreement, according to the paper.

“So giving other candidates and groups access to that data through a legal means to rent it was one of the best things I could do for the Republican ecosystem. And the campaign makes a little money, too. It’s a win-win,” he added.

The renting of political lists is common practice in politics.

In 2017, the Democratic National Committee agreed to pay $1.65 million to access voter data compiled by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

The Federal Election Commission requires campaigns that receive such lists pay fair market value for them.

Trump is already gearing up for his reelection race with more than two years remaining in his first term.

As he boarded Marine One, the presidential helicopter, on his way to a political rally in Kentucky on Saturday, Trump told reporters outside the south portico of the White House that he’s getting flashbacks to 2016.

He said 93,000 people applied for the 10,000 spaces available at Saturday evening’s rally.

“There’s something going on,” he told a gaggle of reports. “This reminds me of ’16. It reminds you of ’16, too.”

[The Hill]