GoFundMe campaign for Wall hits $15 million
By Rick Moran
A GoFundMe fundraising campaign to fund the president's border wall has raised nearly $16 million in just 6 days. More than 250,000 Americans have donated to the cause. The goal is to raise a billion dollars toward construction of the wall.
Meanwhile, a liberal transgender activist from Texas has started her own GoFundMe page, attempting to raise $100 million in order to purchase "Ladders to get over Trump's wall." That campaign is off to a slow start. Since Wednesday, the page has raised about $127,000.
The page is the brainchild of triple amputee Brian Kolfage.
Daily Mail:
The campaign description says in part: 'It's time we uphold our laws, and get this wall BUILT! It’s up to Americans to help out and pitch in to get this project rolling.'
On Wednesday Charlotte Clymer, a transgender woman and human rights activist from Texas, launched her own fundraising page in response, titled Ladders to Get Over Trump's Wall.
It's description says: 'We saw some folks are raising money for a border wall to keep out our migrant siblings and fellow human beings, who are fleeing violence and persecution and whose tragically-underpaid labor is essential to the US economy.
'Seems like a bad idea on countless levels for everyone involved. Maybe we should focus on human rights and creating a community that reflects our supposed values.
'And even though at a rate of $1.7million daily, it would take their fund about 35 years to raise the $21.7billion that Trump's own Department of Homeland Security says would be needed to build said wall, we wanna make sure ladders are ready to send over to our undocumented friends and help them.'
In just three days that page has raised more than $127,000 toward its $100million goal as of Saturday, with donations made by more than 5,000 people.
Unfortunately, it appears that there will be no way for the money from the GoFundMe page to be used to fund a wall.
CBSNews:
Citizens can mail money as "gifts to the United States," according to the U.S. Treasury Department. But it's not clear whether the Department of Homeland Security can accept gifts. Kolfage of Miramar Beach, Florida, wrote that donors would get a refund if the fundraising goal isn't met.
The page has brought attention to Kolfage, a triple amputee who was wounded in the Iraq War in 2004, and his social media history. "If the 63 million people who voted for Trump each pledge $80, we can build the wall," the page reads.
Still, a quarter of a million Americans donating to fund a wall is an impressive demonstration of public support for a wall on our southern border. But that's all it is - a gesture, nothing more. It certainly isn't going to change the minds of Democrats on the Hill who have shut down the government rather than fund the wall, nor will it change the minds of those Republicans who think the wall is too expensive, and/or, wouldn't work.
Trump will either be forced to compromise, or abandon funding for the wall altogether. There just isn't the kind of public support behind a wall that would force both Democrats and Republicans to accede to Trump's demands.
The only question is will it happen sooner rather than later.
By Rick Moran
A GoFundMe fundraising campaign to fund the president's border wall has raised nearly $16 million in just 6 days. More than 250,000 Americans have donated to the cause. The goal is to raise a billion dollars toward construction of the wall.
Meanwhile, a liberal transgender activist from Texas has started her own GoFundMe page, attempting to raise $100 million in order to purchase "Ladders to get over Trump's wall." That campaign is off to a slow start. Since Wednesday, the page has raised about $127,000.
The page is the brainchild of triple amputee Brian Kolfage.
Daily Mail:
The campaign description says in part: 'It's time we uphold our laws, and get this wall BUILT! It’s up to Americans to help out and pitch in to get this project rolling.'
On Wednesday Charlotte Clymer, a transgender woman and human rights activist from Texas, launched her own fundraising page in response, titled Ladders to Get Over Trump's Wall.
It's description says: 'We saw some folks are raising money for a border wall to keep out our migrant siblings and fellow human beings, who are fleeing violence and persecution and whose tragically-underpaid labor is essential to the US economy.
'Seems like a bad idea on countless levels for everyone involved. Maybe we should focus on human rights and creating a community that reflects our supposed values.
'And even though at a rate of $1.7million daily, it would take their fund about 35 years to raise the $21.7billion that Trump's own Department of Homeland Security says would be needed to build said wall, we wanna make sure ladders are ready to send over to our undocumented friends and help them.'
In just three days that page has raised more than $127,000 toward its $100million goal as of Saturday, with donations made by more than 5,000 people.
Unfortunately, it appears that there will be no way for the money from the GoFundMe page to be used to fund a wall.
CBSNews:
Citizens can mail money as "gifts to the United States," according to the U.S. Treasury Department. But it's not clear whether the Department of Homeland Security can accept gifts. Kolfage of Miramar Beach, Florida, wrote that donors would get a refund if the fundraising goal isn't met.
The page has brought attention to Kolfage, a triple amputee who was wounded in the Iraq War in 2004, and his social media history. "If the 63 million people who voted for Trump each pledge $80, we can build the wall," the page reads.
Still, a quarter of a million Americans donating to fund a wall is an impressive demonstration of public support for a wall on our southern border. But that's all it is - a gesture, nothing more. It certainly isn't going to change the minds of Democrats on the Hill who have shut down the government rather than fund the wall, nor will it change the minds of those Republicans who think the wall is too expensive, and/or, wouldn't work.
Trump will either be forced to compromise, or abandon funding for the wall altogether. There just isn't the kind of public support behind a wall that would force both Democrats and Republicans to accede to Trump's demands.
The only question is will it happen sooner rather than later.
