Trump forced to change voter hotline number after being bombarded with prank calls

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

A hotline set up by President Donald Trump‘s administration became the target of prank calls from social media users, forcing the administration to set up new phone numbers.

Read More: Trump privately speaking with advisors about 2024 run: report

theGrio reported that a viral campaign caught on across TikTok and Twitter over the weekend filling the hotline not with tips on fraud, but with anti-Trump memes and messages trolling his leadership. The hotline also has a webpage where users are instructed to “help stop voter suppression, irregularities, and fraud. Tell us what you are seeing.” Flyers were shared by members of the Trump team on social media.

https://twitter.com/EricTrump/status/1325101354810040323?s=20

Calls and submissions came in from a variety of citizens hoping to deter Trump’s voter fraud claims. On TikTok, one user uploaded a video calling the hotline where as soon as their call was answered, the song “FDT” by YG and Nipsey Hussle was blasted through the receiver. Another caller claimed to be a Trump supporter in Michigan who attempted to vote in two different cities.

One Twitter user, under the account @EvansBeard, used the online submission form to upload the entire script from 2007’s Bee Movie.

Just because you can fit the entire Bee Movie script into Rudy’s fraud form doesn’t mean you should paste the entire Bee Movie script into Rudy’s fraud form. But it IS possible, just so you know. pic.twitter.com/M8ivqONxWw

— Beard 🇵🇸now whelk.bsky.social (@EvansBeard) November 7, 2020

Read More: McConnell pushing to confirm more Trump judges as Senate returns

Comedian Tony Atamanuik said he would be calling the hotline all week, doing an impersonation of POTUS.

https://twitter.com/TonyAtamanuik/status/1325543617654611969?s=20

Since anti-Trump pranks reigned supreme on the original hotline number, the Trump campaign has had to set up a series of new phone numbers. Shared in a tweet by Lara Trump, the team announced they will continue to change the number as long as their efforts to collect information on possible fraud are hindered.

“To those who have spammed our other numbers: it’s shameful that you don’t think it’s important to have integrity in our elections. It’s fundamental to our republic. Keep spamming. We will keep changing the number,” she wrote.

Another new number 👇🏽 To those who have spammed our other numbers: it’s shameful that you don’t think it’s important to have integrity in our elections. It’s fundamental to our republic. Keep spamming. We will keep changing the number. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ILPJrqG42D

— Lara Trump (@LaraLeaTrump) November 7, 2020

Eric Trump blamed the spam calls on the Democrats, alleging the political party had something to hide.

The @DNC is spamming our voter fraud hotline to bog down the thousands of complaints we are receiving! Wonder what they have to hide.

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 7, 2020

This is not the first time this year a digital community worked together to troll Trump. theGrio reported in June that K-Pop fans and TikTok users took credit for the low turnout at a rally this summer in Tulsa. According to the report, Brad Parscale, the president’s re-election campaign chairman, boasted that 1 million people requested tickets to the MAGA rally. However, most of the registration came from fandoms who purposely did not show up.

“I recommend that all of those of us who want to see this 19,000-seat auditorium barely filled or completely empty, go reserve tickets now and leave him standing completely alone on the stage,” said one TikTok user, Mary Jo Laupp, 51, the self-proclaimed #TikTokGrandma.

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!