Door knockers working for Elon Musk’s super PAC in Michigan originally had no idea they were signing up to canvass for Donald Trump, according to a report in Wired.
“I knew nothing of the job, or much of the job description, other than going door to door and asking the voters who are they voting for,” said a canvasser who was flown in from outside the Midwest. “Then, after I signed over an NDA, is when I found out we are for Republicans and with Trump.”
The canvassers were hired by a subcontractor called Blitz Canvassing, which America PAC has paid more than $9 million to oversee its field operation, Wired reported. They were never told directly they were working for Musk’s America PAC and only knew he was involved after they overheard supervisors say the billionaire’s name, the source said.
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Once they arrived in Michigan, the canvassers were subjected to threats and dangerous working conditions, with managers saying they would leave them stranded in Michigan unless they met impossible quotas, according to recordings leaked to Wired.
“What’s gonna happen is, they’re gonna stop paying for these [motel] rooms, and then you’re gonna end up having to pay for it yourself,” a manager said in one recording. “You can’t do that with no money.”
The door knockers were also allegedly told they would have to pay for their own flights home if they didn’t meet the quotas. The company did not respond to the magazine’s request for comment.
If all that weren’t bad enough, instead of driving the canvassers to their assigned neighborhoods in rental cars, supervisors loaded them in the back of a U-Haul van with no seat belts and dropped them off 40 minutes apart.
“I felt embarrassed and played,” one door knocker told Wired.
The report is yet another instance of Musk’s ground game in Michigan coming under fire in recent weeks. The PAC is reportedly using a third-rate app with no geolocating that doesn’t even appear in the Android or Apple store.
“I think it’s what happens when you let a bunch of grifters take over,” a local MAGA strategist told Wired.
Trump’s Michigan campaign denied the reports, saying it was running “the most sophisticated and modern campaign ever” with dozens of campaign officers and 100 paid staff.
Data leaked to the Guardian also suggests America PAC canvassers in Arizona and Nevada have been faking up to 25 percent of their recorded door knocks. Blitz Canvassing and other vendors disputed those claims as well.
America PAC has also been sued for allegedly violating Pennsylvania lottery laws by offering $1 million giveaways to voters in swing states. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Thursday.
