With just 13 days left until the presidential election, Donald Trump seems to be heading back to work by scheduling campaign stops at his own real estate projects.
As Hillary Clinton and her surrogates fan out across the battleground states, Trump’s schedule has found plenty of room for self-promotion that seems aimed well past Nov. 8, including two stops in two days promoting his hotels and the soft launch of what many see as the prototype for a post-campaign Trump TV.
Most journalists have long since run out of adjectives to describe both Trump and the 2016 election (unconventional, unorthodox, bizarre, historic), but in a contest where he is polling within 1 or 2 points of Hillary Clinton in some places (and up by 16 in others), it doesn’t make any sense to spend time in Washington, DC, which is where he was on Wednesday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at his new hotel.
“The only rationale I think he’d have for that is he sees the handwriting on the wall and he wants to do his best to also protect his brand,” said a frustrated senior Republican strategist, who did not want to criticize the nominee publicly.
Because federal campaign-finance law requires that the campaign pay to use Trump’s properties, every room rental, hotel room and event held there helps his business. While Trump has contributed roughly $56 million to his campaign, the use of his properties — and personal jet — has offset the cost of those contributions.
Through the end of September, Trump’s campaign has paid, for instance, more than $200,000 in facility fees and other expenditures to his various golf properties, including about $53,000 to the Trump National Doral Miami, where he campaigned on Tuesday.
So, like so much else, his recent itinerary appears to be motivated by money and how the campaign might enable him to leverage publicity for his post-election life.
Add your name: I am ready to make phone calls from home with MoveOn to defeat Donald Trump and the Republican Senate Majority.