One of the many reasons donors are choking off cash to Donald Trump's campaign is that they're not interested in lining his pockets. Scampaigner in chief Trump is profiting like no other candidate ever has off his own campaign, and donations do nothing but benefit his own bottom line.
Like at Trump's swanky Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, where the Trump campaign spent $423,000. The campaign also pays Trump Tower a $15,000 rent check every month. Where does the money land? Straight into Trump's pocket, reports NPR's Scott Detrow.
The Associated Press says that since it began, the Trump campaign has spent more than $6 million on Trump companies, products or venues.
While candidates can't literally pocket money that's donated to their campaign, Trump has found a legal way to profit from it. For some reason, that hasn't sat well with big GOP donors. Here's GOP operative Rick Wilson:
You could hear the sound of their checkbooks closing tight. [...] They don't want to have to throw good money after bad in a campaign with a guy who's not prepared to run, a guy who's not serious about running, and a guy who's frankly using this to build up his brand and enrich his company.
And could a candidate who's loaned more than $40 million to his campaign end up padding his own personal bottom line when all is said and done? "It's probably a long shot," reports Detrow, adding:
But if the Trump campaign uses contributions to pay back all of Trump's loans to himself, he could actually turn a profit off his campaign for president.