It has been pretty obvious for a long time now that Donald Trump, on top of being a terrible businessman who basically squandered an outrageous inherited fortune, does not like to use his own money for anything. His ascension to the top office in our country just meant that every con artist alive could have a shot at siphoning from the taxpayer slush fund.
Trump’s great strength has been his ability to fundraise money for himself. His announcements of running campaigns seem to only serve that function in Trumpland. Even Trump’s supposed fundraising for other candidates go to … Donald Trump. As Bloomberg reported last year, the tons of money Trump created in the PAC, money that cannot by law be used for a 2024 run, didn’t even go to the candidates Trump endorsed.
Trump has also set up separate fundraising slush funds pots for his legal fees in pursuing the pretend Big Lie that the election was stolen. At least that’s what the super-rich guy keeps telling his MAGA supporters he needs the money for. About that.
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Campaign Action
The HuffPost reports that after going through recent Federal Election Commission filings made by Trump’s Save America “leadership PAC,” and his “Make America Great Again PAC,” (the 2020 campaign redux of his previous campaign—the one that is already being investigated as an enormous money laundering operation). Trump ain’t spending much on saving anything but his own pocketbook. In fact, over the last couple of years, Trump has spent nearly $1 million on his own properties. I’ve heard that Mar-a-Lago has a great laundry service!
According to the report, Trump spent a little over $94k at “Trump’s hotel on Central Park West in Manhattan on Dec. 10, 2021.” He spent over $1,000 at his West Palm Beach golf course on Dec. 12, 2022. But you know where the Trump PAC is spending most of its money? New York City! Trump’s Make America Great Again PAC has spent $412,958 on Trump Tower in New York. Meanwhile, Trump's New York City hotel has received $336,218 from Trump’s “committee.” By this standard, the $137,272 Trump has paid himself at Mar-a-Lago seems modest. Here’s an olive branch.
Trump did give 152 House and Senate candidates $5,000 each for their campaigns, totaling $760,000. But his spending on candidates was dwarfed by the $27.3 million he has paid to lawyers, most of whom appear to be handling his various personal legal troubles.
Daily Kos did a lot better with a lot less money. Also, I didn’t get paid a million dollars to play golf at any point over the last couple of years, and I’m far nicer than Donald Trump.
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