Now that Donald Trump’s campaign expenditures are available for all to see, it’s possible to pick up a few interesting tidbits. Not only is the campaign down to just over $1 million on hand, but some of the money that has already been spent has gone down a familiar funnel—leading right back to Trump.
When Trump flies, he uses his airplane. When he campaigns, he often chooses his properties or his own Trump Tower in New York City, which serves as headquarters. His campaign even buys Trump bottled water and Trump wine.
That last action is pretty interesting, considering that Trump’s water is generally only available at his own resorts. But then, Donald is always willing to make an exception for Donald.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has been on the campaign trail for a year now, and federal finance reports detail a campaign unafraid to co-mingle political and business endeavors in an unprecedented way — even as he is making appeals for donations. …
Wealthy political candidates in the past have walled off their business from their campaigns, but Trump embraces his companies. Public documents indicate his revenue has risen along with his presidential aspirations.
The details of Trump’s expenses fit right in with previous information. It once again shows that Trump’s much-touted $55 million personal investment in his campaign is an overstatement, since some of that money is in the form of a loan that Trump can collect (assuming he can get someone else to put money into his sinking ship) and a good chunk of what he’s spent gets recycled into his own companies.
All of which just makes the hidden contents of Trump’s taxes more interesting. When you consider the frugality of his primary campaign, how carefully he’s routed money back to his own pockets, and how he’s allowed his coffers to empty without making a move to refill them, it raises a serious question: Can Trump really put up the kind of money he needs for a campaign? While he is intent on telling the GOP he can go it alone, is Donald Trump broke again?
Trump has paid out $73,000 to Trump Tower in rental fees and $125,000 to Trump Restaurants. Guess those taco bowls really add up. A whopping $423,000 went to the Mar-a-Lago resort. Hey, you have to fill those gaudy rooms somehow. The campaign has also paid $65,000 to Trump golf courses, but whether that’s to woo potential investors or let the candidate wind down isn’t clear. Oh, and Donald Trump took a $42,000 salary from his own campaign, because … not so clear.
In addition to paying himself, Trump’s campaign has also had some other interesting expenditures.
Like a single trip on Uber that cost $300 (must have been “surge pricing”) and $16,000 worth of office supplies at Staples, which wouldn’t be a lot. If the campaign had an office. And what “office supplies” cost $500 at Rowdy Republicans?
