Trump raises more than $150 million appealing to false
election claims
By
Josh
Dawsey and
November 30, 2020 at 8:29 p.m. CST
President
Trump’s political operation has raised more than $150 million since
Election Day, using a blizzard of misleading appeals about the election to
shatter fundraising records set during the campaign, according to people with
knowledge of the contributions.
The
influx of political donations is one reason Trump and some allies are inclined
to continue a legal onslaught and public affairs blitz focused on baseless
claims of election fraud, even as their attempts have repeatedly failed in
court and as key states continue to certify wins for President-elect Joe Biden.
Much of
the money raised since the election is likely to go into an account for the
president to use on political activities after he leaves office, while some of
the contributions will go toward what’s left of the legal fight.
The
people with knowledge of the fundraising amounts spoke on the condition of
anonymity to disclose internal numbers. The Trump campaign declined to comment.
The
surge of donations is largely from small-dollar donors, campaign officials say,
tapping into the president’s base of loyal and fervent donors who tend to
contribute the most when they feel the president is under siege or facing
unfair political attacks. The campaign has sent about 500 post-election
fundraising pitches to donors, often with hyperbolic language about voter fraud
and the like.
“I need
you now more than ever,” says one recent email that claims to be from the
president. “The Recount Results were BOGUS,” another email subject line reads.
“Our
democracy and freedom is at risk like never before, which is why I’m reaching
out to you now with an URGENT request,” reads an email to donors from Vice
President Pence. “President Trump and I need our STRONGEST supporters, like
YOU, to join the Election Defense Task Force. This group will be responsible
for DEFENDING the Election from voter fraud, and we really need you to step up
to the front lines of this battle.”
The
donations are purportedly being solicited for the Official Election Defense
Fund, which is blazed in all red across the Trump campaign’s website, with an
ominous picture of the president outside the White House.
There
is no such account, however. The fundraising requests are being made by the
Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee that
raises money for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. As
of Nov. 18, that committee also shares its funds with Save America, a new
leadership PAC that Trump set up in early November and which he can use to fund
his post-presidency activities.
The
money raised since Nov. 3 is a massive haul for such a short period, especially
after the election, when losing campaigns typically ramp down their fundraising
operation. By comparison, the Trump Make America Great Again Committee raised
$125 million in the second quarter of 2020, according to federal records.
The campaign account’s best single month was September, when it raised
$81 million, according to available data.
The
contributions, from thousands of grass-roots donors across the country, are
split into several accounts, including the leadership PAC that is loosely
regulated and could be used to personally benefit the president after he leaves
the White House.
According
to the fine print in the latest fundraising appeals, 75 percent of each
contribution to the joint fundraising committee would first go toward the Save
America leadership PAC and the rest would be shared with the party committee,
to help with the party’s operating expenses. This effectively means that the
vast majority of low-dollar donations under the current agreement would go
toward financing the president’s new leadership PAC, instead of efforts to
support the party or to finance voting lawsuits.
“Small
donors who give to Trump thinking they are financing an ‘official election
defense fund’ are in fact helping pay down the Trump campaign’s debt or funding
his post-presidential political operation,” said Brendan Fischer, who directs
federal regulatory work at the Campaign Legal Center, which supports greater
restrictions on the role of money in politics. “The average donor who gives in
response to Trump’s appeal for funds to ‘stop the fraud’ likely doesn’t realize
that their money is actually retiring Trump’s debt or funding his leadership
PAC.”
Fischer
said that “only bigger donors who’ve maxed-out to Trump’s campaign or the RNC
will see any portion of their contribution go to dedicated recount or legal
funds.”
“The
RNC has spent tens of millions of dollars over the last two years funding legal
efforts in multiple states, and we continue the fight for election integrity
across the country,” RNC spokesperson Mike Reed said.
The
leadership PAC could be spent, for example, to pay for events at his own
properties, or to finance his travel or personal expenses. There are very few
limitations on how money going to the group can be spent.
On Nov.
18, the Trump Make America Great Again Committee struck a formal agreement with
Save America, the Trump campaign and the RNC to raise money together through
the joint fundraising committee and share the funds, according to federal
records. By Nov. 19, the contribution share to Save America PAC had changed to
75 percent from 60 percent as it had been for more than a week,
according to a review of the fundraising appeals.
Leadership
PACs do not face the same restrictions on “personal use” expenses as candidate
committees do. They were established to allow members of Congress to raise
money for their allies on Capitol Hill through fundraising vehicles separate
from their campaign committees. The money is often used for what is called
donor cultivation: feting wealthy supporters in the hopes that they will write
big checks back to the leadership PAC and other committees.
Over
the years, leadership PACs have become must-have accessories on Capitol Hill,
as well as among former elected officials who want to retain their political
influence by helping other candidates raise money or by raising money on their
behalf.
One
person with knowledge of the contributions said many were repeat donors, and
that emails with dire language about the president potentially losing tended to
ratchet up the contributions. The person said the campaign had a plan before
Election Day to dial up requests for money if the result wasn’t immediately
clear.
“Trump
is making hay while the sun is shining. He’s taking advantage of all the free
media coverage to pay off his campaign debt and fill his coffers for whatever
comes next,” said Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor. He added: “I would rather
give to Romney 2012 than Trump 2020 at this point.”
In an
interview earlier this month, Texas donor Doug Deason said “some people are
writing big checks because they are fired up.”
On
Monday, the final day of the monthly fundraising period, Trump was on track to
reach 500 fundraising emails. In November, the Trump operation set a record for
monthly fundraising requests from the campaign, according to a tally by
@TrumpEmail, a Twitter account that has tracked the president’s fundraising
requests since January 2018.
The
campaign had struggled some with finances earlier this fall, officials said,
with campaign manager Bill Stepien deciding to cut TV spending because he
feared they could run out of money. Officials said that some money was wasted
on unnecessary expenditures, such as a pricey Super Bowl commercial and blimps
flying over the skylines of states. But some Trump advisers said the money that
has come in after the election was a reason the campaign should have never made
the cuts.
