Trump raised $ 200 million from false election demands. What happens to the money now? | Donald Trump

The war was lost. The Supreme Court and the Election College have spoken. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also acknowledged that he was good at reforming the rules for political gain. Donald Trump Will not be the next president.

But the failure of money flowing into Trump’s political treasures suggests that the former president will not soon be pushed into the political shadows.

Trump has been involved in fundraising efforts since the election, quickly amassing a staggering $ 200 million or more in the wake of his false allegations that votes were rigged.

His campaign bombed supporters with emails and text messages – up to 30 a day – asking them to donate to a fight fund. But once the election is over, that’s not where the money is going.

Most of the money goes to Save America, an organization formed as a Leading Political Action Group (PAC) after the election. Leadership packs were designed to allow individuals to raise money in support of a preferred candidate, and Trump could not legally use positions directly to finance the presidency as another attempt at the presidency in four years.

But Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance expert at the Campaign Law Center, said Trump’s fundraising was unprecedented and evidence of unbridled political ambition.

“I can’t think of any other president who set up a leadership PAC as soon as he lost an election and started raising funds for it. It is completely, utterly unique,” he said.

“I think it’s basically going to be a vehicle for Trump’s post-White House political action.”

Trump raised money in appeals for donations to what he called the “official election security fund” without explicitly mentioning Save America. An aggressive sales pitch was built around the president’s false claims that the election was bad – even if one legal challenge was struck one after another.

“We need your help to preserve the unity of our election,” one email said.

Another email went with the subject line: “Review results BOGUS.”

Money flooded in, but most did not fight the outcome of an election that had already been resolved. Some were used to pay off Trump’s campaign debt, with 25 cents for every dollar going directly to the Republican Party. The rest is paid to Save America.

“At this point we expect the head pack account to be more than 100 million m,” Fischer said. “It simply came to our notice then. This is a lot of money, far more than any other leadership pack.

Fischer said it was an indication that Trump did not plan to quietly withdraw from the political arena to write his memoirs.

“Building his leadership is definitely a sign that Trump plans to be more active in politics and also aims to be a key political figure,” he said.

“Because leadership bags are loosely controlled, he can not only keep his campaign staff on the payroll, but also benefit financially. He can use the leadership bag to pay himself and his family members. There are a lot of things you can do about this.”

Jennifer Victor, an associate professor of political science at George Mason University, said it would be a smart move for Trump to use money to fund the election of political believers to keep religion alive.

“As a political operator, is he interested enough in that money to build a broad coalition in which he is the center and the outflow of money that can strengthen his political position? It is difficult to say because his political movement is so far centered on himself,” he said.

“He should be interested in building the Republican Party around Trumpism, which has been going on naturally for the past several years. But to make it a permanent feature of the Republican Party, he must use the political capital around his name for the benefit of the party, that is, to give it to other candidates.”

Victor said believing he could go beyond Trump created a headache for the Republican leadership.

“He is not only the president and candidate of the past, but also the second-highest-voting candidate of any American candidate, so he has a huge following. At the same time, he always violates the rules of democracy and the rules of the Republican Party,” he said.

Trump wants to run for president again in four years.

“Save America cannot be used to support Trump’s campaign, but many avenues can be used to lay the groundwork for running for office in 2024,” Fischer said.

“Where this is most effective is funding Trump’s campaign in support of another candidate. It could pay for rallies in support of another candidate. It could be used to pay for ads that are openly independent of the candidate he supports.”
This includes funding one of his own children to run for office. Speculation is already circulating around the possibility of Ivanka Trump Competing in the U.S. Senate In Florida.

All of this maintains the president’s political profile and influence in the Republican Party, especially as he has proven capable of turning the campaign events of others into real Trump rallies.

Trump’s inability to use donations is to address the legal and financial issues he faces when he leaves the White House, which could stand in the way of future political aspirations.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is leading a criminal investigation into Trump’s business dealings. Michael Cohen, former president’s lawyer, is leading a civil investigation into New York State Attorney General Ledidia James, alleging that Congress Trump raised the value of his assets in order to obtain bank loans and then reduced them to tax.

Investigations have recently expanded Ivanka, the president’s daughter . He responded by calling it news of the trial Politically motivated harassment.

Trump loses his protection from criminal charges when he leaves office. When he says he has the power to pardon himself before leaving the White House, any such action applies only to federal crimes, not charges brought by New York or any other state.

The president is also repaying a huge debt. Trump has personally pledged $ 420 million in debt to his businesses, which will be repaid in the coming years. New York Times.

Most of those loans are in Deutsche Bank. Last month Reuters The bank announced it was trying to sever ties with the president.

The Trump organization, the presidential umbrella group currently overseen by his two sons, owes Deutsche Bank about $ 40,340 million. Debts against Trump’s assets are set to begin in two years.