Trump Demands Cut of Donations to Down-Ballot Republicans Who Use His Name: Report

Fleecing his supporters is not enough for Donald Trump, who is now asking down-ballot 2024 Republican candidates to fork over a portion of their fundraising if they use his name and likeness in their campaign.

According to Politico, the Trump campaign sent a letter to vendors informing them that “all candidates and committees who choose to use President Trump’s name, image, and likeness split a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC.”

“Any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump’s campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations,” the letter added.

Trump by no means lacks fundraising revenue, but he is spending mountains of cash on the slew of civil and criminal cases against him. The former president has been leveraging his various trials as a motivator for small donor donations, but according to Federal Election Commission filings released earlier this week, he brought in $75 million less than President Joe Biden’s campaign in the first quarter of 2024.

The letter demonstrates how fixated the Trump campaign is on ensuring that political donations in any way linked to Trump make it directly to the campaign’s coffers. The notice includes a series of guidelines for vendors listing fundraising tactics they should avoid, including speaking on behalf of President Trump, mentioning the president’s family without their consent or the consent of the campaign, and even “copying the language or style from President Trump’s fundraising solicitations.”

As Trump barrels toward officially becoming the Republican 2024 nominee, he’s counting on the backing of the Republican National Committee to help manage the load of his legal expenses. Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, was installed as co-chair of the RNC in March and has already indicated that she’s perfectly willing to let her father-in-law raid the committee’s accounts.

Given that the Trump campaign name-checked the RNC in their letter requesting a cut of other Republicans’ fundraising, it seems the GOP’s nominating committee is comfortable with their presumptive nominee collecting a tithe from his fellow candidates. Trump Demands Cut of Donations to Down-Ballot Republicans Who Use His Name: Report

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