May 18, 2016, was a big day for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. He signed a deal with the Republican National Committee. This deal gave him access to a top notch fundraising operation that he was lacking during the primary elections.
However, it is becoming increasingly clear that Trump’s businesses are also benefiting from this deal.
On May 18th, the day the deal was signed, the Trump campaign sent out over one million dollars to pay for various campaign expenditures. 600,000 dollars of that went to Trump’s businesses. 423,000 dollars went to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago private club where he hosted three events in March.
The Trump campaign is not explaining why that large of a payment was made. Had Trump decided to host those three events at the West Palm Beach Marriott, he would have spent no more than 45,000 dollars for all three events.
This is just one example where Trump’s businesses have magically received checks after he opened himself up to the Republican Party’s fundraising operations. Since the May 18th deal with the RNC, his own personal finances only account for twelve percent of his campaign spending. Before that date it was eighty-two percent.
Now that he has access to other people’s money, many of his businesses are receiving checks well into the five figures.
For example, before May 18th, Trump had sent out only one five figure check to one of his golf courses. It was to the Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida for 25,927 dollars. He had a rally there in January.
However, after the May 18th RNC deal, there have been over a half-dozen checks sent to Trump’s golf courses. His golf course in West Palm Beach received a check for 29,715 dollars on May 18th. He also sent a check for $35,845 dollars to his golf course in Jupiter, Florida where he had a primary victory party on March 8th.
Even Trump’s restaurants are getting in on the action. Trump Restaurants LLC, which operates eateries in Trump Tower, got a check on May 18th for 125,080 dollars. The campaign claims that it is for unspecified “rent and utilities.”
These list of checks sent out to Trump’s businesses suggests that he is using donor money to pad his own pockets. It also shows how reckless he is with his campaign finances. He could have chosen different venues that would have cost his campaign significantly less money. But, of course, he decided to use his own venues in order to make his businesses some more money.
Trump’s spending habits have garnered the attention of many Republican leaders who are wary of his decision making skills. They are aware that Trump’s spending is odd given the timing of the donations.
Paul S. Ryan, a member of the Campaign Legal Center watchdog group, is extremely critical of Trump’s spending habits. He said:
“It doesn’t look right even if it is legal. Any way you slice it, this level of self-dealing looks bad. It looks like a candidate who is pocketing donor’s money.”
Even worse is the fact that many of his donors do not know where their money is going. Many of them have no idea that he is spending money on his own businesses. Stuart Stevens, a top aide to former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, was frustrated by Trump’s lack of transparency when it comes to his campaign spending. He said that what Trump is doing is “such a scam.”
Of course Trump is no stranger to scams. He has been called out for operating them in the past. It’s just odd that he always seems to get away with running them.
When a woman, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, runs for president, she gets called out for having a foundation that helps millions of people. When a man, Donald Trump, runs for president, he gets away with financially hurting thousands of people.
Some things in life are just never fair.
Here is a video of Donald Trump talking about his Trump wine and steaks at a campaign rally. He never misses an opportunity to pad his own pockets:
Image is a YouTube screengrab.
