On Saturday, The Washington Post reported that former President Donald Trump and his allies are building a new network of fundraising organizations independent from the traditional Republican Party apparatus — a development that some party insiders fear will allow Trump to control most of the fundraising on behalf of the GOP.
“Trump himself has encouraged supporters to donate to Save America, a leadership PAC he launched at the end of 2020,” reported Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker, Michael Scherer, and Anu Narayanswamy. “Corey Lewandowski, his 2016 campaign manager, is setting up a Trump-blessed super PAC to solicit unlimited contributions, according to people familiar with the efforts. And a number of his other allies are dabbling in fundraising efforts of their own — including what appears to be an effort to create a version of Democracy Alliance, the liberal donor network.”
“In recent weeks, Trump has both publicly and privately railed against the party committees, and has told advisers he wants to raise as much money as he can to remain a formidable candidate for a White House bid in 2024 — and to have leverage against political foes, according to people familiar with his views,” continued the report. “Some in the GOP are bracing for a nasty fight. ‘There is going to be a war,’ said a senior Republican involved in discussions about the future of the party, ‘It is inevitable.'”
Early in March, Trump slapped key GOP fundraising groups with cease-and-desist warnings to stop using his name and branding, a demand that would likely reduce their fundraising success and increase his own. Meanwhile, the former president is already taking action in the 2022 primaries, including attending the fundraiser of a far-right challenger to Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), one of a very few House Republicans who voted for impeachment after the Capitol riot.
According to the article, while all this is going on, it appears Trump’s inner circle is wholly uninterested in helping the GOP financially at all.
“In Mar-a-Lago dinners and phone calls with allies, the former president has also expressed concern that some associates around him are using him to make money off endorsements and clients, according to three people who have spoken to him. Some of his advisers are also seeking other clients for the 2022 cycle,” said the report. “He has complained repeatedly about how much it costs to fundraise online, advisers said, and was resistant for weeks to sign off on a PAC budget, leaving some of his advisers to worry they would not be paid.”
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