Poor Donald Trump. It seems he isn’t selling enough $399 high-tops or $60 Bibles, and his Truth Social stock is in the toilet, so it’s time for a new, new, new, new grift: charging his fellow Republicans for uttering his name.
The Trump campaign announced in a letter Politico obtained that Republican candidates and committees are now expected to pay “a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC” for using his “name, image, and likeness in fundraising solicitations.”
Yes, a minimum. But Republicans who give more than the mandatory minimum will receive something even more valuable than those much-needed fundraising dollars. They’ll earn the praise and appreciation of truly important people. Maybe even Mr. Trump himself!
“Any split that is higher than 5%,” the letter states, “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 does not break down how much more a candidate or committee must send Trump’s way to receive an attaboy or a pat on the head. Maybe 99% would do the trick?
It worked for Arizona Republican Blake Masters, after all. Well, sort of.
In 2022, during his ultimately failed run for the Senate, Masters landed a super-sweet deal with Trump: He got to use Trump’s donor list to beg for dollars, and all he had to do was give 99% of those dollars back to Trump. A real win-win for people named Trump—and less so for people named Masters. Perhaps if he had given Trump 100% of those dollars, it might have worked better.
The new Trump campaign letter offers several examples of Republican fundraising that would require a minimum donation to Trump, but notes that it is “by no means an exhaustive list of language and tactics we’d like for campaigns to avoid.”
However, the very best Republican boys and girls who give the very best financial tributes to Trump get a special prize!
“Finally, all committees that have been given the Trump Seal of Approval will be allowed to have one upsell that is personally signed by President Trump,” the letter states. “We’ve seen upsells signed by President Trump have the highest conversion rates and dollars per view. All we ask for is a 1% split on these upsells.”
What the new letter fails to mention—surely a mere oversight—is that this is all part of Trump’s desperate drive to raise cash for his enormous legal expenses. As the Associated Press reported last month, Trump’s “unorthodox” agreement with the Republican National Committee allows Trump to use donated dollars for his legal bills before the RNC sees a penny.
Even that scheme, though, might not be enough to keep up with the tens of millions of dollars in legal bills Trump has racked up. So why not force Republicans running the House and Senate to pitch in too? It still might not be enough, but at least they’ll have the privilege and honor of mentioning Trump’s name on the campaign trail.
