In the aftermath of his re-election loss, Donald Trump did what he’s always done: He sowed chaos and made money, often by shady means. Since November, the former president’s political PAC has raised about $75 million off his legions of supporters, ostensibly to help finance ballot reviews in states he’s alleged, without evidence, of fraud. But so far the only thing he’s spent their dough on his himself.
According to The Washington Post, the millions donated to Trump’s Save America PAC, some of from no doubt cash-strapped supporters, hasn’t gone towards efforts to prove last year’s election was stolen from him, as he continues to allege. Instead, it’s “paid for some of the former president’s travel, legal costs and staff, along with other expenses.”
Much of the money hasn’t been spent. But amassing a fortune off the backs of his supporters, argues the Post, “allows Trump to build up a war chest to use in the 2022 midterms on behalf of candidates he favors — and to stockpile cash for another potential White House run, an unprecedented maneuver for a former president.”
Instead, Trump has let others pay the millions for the months-long audit of Maricopa County’s ballots in Arizona. The slack has been taken up by nonprofits, most of whose donors have not been publicly disclosed.
Meanwhile, the Save America PAC has until July 31 to to reveal the details of its fundraising and spending for the first half of the year. Given Trump’s long history of simply ignoring the law — and getting cheered on for same by his fans — we’ll see how that goes.
Trump’s PAC has raised its bounty with a mix of unsubstantiated claims alleging election fraud and vague sloganeering. “We need you to join the fight to SECURE OUR ELECTIONS!” one Facebook ad reads. Republican lawmakers across the country, meanwhile, have set in place an untold number of vote restriction laws, claiming to stop fraud that has never been proven.
Meanwhile, Trump’s die-hards should be happy to know that their hard-earned money has been so far spent on helping one of the allegedly richest people in the world cruise around the country. Or maybe they think it’s badass that he may have just grifted them.
(Via WaPo)