Trump's campaign is still asking for money for an election that's over

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign continues to send frequent fundraising requests, long after the results of the 2020 presidential election have been decided and the states have certified their Electoral College votes — but why?

An email sent this week by the campaign informs recipients they have “won the Weekly Trump Patriot 1000% IMPACT OFFER!”

“Every week President Trump selects a TOP supporter to receive an exclusive 1000% IMPACT OFFER, and this week it’s YOU,” the email said, warning that the offer is only good for two hours: “After that, your offer will be given to the next Patriot in line.”

The email doesn’t specify what the “offer” is, nor does it say where donations would be directed or what the money would be used for, but it does ask for money: “Please contribute $5 in the NEXT 2 HOURS and you can increase your impact by 1000%,” it said.

The donation request, which was sent out on Monday, notes in smaller print, “Reaching grassroots supporters directly is CRITICAL if we’re going to WIN BIG in November.”

Emails and texts sent by Trump’s campaign have come under fire before for misleading donors.

The campaign claims to be raising money for Republicans David Perdue’s and Kelly Loeffler’s campaigns for reelection to their Senate seats in Georgia in runoff elections scheduled for Jan. 5. But according to Politico, most of the proceeds have actually been funneled directly into “Save America,” Trump’s new PAC dedicated to his own future political pursuits.

According to Business Insider, 75% of donations supposedly going to the Georgia senators’ campaigns have gone into Trump’s own pocket, with 25% going to the Republican National Committee, and none directly to Perdue and Loeffler.

“The reality is Donald Trump does not care about the future of the Republican Party, so if he can raise money off of the Georgia runoffs but keep the money for his own purposes, he will do so,” GOP strategist Doug Heye told Politico.

Trump’s lies to donors about where their money is going are nothing new.

Following the Nov. 3 election, Trump’s campaign began soliciting donations for a “legal defense” to fight the election outcome as early as midnight on election night. But the small print made clear that 50% of the funds raised would go toward paying off the campaign’s debt, and not toward an election recount as promised.

On Nov. 11 Reuters reported that the Trump campaign was continuing to bombard potential donors with pleas for cash to help overturn the election, but that unless a donor gave at least $8,000 — $5,000 of which would go to the Save America PAC and roughly $3,000 to the RNC — not a penny of the donation would go toward Trump’s recount fund.

Other GOP candidates have also continued to scam donors, soliciting money supposedly to overturn the election results.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem sent out an email requesting that donors “bring it home for the president,” but all funds raised actually went into her own reelection fund.

Even before the election, Trump was begging his base for money, claiming his campaign was behind on its fundraising goals. In reality, it threw away a $200 million cash advantage through questionable spending, such as $110,000 on magnetic cell phone pouches to stop people from recording Trump at fundraisers.

All told, Trump raised more than $207 million between Election Day and Dec. 3. And according to CNN, the rules governing PAC spending are so lax that that money could ultimately wind up as a slush fund for Trump’s own political future — including a 2024 presidential run.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.