Trump raises $13 million in first quarter

[Mr. Morden]

http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/329043-trump-raises-13m-for-reelection

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[Wiz in Wis]

So... less than double what Ossoff raised? An under-30 nobody who has never run for office before and is running for a house seat that he has no rights winning?

I assume this is the baseline that any president would get doing absolutely nothing.

[Virginiá]

What happens if Trump raises hundred(s) of millions of dollars by 2020 and then decides not to run? I'd say the odds are at least 50/50 that he is raising money in anticipation of not running again.

[The Other Castro]

What happens if Trump raises hundred(s) of millions of dollars by 2020 and then decides not to run? I'd say the odds are at least 50/50 that he is raising money in anticipation of not running again.

He wouldn't get to personally keep the money, something he may or may not be aware of.

[Virginiá]

What happens if Trump raises hundred(s) of millions of dollars by 2020 and then decides not to run? I'd say the odds are at least 50/50 that he is raising money in anticipation of not running again.

He wouldn't get to personally keep the money, something he may or may not be aware of.

That's true, but I was thinking he could invent himself a political cause to put the money towards, and businesses he or his friends own would conveniently be the primary recipients of all or at least most of the contracts. I wouldn't put it past Trump for a second to try a scam like that. It just about lines up with what he has been doing his whole life.

[DK_Mo82]

What happens if Trump raises hundred(s) of millions of dollars by 2020 and then decides not to run? I'd say the odds are at least 50/50 that he is raising money in anticipation of not running again.

He wouldn't get to personally keep the money, something he may or may not be aware of.

That's true, but I was thinking he could invent himself a political cause to put the money towards, and businesses he or his friends own would conveniently be the primary recipients of all or at least most of the contracts

He already is doing this. His reelection campaign already has two dozen staff.

[RaphaelDLG]

What happens if Trump raises hundred(s) of millions of dollars by 2020 and then decides not to run? I'd say the odds are at least 50/50 that he is raising money in anticipation of not running again.

He wouldn't get to personally keep the money, something he may or may not be aware of.

That's true, but I was thinking he could invent himself a political cause to put the money towards, and businesses he or his friends own would conveniently be the primary recipients of all or at least most of the contracts. I wouldn't put it past Trump for a second to try a scam like that. It just about lines up with what he has been doing his whole life.

Put out a new book called "President Trump" or something and spend all of his campaign funds on buying copies of that book, or just doing any of the other things Sarah Palin has been doing for the past 8+ years

[The_Doctor]

What happens if Trump raises hundred(s) of millions of dollars by 2020 and then decides not to run? I'd say the odds are at least 50/50 that he is raising money in anticipation of not running again.

I think legally he can keep the money. Why do I think this is a "grifting" thing where he decides to back out of running and then keeps all the donor money?

[The_Doctor]

Trump routinely stays at his own places, steers business to his own businesses, and generally behaves like the donors' money is his money. You have to understand, it wouldn't be totally out of character for him to rip off the donors and to keep the money and dare them to do anything about it. Probably the money could be transferred to his Presidential library where he seeks to "rehabilitate" himself.

Why the donors are ponying up for him is beyond me given his past history. He routinely walked away from start up projects, companies, entire casinos, and left others holding the bag as he plowed into the next project. That's Trump's entire M.O. wrapped up over his entire life.

The donors are the latest suckers.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

So... less than double what Ossoff raised? An under-30 nobody who has never run for office before and is running for a house seat that he has no rights winning?

I assume this is the baseline that any president would get doing absolutely nothing.

Trump had only half the money as Hillary. The Democratic party has become very good at recklessly pissing away money.

[UWS]

By raising so much money, he will lose the self-funding argument.

[Maxwell]

By raising so much money, he will lose the self-funding argument.

nobody cared about that.

[Virginiá]

Why the donors are ponying up for him is beyond me given his past history. He routinely walked away from start up projects, companies, entire casinos, and left others holding the bag as he plowed into the next project. That's Trump's entire M.O. wrapped up over his entire life.

Besides being suckers, which I'm sure a lot are, there are also the people who probably understand he is very likely to walk away with the money but still want access and know giving to Trump right now is the best way to get it at some point over the next few years.

If Trump plans to not run for reelection and is indeed running a scam, he would surely limit access to people who don't donate before 2020, and maybe even go out of his way to damage them in some form or another, so as to effectively extort donations.

On a side note it's so weird how we can all openly theorize about POTUS grifting people like this so brazenly and know without a doubt that it's not only completely plausible but probably more likely than not. That is the kind of man we have as our president now - a man who is literally running the country from his club like a mob boss.

[uti2]

Why the donors are ponying up for him is beyond me given his past history. He routinely walked away from start up projects, companies, entire casinos, and left others holding the bag as he plowed into the next project. That's Trump's entire M.O. wrapped up over his entire life.

Besides being suckers, which I'm sure a lot are, there are also the people who probably understand he is very likely to walk away with the money but still want access and know giving to Trump right now is the best way to get it at some point over the next few years.

If Trump plans to not run for reelection and is indeed running a scam, he would surely limit access to people who don't donate before 2020, and maybe even go out of his way to damage them in some form or another, so as to effectively extort donations.

On a side note it's so weird how we can all openly theorize about POTUS grifting people like this so brazenly and know without a doubt that it's not only completely plausible but probably more likely than not. That is the kind of man we have as our president now - a man who is literally running the country from his club like a mob boss.

The problem is that the whole argument doesn't make sense at face value. If Trump's entire general election campaign in 2016 was a 'grift' (money being spent at his hotels, etc.), why wouldn't he just do the same in 2020? He'd raise more money and therefore logically have more opportunity to grift if he actually ran.

So, in terms of grifting opportunities, it makes more financial sense for Trump to run again.

[Adam Griffin]

I've noticed lately that he is also raising money through social media in deceiving ways. I saw a sponsored ad on Facebook a few days ago where he was railing about how "we need to keep Ossoff out of the House" and to donate money toward the cause...except that when you click on the link and look at the donation form, the money goes directly to Donald J Trump for President, Inc.

[Shadows]

Trump will 100% run IMO, he has a massive ego. This is nothing like he has ever done! Did you guys see the disdain with which he said I don't care about hotel occupancy in the 60 minutes interview after the elections. He already has a lot of money, but this is absolute power, like a huge king with big global influence. Everyone from Merkel to Xi is rushing to meet him & countries are in his mercy ! He can bomb the shi* out of countries when he wants.

That egomaniac will never turn away power! Besides he is delusional & lives in conspiracy theory circles & will pick up straw reports & think he is doing a great job. He tweeted a few poor uber conservative non-credible media articles that he has 50%+ approval & is doing a phenomenal job!

[SoLongAtlas]

He will run for re-election and has already trademarked Keep America Great, pinning his Democratic opponent against the wall of "you don't want to keep this country great, etc., etc." Don't know if it will work next time but definitely will be a populist/conservative vs. liberal election.

[Hindsight was 2020]

He will run for re-election and has already trademarked Keep America Great, pinning his Democratic opponent against the wall of "you don't want to keep this country great, etc., etc." Don't know if it will work next time but definitely will be a populist/conservative vs. liberal election.

I do wonder if that could come back to bite him because if he blows more legislation like HC an if a recession happens that could be a horrible out of touch slogan

[SoLongAtlas]

He will run for re-election and has already trademarked Keep America Great, pinning his Democratic opponent against the wall of "you don't want to keep this country great, etc., etc." Don't know if it will work next time but definitely will be a populist/conservative vs. liberal election.

I do wonder if that could come back to bite him because if he blows more legislation like HC an if a recession happens that could be a horrible out of touch slogan

Very true. You don't want to keep America in the same state of things if things are bad (1992 election).

[Virginiá]

So, in terms of grifting opportunities, it makes more financial sense for Trump to run again.

Not if he ends up not liking the job. I can totally see Trump being a dictator as his personality seems to be geared towards "whatever I say goes, and rules only exist to support whatever I want to do," but POTUS doesn't give him nearly as much freedom to do whatever he pleases, and it is a very demanding job. Also, given how obsessed Trump is with his personal image, he may not want to keep going if he becomes consistently more unpopular than he is even right now.

But yes, I think you're right. The best way to loot even more riches would be to have another 4 years. My assumption is that for a number of he reasons he might not want that.

[uti2]

So, in terms of grifting opportunities, it makes more financial sense for Trump to run again.

Not if he ends up not liking the job. I can totally see Trump being a dictator as his personality seems to be geared towards "whatever I say goes, and rules only exist to support whatever I want to do," but POTUS doesn't give him nearly as much freedom to do whatever he pleases, and it is a very demanding job. Also, given how obsessed Trump is with his personal image, he may not want to keep going if he becomes consistently more unpopular than he is even right now.

But yes, I think you're right. The best way to loot even more riches would be to have another 4 years. My assumption is that for a number of he reasons he might not want that.

A guy with a big ego has the freedom to bomb whoever he wants. Think about that. If Trump cared so much about his personal image, he wouldn't have called mexicans rapists in his campaign announcement speech.

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

No matter why he's raising it, it's money that's not going to 2018 GOP candidates. Massive FF move, should keep going.

[ReaganLimbaugh]

So... less than double what Ossoff raised? An under-30 nobody who has never run for office before and is running for a house seat that he has no rights winning?

I assume this is the baseline that any president would get doing absolutely nothing.

http://politics.blog.myajc.com/2017/04/24/karen-handel-raises-nearly-1-million-a-week-into-georgia-6th-runoff/

[DK_Mo82]

It will be interesting to monitor his burn rates. I would not put above Trump using this as a way to launder moeny basically.