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The offensive underscores Trump’s determination to maintain his grip on the GOP, even outside the White House. By urging donors to channel his money through his political vehicle, the former president is trying to monopolize the Republican Party’s donor base – and bend the GOP to its will by depriving it of cash.
According to conversations with nearly a dozen Republican officials and strategists inside and outside of Trump’s orbit, the former president’s decision could have profound implications for the party, which relies on him to fill his bank account ahead of the 2022 midterm election. Trump is a fundraising freak, claiming a huge, activist-minded small donor base that GOP candidates have spent years tapping into.
“Everyone else is profiting from his popularity with the grassroots, and he wants to control that money. Trump wants influence, and one of the best ways to have influence is to control money, ”said Mike DuHaime, former political director of the Republican National Committee.
It is still unclear what the magnitude of the financial impact will be for Republican groups. The RNC, which has the closest connection to Trump of any official party committee, rejected the cease-and-abstain request, arguing that since Trump is a public figure he has every right to collect funds in his name.
And while the former president has been a cash cow for the party, GOP organizations have found other ways to generate dollars. The party has raised massive amounts of money through appeals focused on cultural war issues that rock the conservative base, like the outcry over Dr Seuss’ books. He has also benefited from six- and seven-figure checks provided by well-heeled donors, many of whom have rejected the ex-president, to super PACs and affiliated nonprofits.
With Democrats in full control of Washington, Republicans insist they will have plenty of ways to motivate donors to open their wallets.
Yet Republican officials admit that Trump’s onslaught could at least temporarily hamper his ability to raise funds from his legions of small donors, especially if the former president manages to convince them that GOP leaders are not him. not sufficiently loyal. Tony Fabrizio, the leading pollster on Trump’s 2020 campaign, recently conducted a survey of over 1,200 GOP voters which concluded that a majority believed the party should “continue to be led by Trump.”
“These data suggest that any party committee leader who wants to play chicken with Trump would most likely end up being a political killer,” Fabrizio said.
Trump was motivated in part by anger over what he sees as the party’s defense of the Republican incumbents who supported his impeachment, say those who spoke to him. Republican National Senate Committee Chairman Rick Scott (Florida) said he plans to be “very aggressive” in supporting sitting lawmakers, including Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who voted for Trump’s conviction and drew his ire. Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer, the head of the Congressional Republican National Committee, said he would not be going to the primaries and warned Trump against any attempt to overthrow the Republican incumbents.
Generally speaking, Trump supporters argue, it is not unreasonable for the former president to whitewash the idea that organizations are using him to bolster those who supported his impeachment, even though the moderate results of the incumbents make them good candidates in states and battlefield districts.
This is him “not wanting people to help his unconditional opposition by using his name.” He wants to regain control. I don’t blame him, ”said Brian Ballard, a Florida-based lobbyist and longtime Trump ally.
Others point out that the former president has long been sensitive to the fact that others are capitalizing on him financially. Trump’s advisers say he concluded he needed to reset his fundraising relationship with the party, whose ranks included people he said took advantage of him.
Some party officials, however, are convinced the offensive is at least partly driven by advisers surrounding Trump, as opposed to the former president himself. In its letter to Trump’s lawyers on Monday, the RNC noted that we “understand that President Trump has reaffirmed [chair Ronna McDaniel] Over the weekend, he endorses the current use of his name by the RNC in fundraising and other materials.
In his statement Tuesday night, Trump said his efforts to restrict the use of his name were aimed at “RINOs and fools”, not “big GOPs. [c]committees, “although he did not specify which groups he considered” important. “
The outbreak represents a rare rift between Trump and the RNC, who worked closely together in the 2020 election. Trump and McDaniel are close: the two speak frequently, and the former president’s approval of McDaniel for a third term. following the presidency paved the way for his re-election.
Within the party hierarchy, last week’s cease-and-desist letters, which were sent by Trump’s legal team, were greeted with bemusement. Disbelieving Republican officials spent the weekend trying to figure out how they could be legally barred from using a public figure’s name in appeals to donors, a common practice for both sides.
But this is not the first time that there has been tension between Trump and party leaders. on fundraising. Senior Republican Senate officials complained ahead of the 2020 election that the former president was not doing enough to help financially their. Trump also frustrated party officials by sending fundraising appeals focused on the January runoff in Georgia’s January election, which directed profits to Trump’s PAC rather than the GOP. candidates, who were narrowly defeated.
The current divide has spilled over into Trump’s orbit. Donald Trump Jr., the son of the former president and a prolific fundraiser for the full party, has not signed any donor appeals for any of the GOP committees since the second round in Georgia. (The younger Trump, however, signed fundraising messages for House Minority Whip Steve Scalise and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, both staunch allies of the former president.)
In a Tuesday appearance on Newsmax, McDaniel dismissed discussions of tensions with Trump, calling him “the most supportive RNC chairman, I think, in history.” The things he did when I was president while he was in the White House, and the things he continues to do to support the party – we’ve never seen anything like it.
Amid the drama, concerns began to crop up among senior Republicans that donors will be confused as to where to direct their checks. Trump’s desire to create a super PAC, which could end up competing for dollars with existing outside groups that are closely aligned with the party and Senate leadership, adds to the uncertainty.
“Very confusing messages” are being sent “to the real grassroots activists,” said Scott Reed, the former senior political strategist for the US Chamber of Commerce. “Many are shaking their heads.”
Leading Republicans say they are determined to extinguish any tensions between the former president and the party’s campaign apparatus and stress that they have worked to have Trump focus on defeating the Democrats rather than revenge on his own. fellow Republicans. One positive development they point to: the recent endorsements by Trump of a handful of Republican Senate incumbents, which will help them immunize them against potentially bloody primaries.
“The president, working with the House and Senate committees, will be invaluable in avoiding primaries and helping recruit the best candidate for states that matter,” said Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C .), Trump loyalist. “Without President Trump on board, it will be a tough business.”
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.
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