'I am not controlled by my donors, special
interests or lobbyists.'
When it comes to raising money, Donald Trump is
morphing into the very kind of bootlicking presidential candidate he’s insisted
— over and again — that he wasn’t, isn’t and wouldn’t become.
On one hand, it’s hard to blame Trump.
The real estate mogul, after all, is sprinting headlong into the
buzz saw that is Hillary Clinton’s big-money machine — a machine composed not only of her
own moneyed campaign, but allied political committees, super
PACs and nonprofit groups that are together raising hundreds of millions of dollars, sometimes from
billionaires (such asGeorge Soros) who are even more billionaire-y than The Donald.
Consider that last week alone, Team Clinton aired about 3,400 ad
spots — mostly eviscerating Trump — on broadcast and national cable television,
according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of data from media
tracking firm Kantar Media/CMAG. The Trump campaign aired no such TV ads at
all, while a supportive super PAC managed fewer than 100.
On the other hand, Trump’s turn toward fueling his White House
ambitious with cash from special interests and political megadonors undermines
what’s been one of his most effective marketing messages: that he’s beholden to
no one and can’t be bought because he’s a rich man who’s self-funding his
campaign.
The reality:
Trump is not exclusively self-funding his campaign.
Make no mistake: He has personally invested an eight-figure sum
into his push to Make America Great Again — more than $43 million and counting,according to Trump’s most recent round of federal
campaign finance disclosures.
But almost immediately after announcing his presidential bid,
Trump began passively accepting contributions from his growing legion of
supporters. The dollars began adding up,
and as May arrived, federal records indicate Trump’s supporters had together
given his campaign about $14 million.
From Time, read it HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment