'Always about the grift': Investigation finds Trump raked in millions from GOP campaigns
Donald Trump has quietly raked in about $28 million from GOP campaigns including his own, according to a CNN investigation.
Trump's former attorney and so-called "fixer," Michael Cohen, recently blew the whistle on what he said were illegal campaign charges Trump has been bringing in for use of spaces Cohen says Trump does not own.
Picking up where Cohen left off, CNN dropped an investigation revealing exactly how much Trump makes from his own campaign and other GOP campaigns using his properties.
ALSO READ: Donald Trump exploits AP photo error for new $99 'Save America' book
"Late last year, former President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of car dealership owner Bernie Moreno for Ohio’s Senate seat – elevating an untested candidate who’d never held public office over several other more prominent Republicans," CNN reported Friday. "Two days later, Moreno’s campaign spent about $17,000 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and then followed up by spending an additional $79,000 the next month – making him one of the Florida club’s top political spenders."
The media outlet went on to say that Moreno "wasn’t alone."
"With glitzy Mar-a-Lago fundraisers, stays at Trump’s hotels, and flights on the former president’s private jet, Republican candidates and political groups are on track to spend more on Trump’s businesses this year than any year since 2016, according to a CNN analysis of federal campaign finance data," the report states. "Trump himself has been the biggest spender, both this year and over the last decade. Between his three presidential campaigns, Trump and associated political groups have funneled more than $28 million in campaign donations to his businesses – helping convert the enthusiasm of his political supporters into personal profit."
According to the investigation, Republicans spend "millions at Trump’s properties in an apparent attempt to curry favor with the former president and signal their allegiance to him to GOP voters."
"Some of the candidates who’ve spent the most money on Trump businesses in recent years have been new politicians who won the former president’s endorsement despite a lack of past electoral experience or success, including Moreno, former Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker and Arizona Senate hopeful Kari Lake," it states. "In the first half of 2024, federal campaigns and PACs have spent nearly $3.2 million on Trump businesses, more than 80% of which came from Trump’s own campaign and associated groups. The biggest chunk – about $1.9 million – was spent by Trump’s campaign and fundraising committees on a Trump-owned company that operates his jet."
Former Republican lawmaker Barbara Comstock responded to the report, saying on Friday, "Always about the grift with Trump."