ORLANDO, Florida (AP) – “Trump needs you,” implored a fundraising email.
“President Trump’s legacy is in your hands,” claimed another.
Others announced “Miss Me Yet?” T-shirts with Donald Trump’s smiling face.
While some Republicans struggle with the ferocity to embrace the former president, the organizations charged with raising money for the party are doing everything. The Republican National Committee and the party’s campaign weapons in Congress are eager to profit from Trump’s bait with small donors ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when the Republican Party hopes to regain control of at least one camera in the country. Congress.
But there is a problem: Trump himself. In his first speech since leaving office, the former president encouraged legalists to donate directly to him, essentially bypassing traditional groups that raise money for Republican candidates.
“There is only one way to contribute to our efforts to elect Republican conservatives ‘America First’ and, in turn, to make America great again,” Trump said on Sunday at the Annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida. this through Save America PAC and donaldjtrump.com. “
The comment was particularly noteworthy because Trump is generally reluctant to ask for money in person. It is the latest salvo in the battle to shape the future of the Republican Party, with Trump making it clear that he does not maintain any loyalty to the party’s traditional fundraising operation while trying to consolidate power.
This could help you increase your already dominant war chest, helping in your efforts to influence the party. Save America has more than $ 80 million in cash, including $ 3 million raised after the CPAC speech, according to a person familiar with the total.
Part of that money could help Trump settle accounts with members of Congress who opposed him. In his Sunday speech, Trump read aloud the names of every Republican who voted against him and called for them to be defeated. He has already endorsed a Republican challenger for Republican Representative Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, who voted to impeach Trump because of the riot on the United States Capitol.
“Trump’s call to give it directly shows that normal party bodies … will have to fight for relevance in the 2022 cycle,” said Dan Eberhart, a longtime Republican donor who donated large sums to all three as as well as for the Trump campaign.
Bill Palatucci, a member of the New Jersey RNC, called Trump’s comments “undesirable” and “counterproductive” and expressed concern that the Republican Party would suffer further losses, such as the Georgia Senate run-off elections in January, if they didn’t work together.
“Listen, it’s a free country. Anyone can form a federal PAC or a super PAC and there is always a lot of competition for dollars. But crossing the line also means telling people not to contribute to important national party committees, “said Palatucci.” There must be a willingness on the part of the ex-president to look beyond his own interests. “
The RNC and spokesmen for the House and Senate campaign committees declined to comment. But others sought to minimize apparent tensions. They noted, for example, that Trump is scheduled to speak at the RNC’s spring donor retreat – a major source of fundraising – in April in Palm Beach.
And Trump has told party president Ronna McDaniel in recent days that he wants to continue raising funds for the RNC, according to a person informed of the conversation who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to publicize private conversations.
Before making his money throw on Sunday, the Trump team discreetly updated its fundraising records. They converted their Save America leadership PAC into an entity that can also support other candidates and transformed their main campaign committee from Donald J. Trump to President on Make America Great Again, or MAGAPac. The money raised through the Trump website now goes to Save America JFC, a joint fundraising agreement between the two.
Although Trump left office as a deeply unpopular figure, he remains a powerful attraction for small-scale donors, a reality that has been abundantly clear in calls for fundraising last week.
Over the course of a single hour last Thursday, the RNC, the Republican Party campaign committees and the Republican State Leadership Committee, which tries to elect Republicans for state positions, attacked their supporters with urgent fundraising calls that included urgent references to Trump.
And the National Republican Senatorial Committee warned this week that its “limited edition” T-shirts with Trump were almost sold out.
Regardless of Trump’s next move, the GOP is unlikely to remove him from his sales pitch anytime soon.
“Our digital fundraising strategy is simple: raise as much money as possible,” said Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for RSLC.