As 2021 got underway, and Democrats took control over the levers of federal power, the Republican Party was sorely lacking in national leaders. As a result, when the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the National Republican Senate Committee sent out fundraising appeals, they relied heavily on the former president’s name and image to keep their base engaged, motivated, and reaching for their wallets.
This apparently didn’t sit well with Trump. Roughly six weeks after leaving the White House, the former president’s attorneys sent cease-and-desist letters to his own party’s officials, directing them to stop using his name and likeness when reaching out to donors.
There was no great mystery behind his motivations: Republican campaign committees might’ve been gearing up for the 2022 midterm elections, but Trump nevertheless wanted the GOP base to keep sending money to him, not his party.
Three years later, the former president’s posture has evolved, though it’s still awfully strange. NBC News reported:
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign operation is asking any down-ballot candidates or Republican groups who use Trump’s name, image or likeness in fundraising solicitations to give some of the money to Trump’s main fundraising committee.
In fact, according to a memo obtained by NBC News, Trump’s co-campaign managers, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, requested a split of “a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC. This includes but is not limited to sending to the house file, prospecting vendors, and advertising.”
The 5% figure is apparently a minimum, and Team Trump would apparently appreciate more. The memo adds, “Any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump’s campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations.” According to a report in Politico, which was first to report on this week’s memo, the former president’s operation insisted that the rationale behind the 5% take is to “dissuade ‘scammers’ from using Trump’s brand without his permission and diluting his ability to raise cash.” And who knows, maybe there’s some truth to this explanation. But it’s far easier to believe that Trump and his team are badly in need of cash; they’re trailing President Joe Biden and his operation in the dash for campaign funds; there’s only so much money to be made selling Trump-endorsed Bibles and gold sneakers; and this 5% take might help give the presumptive GOP nominee a modest boost at a time of need.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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