TRUMP‘S HOLD ON THE GOP CONTINUES TO INCREASE

 

                       …Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club continues to be very lucrative

 

Some people still think Trump is the most popular figure in the Republican Party

 

Since Trump returned to Palm Beach this fall, Mar-a-Lago has become a hotbed for Republican fundraisers.

As an example, in an event, held by the Mar-a-Lago pool, the U.S. Senate candidate, and former football star, Herschel Walker, of Georgia .  He raised more than $1 million for his campaign and an allied super Political Action Committee (PAC).

Then, the following evening, Donald Trump dined at his private Florida club with about 20 couples, each of whom paid $250,000 to the Make America Great Again Again super PAC.  This is a group run by close GOP allies of the former president.

Two days later, Turning Point USA, a conservative group for young Americans, held a sprawling event at Mar-a-Lago, where organizers said Trump’s presence was the key to attracting 750 guests.

Since Trump returned from being a former U.S. president, Mar-a-Lago has become the key location for Republican fundraisers.  2022 and 2024 candidates are working to line the former president’s pockets in hopes of winning his endorsement.  Even to just get a photo with him or simply give his donors a chance to be in his presence.

This surge in business at his private club, spotlights the unparalleled way in which Trump has personally profited from his presidency and his popularity in the GOP.  The revenue stream that began during his time in the White House has only strengthened since he left office. Rather than hosting his fellow Republicans, Trump is charging them for the privilege of using his venues.

The Washington Post identified at least 30 events held by GOP candidates or conservative groups at Trump properties through this mid-December.  This information is based on campaign finance records and social media posts. That’s more than The Post has tallied in any previous year.  In fact, in 2020, The Post counted 13 such fundraisers, and most of them were paid for by Trump’s own reelection campaign.

However today, Trump’s properties have collected $463,000 in revenue from just nine of the 2021 gatherings that have been disclosed so far in federal campaign finance reports. That sum will grow substantially next month when federal political committees report their spending for the second half of the year.

These  disclosures will also show that the total number of fundraisers held at Trump properties in 2021 is far greater than the 30 identified so far by The Post.  This is according to Mar-a-Lago club members and Trump’s advisers familiar with the events.

Many of the largest gatherings have happened in recent months, such as the Herschel Walker fundraiser, and a “Spirit of Lincoln Gala” put on by the Log Cabin Republicans, and the Turning Point gala.  At times, in recent weeks, advisers said, there have been several fundraisers, in one evening alone.

This steady business indicates that even after the former president’s lied about the 2020 election, and after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and after a polarizing presidency, many charities and companies had stopped patronizing his properties. 

But Trump has in fact, held onto a durable base of political business.  And all of this is thanks to his overall strength today inside the Republican Party.

Mar-a-Lago is a particularly popular venue with Trump-inspired candidates, both for those running for the first time and those competing in crowded Republican primaries.  Of course, this is according to people familiar with the events who obviously, spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Among those planning to hold fundraisers at the club, are GOP Reps. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) and Jeff Van Drew (N.J.).  In a news release put out by her campaign, Stefanik said she was “honored” to kick off her reelection effort “with my friend President Trump at Mar-A-Lago.” An adviser for Van Drew confirmed an upcoming fundraiser but declined to comment.

Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University, said the rush of paid GOP events at Trump’s club is “indicative of how powerful of a hold he has on the party.”

Zelizer also noted that while other former presidents have given paid speeches or taken seats on lucrative boards, they did not rent property to candidates while serving as a GOP kingmaker.  Or while contemplating another run for the White House.

“It‘s like a party boss, with one of his homes being the place for wheeling and dealing and picking the next Senate candidate,” Zelizer said.

Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesman, said the former president’s properties, including his Bedminster Club in New Jersey, are sought after by those running for office on the far right.  “When it comes to raising money for Republican causes and candidates, there are only two seasons that matter: Bedminster season and Mar-a-Lago season. Through the dozens of fundraisers that will be held

at Mar-a-Lago this season, the Trump property and Trump brand will continue to fuel the MAGA wave ahead of the midterms,” he said.

The vast majority of the fundraisers held at Trump properties this year have taken place at the Mar-a-Lago facility.  Remember, this is a “members-only club” that now doubles as Trump’s home for much of the year.

The Republican National Committee has spent about $175,000 there, just this year after the national party agreed to move part of its annual spring donor retreat to Trump’s private club.  At that dinner, Trump briefly thanked the donors in attendance before launching into his lies about the “rigged 2020 election” and his lambasting any other Republicans that don’t support him.

Other groups have paid Trump’s business to host events that honor him or the former first lady, Melania Trump.  And today’s sitting, GOP U.S. senators have held events at his properties, even as he has attacked the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Before Mar-a-Lago cites a price to candidates seeking to book a fundraiser, they are required to fill out a form asking if Trump’s presence is requested.  Also, how many photos the candidate needs with him and whether his name will be on the written invite.  A longtime Florida GOP fundraiser, Meredith O’Rourke, is now a point person for scheduling such events at the club. A candidate has to be sponsored by a Mar-a-Lago member to hold an event there.

Two political consultants who have planned events at Mar-a-Lago said that the club’s fees were steep, but the fundraisers were key to potentially gaining face time with the former president.

Even Trump’s D.C. hotel, (the former, old D.C. Post office), it has made millions of dollars from foreign governments.

Some GOP candidates have gravitated to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago because donors are eager to visit the club and meet with Trump.  And because Palm Beach is a place where many wealthy contributors live.

“Contrary to what you might hear from other candidates, he’s still by and far the most popular figure in the Republican Party in North Carolina,” said Jonathan Felts, an adviser to Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who held a Nov. 11 fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for his U.S. Senate bid. “Between his popularity and the perceived cool factor of Mar-a-Lago, it has a significant attractiveness in and of itself.”

Trump, had endorsed Budd last June, and he agreed in advance to speak at the November fundraiser, at which the top-tier tickets cost $10,800 a person. (An invitation to the event obtained by The Post noted that the former president would be a “special guest” and featured an image of Mar-a-Lago surrounded by palm trees.)

Some candidates hold events at the club because they are still hoping to get his endorsement. 

Of the 20 candidates who The Post identified as having held events at Trump properties this year, 11 had been endorsed by him by the time of their fundraiser.  Even, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), was endorsed by Trump on the very day he held a lunch fundraiser at the club in April.

But, holding an event at a Trump property doesn’t guarantee a candidate will get his backing.

Lynda Blanchard, who served as Trump’s ambassador to Slovenia, spent $24,000 in March on a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago for a short-lived campaign for U.S. Senate in Alabama. She brought along a group of state Republicans, who had a framed proclamation from the Alabama GOP calling Trump “one of the greatest and most effective presidents” in American history.

But Trump never endorsed Blanchard.  Instead he backed Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) for the Senate seat.  Of course, Brooks was the one who had loudly echoed Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.  He held his own fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago two weeks after Trump’s endorsement.

But all is not always that good for the former U.S. president’s business

When Trump took office, Mar-a-Lago was the center of business in Palm Beach.  And it was part of a very lucrative charity ball circuit.  It hosted dozens of events a year, including galas that cost $250,000 or more.

But the bulk of that business disappeared in 2017.  This was after Trump said there were “very fine people” among the protesters at the violent and deadly, Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.  Afterward, 22 charities cancelled their events, and most of them stayed away, reducing one of the club’s largest income streams.

Since then, Mar-a-Lago’s shift to court Republican customers has mirrored a broader change in Trump’s businesses.  Which is to be shifting toward an effort to monetize Trump’s GOP base.

Trump’s company has already seen its hotel chain shrink by four locations, and it is now seeking to sell a fifth property.  That being, Trump’s D.C. hotel, which lost millions during his presidency as his different politics drove some customers away.

At Mar-a-Lago, Trump has shifted one of his oldest businesses to rely on all new customers, and most of Trump’s businesses were also hammered by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

It remains to be seen how long Donald Trump will remain a focus of the Republican Party.

Some say he will win back the White House in 2024, while others say they expect him to eventually fade away.

But many say that either way, Trump will go down in history as one U.S. president that has had a profound effect on changing the focus of the very large, Republican political party. 

Where it will eventually end, is anyone’s guess.

Copyright G. Ater 2021