The Grifter in Chief

Deflated by a loss he has yet to acknowledge, Mr. Trump has cushioned the blow by coaxing huge sums of money from his loyal supporters — often under dubious pretenses — raising roughly $250 million since Election Day along with the national party.

More than $60 million of that sum has gone to a new political action committee, according to people familiar with the matter, which Mr. Trump will control after he leaves office. Those funds, which far exceed what previous outgoing presidents had at their disposal, provide him with tremendous flexibility for his post-presidential ambitions: He could use the money to quell rebel factions within the party, reward loyalists, fund his travels and rallies, hire staff, pay legal bills and even lay the groundwork for a far-from-certain 2024 run.

[...]

During the campaign, many of the large expenditures, like television and digital ad buys, were routed through a secretive L.L.C. called American Made Media Consultants. That allowed the Trump campaign and its joint committee with the national party to effectively shield many details of its spending, including who was being paid and how much. More than $700 million has gone through the L.L.C. since the beginning of 2019.

  NYT

That's the money-laundering grift set up by Kushner outlined in a previous post.

For Mr. Trump, the quarter-billion dollars he and the party raised over six weeks is enough to pay off all of his remaining campaign bills and to fund his fruitless legal challenges and still leave tens of millions of dollars.

[...]

Those who have spoken with Mr. Trump say he appears shrunken, and over his job; this detachment is reflected in a Twitter feed that remains stubbornly more focused on unfounded allegations of fraud than on the death toll from the raging pandemic.

[...]

Mr. Trump had been tentatively planning to go to Georgia on Saturday, according to a senior Republican official, to support the two Republicans in Senate runoff races there. But he is still angry at the state’s Republican governor and secretary of state for accepting the election result, and simply doesn’t want to make the trip.

Petulent POS.

Still, the Trump political apparatus has taken advantage of the grass-roots energy and excitement over the two runoffs to juice its own fund-raising. Email and text solicitations have pitched Trump supporters to give to a “Georgia Election Fund,” even though no funds go directly to either Republican senator on the ballot, irritating some Senate G.O.P. strategists.

And yet, they still kiss the fat ass of the orange grifter.

"Irritating". Woooo. Do they have Susan Collins furrowed brows?

Instead, the fine print shows 75 percent of the donations to the Georgia fund go to Mr. Trump’s new PAC, called Save America, with 25 percent to the Republican National Committee.

The art of the deal.

After weeks of shouting “FRAUD” to supporters in emails and asking them to back an “Election Defense Fund” (which also sent 75 percent of donations to his new PAC), the Trump operation has subtly shifted its tone and focus, returning to more sustainable pre-election themes, like hawking signed hats and opposing socialism.

[...]

Even some of his biggest post-election spending that his campaign labeled recount-related was routed through the L.L.C. that Ms. Trump served on the board of, including $2.2 million for “SMS advertising,” better known as text messaging.

That's some serious pay for sending texts.

Some campaign finance experts have speculated that Mr. Trump might try to use the excess of cash in his new PAC, formally known as a leadership PAC, to pay for his own personal future legal quagmires, as he faces investigations once he leaves office.

You can bet your life on it.

Just since mid-October, the Trump Victory Committee, a joint account operated with the R.N.C., has paid more than $710,000 to the Trump Hotel Collection, while his re-election account has continued to pay more than $37,000 per month to rent space in Trump Tower.

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[A]s a former president, Mr. Trump will be allocated a certain amount of taxpayer money for staff and office space for life after leaving the White House, and he is beginning to have discussions about which aides from the West Wing will accompany him.

[...]

He has already endorsed Ronna McDaniel, a close ally, to serve another term as chair of the R.N.C. He has floated primary challenges to Republicans, such as Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, who have crossed him by rejecting his baseless theories of election fraud. He has even asked aides how he can retain control of the party if he isn’t a candidate.

[...]

Announcing for president would trigger tighter rules on Mr. Trump’s political spending and added financial disclosures, including of Mr. Trump’s personal finances, that simply operating a PAC would not.

So he'll just tease the idea. He won't announce.

“There’s no bully pulpit as large as the presidency, but nevertheless, President Trump is likely to play a significant role in the future of the Republican Party,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster. “It’s very difficult to imagine him following the same pattern as George W. Bush, Barack Obama and other presidents have followed in keeping their mouths shut and letting the new president try to govern.”

You can bet your life on that, too. He won't.

No wonder he's talking about handing out family pardons like Christmas presents.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.