Grifting along with no end in sight.Former president Donald Trump’s political group sent at least 15 emails in recent weeks offering small-dollar donors the chance to win a coveted prize if they gave money: dinner with Trump in New Orleans last Saturday.
“We booked you a plane ticket,” one of the pitches said, complete with a photo of Trump superimposed in the French Quarter, beneath the dangling trademark ferns. “Contribute ANY AMOUNT RIGHT NOW to be automatically entered to have dinner with President Trump in New Orleans.”
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“We’ll cover your flight. We’ll cover your very nice hotel. We’ll cover your dinner,” the email promised, along with a picture with Trump. “All you have to do is enter.”
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But no such winner was flown to New Orleans last weekend, according to four people familiar with the matter. No flight or “very nice” hotel was booked. Trump had no individual meeting with a small-dollar donor, instead only privately greeting a handful of Republican Party donors who gave large checks, taking pictures with some of the party’s most well-heeled members and speaking to a larger group of donors who each gave tens of thousands of dollars.
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“President Trump has awarded more than 100 prizes to contest winners across America, but due to an administrative error in this individual circumstance, the contest winner was not properly notified for last weekend’s event in New Orleans. Consistent with the rules of the sweepstakes, a substitute prize will be awarded to the winner,” Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said Friday, when asked why no winner was chosen.
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[T]he fine print of the contest rules say the organization can substitute a prize of “greater or equal value.”
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One former Republican Party official said the contests are often time-consuming, because winners have to be vetted and logistics can be challenging. But there were RNC winners for every contest, this person said, even if officials have to go through multiple participants to find one who could make it and pass the vetting. Several other officials said the contests were worth the trouble because of the amount of donor information they collect and the money they raise.
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Trump’s fundraising for the PAC has annoyed some Republicans, who say he is cannibalizing small-dollar fundraising but not using the money to benefit the party or other candidates. According to the PAC’s most recent filings in January, it started the year with $122 million and had distributed roughly $350,000 among 69 candidates and committees.
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The former president’s PAC has more cash on hand than any Republican committee or candidate, and Trump has stockpiled an overwhelming majority of the money. He cannot use it for a presidential bid, but there are few limits on how he can spend it.
WaPo
Always read the fine print. Especially if it's coming from Trump world
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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