Posted on 01/15/2025 9:03:58 AM PST by Red Badger
President-elect Trump is being inundated with so much money from corporations and wealthy donors that his team expects to raise about $500 million by summer — even though he can't run again, sources in his operation tell Axios.
Why it matters: By stockpiling so much cash, Trump is signaling he doesn't want to be seen as a lame duck in his second term, and is ready to help political allies, punish opponents and help Republicans keep full control of Congress in 2026.
"The money is just pouring in at Mar-a-Lago. Trump doesn't have to lift a finger. Everyone's coming to him," said a Trump adviser who was among five insiders to speak with Axios anonymously to describe the inner workings of Trump's operation.
"We're looking at half a billion [dollars] by June, and we're on track," this adviser said. "It's sort of a target but it's just a realistic projection of what's happening."
Zoom in: Trump's donors are giving to a variety of accounts.
They include the president-elect's inauguration account, the MAGA Inc. super PAC, a political nonprofit called Securing American Greatness, the Republican National Committee and Trump's presidential library fund.
The donors run the gamut: from health care to agriculture, insurance, financial institutions, tech and cryptocurrency investors.
"The crypto guys are just blowing it out," the Trump adviser said. "It used to be $1 million was a big number. Now we're looking at some folks giving like $10 [million] or $20 million."
"If the tech guys are giving big, it makes everyone give," another Trump adviser added.
Catch up quick: The bumper crop of donors is a marked difference from this time four years ago, after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol by Trump supporters.
Many major GOP donors and corporate interests vowed to either pause or stop donations to Trump or congressional Republicans because of the plot to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Some of the donors resumed contributions later, but Trump has kept a grievance list of those who haven't, and he's reminding them he won in 2024 without their help.
Insiders say Trump's even pulling out corporate balance sheets and referring to the companies' bottom lines as their executives — some carrying donations — come to meet him.
"You guys made this amount of money last year and you're gonna make so much more now because of me," Trump told the representatives of one company, according to a confidant who heard the story from the president-elect.
"But when I needed you, where the XXXX were you? You weren't with me and maybe you were with her," referring to Vice President Harris, whom Trump defeated in November. One company's consultant told Axios that he saw Trump in a meeting with a client and soon-to-be-donor "raking them over the coals" and asking them, "Where were you the last four years?"
Between the lines: Trump is transactional but not for sale, these sources say. In these meetings, they say, Trump has made it clear that this is a one-way street: They donate money to support his agenda, but he's not taking their money to support their agenda.
"A lot of these guys are going down [to Mar-a-Lago] taking victory laps because he's taking their money and they're in for a rude awakening," the company consultant said. "Sure, he'll throw an inaugural party with their money but he owes them nothing."
"He'll take your money and then tell you, 'I don't give a XXXX what you want.' He did that during the campaign," said another Trump adviser. "He's going to do what he wants, what the base wants."
Even so, donors seem to be giving on the assumption that there's something in it for them.
The reasons appear to vary: ideological alignment with Trump; getting favorable legislation in the upcoming "reconciliation" bill that Trump and the GOP-led Congress are putting together, or avoiding public criticism from Trump that can drive down a company's value.
The new Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been cited by some as a new factor. It's now a verb in the political lexicon, meaning something that's on the chopping block.
"We don't want to get DOGE'd," one lobbyist told Axios.
There also are competitors to consider: Some industries and companies are fighting each other, so they feel pressure to contribute if their rivals have.
"The pharma guys came down and met with Trump and blamed a lot of problems on drug prices on the PBM guys," one Trump adviser said, referring to pharmacy benefit managers.
"So now, the PBM guys are coming in to meet with Trump."
Kamala, pick up the “I got my sorry azz kicked and I’m jealous and mad as hell Courtesy Phone”.
How can I believe any of this unsourced BS.
Rings true, but...
Lol
And thank God we are unburdened by what might have been.
I bet a lot of Americans happy to celebrate the restoration of our republic have donated.
As for the Deep Staters who’ve donated...
They’ll find out the hard way that, if what they want isn’t MAGA, they won’t get it.
Pres. Trump is NOT for sale.
BTW, for folks who haven’t caught on yet...
Deep State is ginning up yet another game of lets-you-and-him-fight.
Refuse to play.
Use it for the Vance war chest
Trump has his own money
he can’t be bought
said it all along
any money coming in will go to implementing his strategy to make america great again
seems the pay to play guys are falling in line betting on the come, it’s all they got
you get nothing and you’ll like it
“i’ll consider not destroying you”
what a boss Trump is
Between the lines: Trump is transactional but not for sale, these sources say. In these meetings, they say, Trump has made it clear that this is a one-way street: They donate money to support his agenda, but he’s not taking their money to support their agenda.
Anyone have a problem with that?
Seems to me I recall a former Dem House Speaker (1970’s era) saying something like, “If you can’t take a fella’s money, drink his liquor and eat his fancy dinner, then vote against him, you don’t belong up here.”..........
Between the lines: Trump is transactional but not for sale, these sources say. In these meetings, they say, Trump has made it clear that this is a one-way street: They donate money to support his agenda, but he’s not taking their money to support their agenda.
Makes me think of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3lsJmwNO40
“None of you seem to understand. I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with me!”
Jesse Unruh, Speaker of California State Assembly.
“If you can’t eat their food, drink their booze, screw their women and then vote against them you’ve got no business being up here.”
Plagiarized by others.
Not to take away from what Trump has accomplished - and not to claim I could have accomplished it -
But his adversaries have made this so easy - they’ve done everything possible thing wrong - made every possible political mistake. Their policies and agendas are wildly unpopular - wildly counter intuitive - wildly offensive - wildly ineffective.
It seems like all President Trump needs to do is speak the truth, use common sense and do pretty much the opposite of everything his adversaries do.. and everything falls in his lap.
Again, I’m not saying anyone could do it - far from it - it helps that he’s rich, has brass balls and has built a unique brand - but he sure makes it look easy.
I mean.. it’s like he’s up against people who are either retarded or they are trying to lose
Enforce the border - no brainer
Tariff the hell out of China - no brainer
End the woke nonsense and return to meritocracy - no brainer
Make America Great Again - no brainer
America First foreign policy - no brainer
End forever wars - no brainer
Point out that the fake news is fake news - no brainer
Root out deep state corruption - no brainer
Drill baby drill - no brainer
Make America Healthy Again (RFK Jr) - no brainer
Get the smartest man in the world to audit the government - no brainer
Put MAGA patriots in charge of defense and national security - no brainer
Don’t piss off dictators who have nukes - no brainer
Don’t demonize and defund law enforcement - no brainer
I could go on for hours.
The no brainers are like low hanging fruit.
He just has to walk out each morning and pluck another no brainer off the no brainer tree..
Everyone day the Democrats and RINOs are thinking… shit - why didn’t we think of that?
I seem to remember "screw their women" was also in that quote and it was by California's Jesse Unruh, I think.
And Kamala wound up in the red. Had she not paid celebs to endorse her, she likely would have had a minor surplus.
Well, I didn’t want to get banned...............🙄
That must have been when I was stationed in California in the early 70’s..........
Any remaining funds after the inauguration should go to hurricane victims in Florida and the Carolinas and other affected areas. Not to CA fire victims, though; they voted in their set of troubles.
Under-rated movie that was actually quite faithful to the source material.
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