“Never did see a quote from Trump claiming he donated to pols so he could extract favors if they were elected.”
Of course that’s why he did it. That’s an indictment of present pols more than Trump. There is no other reason to donate to politicians than that.
That’s not an answer to what I asked. Donating to a Party or a Candidate in the hopes they will through their policies help your business thrive is not the same as donating to a pol and hen asking him for a specific quid pro quo.