By Dan Calabrese ——Bio and Archives--June 23, 2016
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And it shows in his latest campaign finance report, filed Monday: Trump-linked businesses account for 17% of all campaign expenses to date. He's paid almost $11 million to Trump organizations since launching his campaign a year ago. The setup shows how unusual Trump's campaign is -- presidential candidates generally don't own buildings or resorts in multiple states or companies that could be used as contractors. He's paid $420,000 to Mar-a-Lago, the private Florida club where Trump has led many an Election Night celebration, and $4.6 million to TAG Air, so he can use his private jets. Even about $5,000 to Eric Trump Winery Manufacturing LLC, the Virginia producer owned by his son. That spending has created fodder for Hillary Clinton. What Trump is doing is legal: He is required to pay fair market value for the goods and services enjoyed by his campaign -- otherwise, they would have to be considered in-kind contributions. For those items, Trump would be, essentially, donating them to himself. Yet every time Trump uses one of his planes to drop in on hangars in swing states, his official campaign will be funneling dollars back to a Trump-backed entity.
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