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Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has claimed it has raised $6.6 million in the days after his second indictment and reportedly raised another $15 million in the two weeks that followed. It’s a surprising achievement by any standards and reminiscent of the $4 million he raised in the 24 hours after his first indictment. According to some, Trump has used his indictments as fundraising opportunities.
Straight Arrow News contributor David Pakman explains why he thinks Trump’s MAGA supporters are so willing to donate to his campaign after learning Trump is in even more legal hot water.
For years now, I’ve been explaining to my audience that Trump cares about his supporters only insofar as they are useful to him. The reality is that a large share of Trump voters are the very people that Trump, as a rich guy from Manhattan and Queens, spent his life trying to be isolated from. These aren’t people Trump actually likes or values or wants to be around. He values them for their ability to vote, or for their ability to donate. And when those abilities have been temporarily suspended, you see that Trump’s regard for these people and respect for these people goes down dramatically. And the incident at Versailles actually gives us both, in one venue.
Usually it’s they voted for Trump at the ballot box and then Trump just comes back and grifts them for money even though they already voted for the guy.
This all happened at Versailles. At the restaurant Versailles, they did the cult stuff that made Trump smile and feel good. They sang him “Happy Birthday.” They prayed over him, putting hands on him, etc. And then at that very place, Trump promises food for everyone to get the cheer and to get the adulation and the devotion. And then before you know it, the guy’s gone.
And it is representative of and emblematic of how Trump — and quite frankly, of how many Republicans — and some Democrats, I’m not here to defend Democrats either; I’m not a Democrat at the end of the day … this is actually all too common in American politics.
So do I feel bad that nobody got their free food? No, it’s not about that. It’s about understanding that at every level this has always been a grift for Trump. And he doesn’t actually care about doing things for people that are good for them because it’s good on its merits. It’s all about if “I do something for you that’s good, then what do I get in exchange for it politically?”
That’s the transactional nature which infects a lot of politics. With Trump it’s even more overtly a disgusting grift.
