Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Trump's Banana Stand


Skeevy real estate moguls with deep financial and legal troubles need a backup plan.

Trump's campaign appears to be his backup plan.

Donald Trump spent more than $1 million in May reimbursing his companies and family

By Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy June 21 at 12:43 AM

...
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, raised just $5.4 million in May, including $2.2 million that he loaned his campaign. Almost as startling was how little Trump had in the bank when June began: less than $1.3 million.

Where did it go? The real estate mogul does not have much of a ground operation yet or a significant paid media effort. But he managed to shell out $6.7 million last month, including more than $1 million in payments to Trump companies or to reimburse his family for travel expenses. Here are some of the campaign's biggest expenditures.
...

Air charters: $838,774

Nearly $350,000 of the money spent on private jets went to Trump's own TAG Air.

Event staging and rentals: $830,482

This includes the fees for renting facilities such as the Anaheim Convention Center ($43,000) and the Fresno Convention Center ($24,715). But the biggest sum went to Trump's own Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., which was paid $423,317 for rental and catering. The Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Fla., got $35,845, while the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fl., was paid $29,715. His son Eric Trump's wine company received nearly $4,000.
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Of course, the real pioneering work of in the field of campaign infrastructure three-card-Monte was done five years ago by America's own Teacher of the Rules of Civilization -- Newton Leroy Gingrich -- 


-- who sweet-talked crackpot wingnut billionaire Sheldon Adelson to underwrite Callista's book-and-merch tour dates by tarting them up as campaign stops:
Gingrich’s book-selling efforts test campaign laws

By Amy Gardner December 8, 2011
You would never know on the campaign trail that Newt Gingrich is no longer at the helm of his for-profit enterprise. There, his presidential candidate activities and book-selling business mingle as one.

In a hotel ballroom in Naples, Fla., last month, Gingrich regaled political supporters with a rousing stump speech — then sidled over to a table in the corner to sell books. In Charleston, S.C., a few days later, hundreds of fans crammed into a historic theater to listen to his pitch to be the next president — then lined up in the lobby to buy books.

The story is the same virtually everywhere Gingrich goes: a political speech here, a book-signing there — often in the same place. And Gingrich isn’t just selling one book. He has produced non­fiction, novels and documentary movies, and his wife, Callista, recently wrote a children’s book that she sells just about everywhere they go.

Their activities raise two appearances, both unsavory: that Gingrich is using his presidential bid to make money, and that he is using his business to juice his campaign. And although there is agreement that Gingrich is following the law, there remains a perception, in part because of how much money his businesses have earned him over the years, that what he’s doing isn’t quite right.
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The Party of Lincoln, ladies and gentlemen.


8 comments:

Dave McCarthy said...

heh heh heh...
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/trumps-campaign-cycles-6-million-trump-companies-080734925--finance.html

bowtiejack said...

I bow before your photoshop awesomeness. Just WOW!

Jimbo said...

The GOP has always been about grifting and other corrupt activities. The only part of government they like is the part where they get to fleece the taxpayers (local, state, federal). Trump's campaign may end up simply being the largest Presidential grifting operation in history but his behavior is pretty standard operating procedure for the Rethugs.

trgahan said...

And, once again, liberals, the curators of Actual United States History Since 1968 archives, will be the only ones documenting that while 2008 saw the election of the first African American President, a more significant watershed moment was when someone could run for Republican Presidential Nomination as a real time profit making activity even if the candidacy never polled over 10 percent support.

Probably could be seen as the moment the conservative Media Infotainment complex grew to such an extent, and was NEEDED to such an extent, that it became self perpetuating and outside electoral political reality.

Republicans are going to have a very hard time cultivating a serious candidate for the oval office in such conditions. Could you imagine Reagan standing on that debate stage back in March? But, as we've seen, they will just whine about Trump and THOSE OTHER Republicans and wait until the Democratic Presidential candidate bench gets thins out again.

Robt said...

The SOSP
The snake oil salesman party.

Without Scalia, how does a Newter open and operate a (profiteering) Non profit and obtain the corporate shield?
Why does a free Market have to have a government that goes to the highest bidder?

dinthebeast said...

Ellis the Elephant! I miss you, Princess Sparkle Pony.

-Doug in Oakland

DonP said...

Ok, seriously, 93 bucks for that taco bowl salad? I know everything's pricier in NYC, but did Bobby Flay make it?

jim said...

"It's bottoms of barrels all the way down, Madam."