Donald Trump almost quintupled the rent of his campaign headquarters in Trump Tower as soon as he was no longer self-funding his campaign, The Huffington Post reports. Federal Election Commission filings indicate that in March, the Trump campaign paid a rent of $35,458, but by July, when Trump was raising money from donors, he had jacked the rent up to $169,758.
Trump actually had fewer staff working for him from March to July, dropping from 197 paid employees to 172. "If I was a donor, I'd want answers. If they don't have any more staff, and they're paying five times more? That's the kind of stuff I'd read and try to make an [attack] ad out of it," a Trump-supporting Republican National Committee member told The Huffington Post under the condition of anonymity.
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It's unclear from the campaign filings the purpose of the golf course and restaurant payments, although both of the Florida golf courses hosted Trump campaign news conferences in March. Also unclear from the filings is whether Trump is using more space in Trump Tower than he was in the spring and, if he is, why, given that his staffing is lower.The Trump campaign did not respond to The Huffington Post's queries. [The Huffington Post]
"Nobody cares when you're spending your own money, but when you’re spending the donor's $27, that could cause problems," the RNC member said.
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