Here's what Trump can and can't do with the $200 million he raised on election fraud claims
"I can think of no other president who has set up a leadership PAC immediately after losing an election and begun fundraising for it furiously. This is entirely, entirely unique," Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance specialist at the Campaign Legal Center, told The Guardian in reference to President Trump, who has reeled in around $200 million after asking donors to back his fight to overturn the presidential election.
Trump won't win that fight, especially after the Supreme Court got involved and the Electoral College sealed President-elect Joe Biden's victory, but the money is "basically going to be the vehicle for Trump's post-White House political operation," Fischer predicts.
There are certain things he legally cannot do with the funds — for starters, the money can't be used to resolve any legal or financial problems he may face after leaving office, and it also can't support a potential 2024 presidential run. It can, however, lay the groundwork for that campaign, Fischer said. But the money would likely be most useful if it went to another candidate who would perhaps act as a successor of sorts. "It can potentially pay for rallies in support of another candidate," Fischer said. "It can be used to pay for ads that are run ostensibly independently of the candidate that he's supporting."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Of course, that would mean Trump has to be interested in more than his own personal success. "Is he savvy enough as a political operator to use that money to essentially build a broad coalition in which he is the center and the doler-out of the money that could strengthen his political position?," asked Jennifer Victor, an associate professor of political science at George Mason University. "It's hard to say because his political movement so far has been so centered around himself." Read more at The Guardian.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
6 lovely barn homesFeature Featuring a New Jersey homestead on 63 acres and California property with a silo watchtower
-
Film reviews: ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Is This Thing On?’Feature A born grifter chases his table tennis dreams and a dad turns to stand-up to fight off heartbreak
-
Political cartoons for December 14Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a new White House flag, Venezuela negotiations, and more
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
UN Security Council backs Trump’s Gaza peace planSpeed Read The United Nations voted 13-0 to endorse President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to withdraw Israeli troops from Gaza
-
Chile picks leftist, far-right candidates for runoff voteSpeed Read The presidential runoff election will be between Jeannette Jara, a progressive from President Gabriel Boric’s governing coalition, and far-right former congressman José Antonio Kast
-
Venezuela mobilizes as top US warship nearsSpeed Read The largest and most advanced US aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, has entered the Caribbean and put Venezuela on high alert
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
