Donald Trump will be 78 years old on election day in 2024, quite obviously meaning he’d be 82 at the end of the term. Every American outside the MAGA movement knows that if one is going to run at 78 years old, he or she best look like Joe Biden, svelt, energetic, and passionate. Given that Trump seems grumpier and heavier than ever, and that he’s about to incur a lot of baggage from his last term in the form of criminal allegations, there is and never was any guarantee that Trump will run in 2024. This certainly isn’t genius insight, every GOP hopeful knows it and has been busy raising money… quietly, in anticipation.
This morning, Politico reports that possible Republican hopefuls are taking advantage of a loophole in the law that allows them to collect as much money as possible from whomever they like without reporting who donated the money, so long as they haven’t declared their candidacy and use a simple non-profit organization. It all happens in the dark, which is more important than ever when the possible candidate and donors need to avoid Trump’s rage to remain viable.
According to Politico:
At least a dozen potential candidates for president in 2024 have active nonprofit groups aligned with them, according to a review of corporate filings, campaign disclosures and financial records obtained by POLITICO. Some of them, like the nonprofits affiliated with Pompeo or Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), have never been publicly revealed before. Others, like those supporting President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, have been operating in the open for years.
It will be interesting to hear Trump’s reaction (It will surely leak, especially if he is furious).
Trump may or may not run in 2024. He may or may not have made up his mind already. He may be leaving it open, waiting to see how things play out. The one thing that is certain is that Trump wants to appear as though his candidacy is a lock and that absolutely no one dares stand in the way. It makes it infinitely easier to raise money and, as everyone knows – with Trump, it’s always about the money.
The non-profit groups offer potential 2024 candidates a means to raise money with more secrecy than a PAC (Non-profits are tougher to track down than a big PAC that must be registered with the FEC), and total secrecy regarding donors. Pompeo and Scott are not the only ones listed in the report, Nikki Haley sold her soul long ago for this very opportunity and has a fund, Mike Pence, Tom Cotton, Larry Hogan (certainly no MAGA) and Marco Rubio all are using the non-profit route.
Democrats are, smartly, using the same mechanism. Joe Biden has his own fund, and, interesting enough, so does Pete Buttigieg, which some might find odd for a Treasury Secretary. But that subject is best left alone in an article about possible Trump challengers positioning themselves in a way he cannot track.
The most interesting paragraph in the entire article involves that same soulless Nikki Haley, who some must believe might have a future. She seems to have the most money:
Haley’s group raised $9.3 million in 2020, according to its most recent federal tax filing, which was obtained by POLITICO. The largest donor gave $750,000, and another six donors gave at least $100,000 apiece. But most of the nonprofit’s money came in smaller increments, and it spent big on mail and digital fundraising activities, building up a money-raising program for Haley, who last ran for office in 2014.
Interestingly, Ron DeSantis isn’t mentioned and thus, at the very least, likely isn’t utilizing a non-profit. DeSantis, the presumed heir apparent and someone that is occasionally thought to be strong enough to take Trump on himself, might have the toughest time going up against a woman who doesn’t have the baggage that DeSantis will bring to the race.
The finding is like a small crack in the wall as to what’s going on behind the scenes in the GOP. The wall is there to keep the public from learning who is giving to who and how much. And, in this case, “the public,” might be limited to just another Florida retiree.
Jason Miciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, while also studying scientific philosophy, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.
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