# Can Donald Trump buy endorsements?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-donald-trump-buy-endorsements/744902>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [February 2, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-donald-trump-buy-endorsements/744902 "2016-02-02T01:49:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-donald-trump-buy-endorsements/744902/1 "2016-02-02T01:49:52Z")

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Rep. Steve King , an Iowa Republican and Ted Cruz supporter, says [Donald Trump bought his endorsements.](http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/31/rep-steve-king-says-he-knows-things-about-trump-endorsements/)

> [@](#):
>
> “He has, from a regular person’s perspective, unlimited resources and he’s willing to use whatever access he has in order to get the endorsements that he wants,” King explained.
> 
> “Among those are the assets that we would naturally think of, including the attraction that might be for, oh who knows, a reality TV show, a job in the Trump machine,” he said.

Whether it is true or not raises the question; would it be legal for Trump to pay cash for an endorsement, say, from Sarah Palin or Sheriff Joe Arpaio? Since he is self-funded, I think the laws governing campaign financing and spending largely do not apply. He can spend his own money as he sees fit.

So can he buy endorsements, for cash or patronage?

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**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-donald-trump-buy-endorsements/744902/2 "2016-02-02T01:53:29Z")

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AFAIK endorsements can be bought; votes cannot.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-donald-trump-buy-endorsements/744902/3 "2016-02-02T01:57:17Z")

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Sure, why not? I’d rather see politicians buying the endorsers instead of the other way round it’s usually done. Also, Steve King is not a credible source, and his statement is pure fiction.

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-donald-trump-buy-endorsements/744902/4 "2016-02-02T02:32:10Z")

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What legally is an endorsement? It has no tangible value, even in the sense that a politician’s vote does. It can’t be illegal to pay for an opinion. I’d say a court would find he has a First Amendment right to do so.

I don’t believe anybody does pay money for endorsements, but that’s because they don’t have enough value to be worth money, not because it’s illegal to do so.

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**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-donald-trump-buy-endorsements/744902/5 "2016-02-02T04:37:29Z")

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It might be problematic for an elected official, but for a private citizen? Can’t see it.