# Trump is raising funds? I thought he was going to self-fund **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 11, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575 "2016-05-11T21:20:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 15, 2016, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/21 "2016-05-15T04:47:01Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > So now he _is_ going to take million-dollar-plus donations. > > But he’s giving us his word that he won’t be corrupted by them, unlike the establishment politicians he’s railed against. > > Are people really that gullible? I guess we’ll find out in November. Yes, we can’t trust anyone who takes huge donations like that. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/22 "2016-05-15T05:12:12Z")
From the very start, Trump has effectively been getting huge donations from the national media, who essentially have been giving him free ads by broadcasting every lie he says. If anyone can be credited with Trump’s success so far, it’s been the media. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/23 "2016-05-15T05:38:41Z")
Yep. He didn’t raise dick during the primaries and he’s not going to raise dick in the general election either. Probably the only useful thing he’s accomplished is to demonstrate that the media is more important as kingmaker than rich donors. Rich donors spent hundreds of millions trying to compete with the media and get their guys nominated. Money wasted. The media won. The media will also decide whether Trump or Clinton become President, however unintentionally. If they continue to focus on Trump and turn Clinton into a sideshow, he’ll win the election too. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2016, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/24 "2016-05-15T06:12:19Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > From the very start, Trump has effectively been getting huge donations from the national media, who essentially have been giving him free ads by broadcasting every lie he says. If anyone can be credited with Trump’s success so far, it’s been the media. Oh yes definitely. The press hasn’t covered any of the other candidates. They all volunteered to be interviewed with no prior restrictions but the media told them no and only talked to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/25 "2016-05-15T22:17:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Dream on. Unlimited contributions can legally be given to foundations to be distributed to other foundations to launder the money to remove donor origins, and then given without limit to campaigns. Adelson (his primary donor at this point) is part of the cabal that includes the Kochs, Scaiff and others whose stated main goal is to do away with all government business regulations, along with all watchdog agencies like OSHA and the EPA, and to eliminate corporate taxes. Both sides can now do this, but the agendas are vastly different. The Kochs don’t seem to be very interested in donating to Trump. While Adelson will, I’m not sure a lot of people would donate to someone who would trash the economy by trying to negotiate on interest rates. There are massive donor networks - like what the Bushes have. Trump is not going to get access to them. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/26 "2016-05-15T23:14:44Z")
**Voyager** , I thought Trump was threatening to offer to repay only 70% of the _principal_ of the national debt. That would be a much bigger kneecapping to America’s financial well-being than renegotiating the interest rate (which is historically pretty low now). FWIW, your comment about the Kochs reminds me of the similarity of this thread’s title to a fake news bit from around twenty years ago on Comedy Central’s ‘Global Village News’ (Slogan: “If we don’t cover it, it doesn’t matter”): \*"Real estate developer Donald Trump announced plans today to merge with himself… “Trump decided on the novel strategy as a result of the advice of many people over the years”.\* Sounds like the established Republican donor network might be telling Trump, “Go fu-- yourself”. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/27 "2016-05-16T06:41:16Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Trump’s fan club of course won’t care if he goes back on his promise to self-fund. > > But he can’t win in November with the support of just the fan club. He’ll need people who respond rationally to the ‘cleaned up’ Trump that he keeps promising to show us. 😕 The idea of a rational non-hypocrite choosing Trump strikes me as almost _non sequitur_. Yes, he’s now getting support from, among others, Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and several other ex-Governors, but these are mostly people who put the interest of the Republican Party ahead of America. Any damage a President Trump does will fit their agenda of _Help the Sheeple Hate Government._ Trump’s voter base comprises people who hate Hillary or want to send some other message of hatred, and sheeple who will follow GOP leaders. None of these people are interested in boring _facts_. We’re lucky that the Bushes and Romney are still holding out. If/when they join in the quackery (and if the sentient white millenials follow through with the threat to waste their votes) the possibility of a President Trump will loom large. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/28 "2016-05-16T08:08:24Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Trump’s voter base comprises people who hate Hillary or want to send some other message of hatred, and sheeple who will follow GOP leaders. None of these people are interested in boring _facts_. Yes, but really, the bulk of his voters are just responding to his manner of talking. Trump essentially admitted to being a troll, when he recently walked back his Muslim ban in an interview. (He pointed out that the original comment made him go up in the polls, and implied that that justified saying it.) It’s basically entertainment for them. He could be talking about butterflies and unicorns, and still gain their support, as long as he does it in the same manner and tone. For example, he repeats a series of the same propositional statement coordinately with and, intoning it as though it were additional, discrete points. To them, it sounds like he’s actually making a meaningful statement. They’re people who just want to watch a reality TV show, not a presidential election. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/29 "2016-05-16T08:39:51Z")
It will be interesting to say how he continues to send dog whistles to his base — voters with an IQ in the 80’s — while parroting rational thought to attract voters with IQs in the 90’s. He may be able to pull it off; many Dopers underestimate his intelligence. ---
**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:** [May 16, 2016, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/30 "2016-05-16T08:57:32Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Yes, but really, the bulk of his voters are just responding to his manner of talking. Trump essentially admitted to being a troll, when he recently walked back his Muslim ban in an interview. (He pointed out that the original comment made him go up in the polls, and implied that that justified saying it.) It’s basically entertainment for them. He could be talking about butterflies and unicorns, and still gain their support, as long as he does it in the same manner and tone. For example, he repeats a series of the same propositional statement coordinately with and, intoning it as though it were additional, discrete points. To them, it sounds like he’s actually making a meaningful statement. They’re people who just want to watch a reality TV show, not a presidential election. Wait! This is a fairly accurate description of what Trump does. That is no way to engage in Trump Derangement Syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/31 "2016-05-16T14:00:32Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > So now he _is_ going to take million-dollar-plus donations. No, he can’t legally take anything more than $2,700 from an individual (actually $5,400, since an individual can donate once for primaries and again for the general election). PACs are also limited to $5,000, and no corporate donations are allowed. Donors may be giving more to the GOP to support efforts to elect their candidates, including Trump, or giving to a Super PAC that is independently supporting Trump, but not directly to Trump. Just FYI. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/32 "2016-05-16T14:01:49Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > From the very start, Trump has effectively been getting huge donations from the national media, who essentially have been giving him free ads by broadcasting every lie he says. If anyone can be credited with Trump’s success so far, it’s been the media. I wonder what people who oppose Citizens United think of that. Watch out, media - you’re next. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/33 "2016-05-16T14:11:26Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > No, he can’t legally take anything more than $2,700 from an individual (actually $5,400, since an individual can donate once for primaries and again for the general election). > > PACs are also limited to $5,000, and no corporate donations are allowed. > > Donors may be giving more to the GOP to support efforts to elect their candidates, including Trump, or giving to a Super PAC that is independently supporting Trump, but not directly to Trump. > > Just FYI. This is the height of naivete and completely at odds with the realities of political donations. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/34 "2016-05-16T14:15:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > This is the height of naivete and completely at odds with the realities of political donations. No, it’s 100% correct. You are free to explain why you think it’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/35 "2016-05-16T14:36:21Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > No, it’s 100% correct. > > You are free to explain why you think it’s wrong. I didn’t say it was wrong, just naive to think that billionaires actually obey the law. The reality is that millions are funneled into campaign work via foundations and think tanks, even though the law says that foundations may not use the bulk of that money for that purpose. They get around that law merely by saying that they’re only donating 49% to political ads and candidate support, and by shoveling truckloads of money to other foundations, where it becomes even more vague as to its origins and end-use. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/36 "2016-05-16T14:38:48Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Interesting story. > > So, the donors he’s courting now can contribute up to $333,400, every year. To be fair, that’s not really a lot of money in presidential politics. But it’s more money than most of Trump’s base will see in their lives. The Clinton campaign will have a field day ridiculing his claim to be one of the Untouchables. As the story notes, Trump can only accept donations of $2,700. The $333,400 the limit for donations to national political parties. The Republican party may spend money to help Trump, but the party can’t donate more than $5,000 to Trump, so it won’t help him retire his debt much. The only donor who can give unlimited amounts to the Trump campaign is Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575/37 "2016-05-16T14:40:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I didn’t say it was wrong, just naive to think that billionaires actually obey the law. The reality is that millions are funneled into campaign work via foundations and think tanks, even though the law says that foundations may not use the bulk of that money for that purpose. They get around that law merely by saying that they’re only donating 49% to political ads and candidate support, and by shoveling truckloads of money to other foundations, where it becomes even more vague as to its origins and end-use. Those aren’t donations to the campaign though. I already said that donors can give to Super PACs that support Trump. If you want to add “foundations and think tanks” to that, fine. Doesn’t change what I said. “Campaign work” is independent of the campaign. There’s nothing illegal about campaigning for a candidate you support independent of that campaign. The laws you maintain are being abused by think tanks and foundaitons are tax-exemption laws, not campaign finance laws. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-is-raising-funds-i-thought-he-was-going-to-self-fund/754575.md?page=1)