Donald Trump has surprised his own advisers with audacious requests for cash from wealthy Republican donors as he seeks to pay his exorbitant legal costs.
The former president recently met with some top GOP donors at a luxury Pierre Hotel in New York, telling the group that a businessman had offered a $1 million campaign contribution and asked to have lunch, but sources at the meeting were surprised by his response, reported the Washington Post.
“I’m not having lunch,” Trump said he told the man. “You’ve got to make it $25 million.”
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Trump said he told another businessman that he would not be "very happy" unless if have $25 million or $50 million, instead of his usual $2 million to $3 million contributions to Republicans, he then told the group that their donations would help ensure that his 2017 tax cuts remained in place.
“So whatever you guys can do, I appreciate it,” he said.
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Trump has been promising donors tax cuts or other policies that would benefit them and then seconds later asking for more money than his campaign or the Republican Party can legally accept, such as his request for $1 billion from oil industry executives in exchange for enacting the policies they wanted.
The law technically allows Trump to ask for only contributions of $3,300 or less for his campaign, but he can appear at events for his super PAC where admission is much higher as long as he doesn't directly ask for the money, but campaign finance lawyers say the Federal Election Commission, which has three Republicans and three Democrats, would not likely investigate his fundraising during an election year.
Four sources close to Trump say he's keeping a close eye on who gives to his campaign and has told allies how much he expects them to raise, he has repeatedly pressured some of them, including oil magnate Harold Hamm, to raise more, saying they're "behind" and that he "needs the money."
During one meeting that stretched for hours, Trump promised to cut taxes for corporations and enact policies to benefit oil companies, and he warned that he was being outraised by Democrats.
"Be generous, please," Trump told the crowd. “So give me some of your money. True, I’m begging for your money.”