Trump’s campaign paid his businesses millions over course of campaign
The final bill is in: Donald Trump’s campaign paid his companies $12.8 million from the time he launched his improbable presidential bid in the lobby of his company’s flagship Trump Tower property through the end of last year, according to a POLITICO analysis of Federal Election Commission data.
In fact, according to FEC reports, the latest of which was filed Tuesday night, $2 million of the overall tab went to Trump Tower Commercial, LLC, for rent and utilities for the campaign’s headquarters, as well as for payroll, presumably for building staff who worked for the campaign.
And the campaign checks are likely to continue flowing to Trump Tower, since Trump plans to maintain his campaign office during his presidency, as POLITICO reported last month.
The Trump-owned company that was paid the most by Trump’s campaign — by far — was TAG Air, which operated the private Trump-branded plane that the New York billionaire used for most of his campaign air travel.
The FEC reports show that Trump’s campaign paid his businesses for everything from office suites and hotel stays to payroll, security and office supplies, revealing an integrated business and political operation that was without precedent in modern American presidential politics.
Campaigns are legally required to charge fair-market rates for goods or services received from businesses — even ones owned by the candidates at the head of the campaigns. And the degree to which Trump or his corporations may have benefited from his campaign is unclear. That’s partly because the financial and legal structures of his businesses — and their relationships with his campaign — remain opaque, and partly because the payments from Trump’s campaign to his businesses are dwarfed by the $66 million of his own cash that Trump invested in his campaign.
Before Trump, super-rich candidates had mostly shied away from relying heavily on their own companies for campaign services, either because their businesses were structured in a manner that wouldn’t allow them to do so, or because they were leery of pocket-padding charges that inevitably arise from using their campaigns to pay their businesses or families. Additionally, rich candidates have mostly sought to avoid calling attention to their wealth.
Trump, on the other hand, proudly touted both his wealth and his businesses. He boasted that his self-funding made him independent from deep-pocketed donors and special interests, and he incorporated his businesses into his campaign — not only as service providers but also as props to demonstrate his business acumen. At times he appeared to be using the campaign itself as a marketing platform to promote everything from the difficult-to-find Trump Steaks to his golf courses and the hotel he opened last year on Pennsylvania Avenue just a few blocks from the White House, where he held a memorable press conference.
The campaign reported paying the hotel about $37,000 for facility rental, catering and lodging, according to FEC data, which shows total payments to Trump hotels of more than $400,000.
Trump’s Palm Beach club Mar-A-Lago, which he designated as his “Winter White House,” was paid $435,000 by the campaign for facility rental, catering and lodging, while his golf courses were paid $398,000 for the same services.
Eric Trump’s Charlottesville, Virginia, vineyard was paid $32,000 for facilities rental and catering, while a linked company — Trump Virginia Acquisitions — was paid $2,300 for lodging. (Eric Trump, his wife Lara Trump and his brother Donald Trump, Jr., also were reimbursed $56,000 by the campaign for travel and meal expenses).
Payments for meals and catering went to Trump Restaurants, LLC ($78,000), Trump Grill ($608) and Trump Café ($95), while Trump Restaurants, LLC also was paid $141,000 for rent and utilities.
Even a company called Trump Ice got in on the action, charging the campaign $3,400 for beverages for meetings, and office supplies.