Former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Resort is located in Palm Beach, Florida.
Joe Raedle
The Republican National Committee paid former President Donald Trump’s private club just over $ 175,000 to host part of its spring fundraiser meeting.
Federal Electoral Commission filings show that the six-figure sum was paid to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago in May, one month after the April fundraiser event at the Palm Beach, Florida private club. A Republican National Committee spokeswoman confirmed that more than $ 175,000 was earmarked for the meeting. The new RNC registration describes the payment to Mar-a-Lago as fees for “rental and catering of venues”.
Part of this month’s RNC-sponsored event took place in Mar-a-Lago, where the former president targeted Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. NBC News reported at the time that Trump called McConnell a “stupid son of a B —-” and a “freezing loser”. The other part of the retreat took place at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach.
The FEC filing shows that the Four Seasons was paid just under $ 530,000 in May. The committee spokeswoman confirmed that the payment was for the other part of the donor retreat.
Walter Shaub, the director of the Office of Government Ethics under former President Barack Obama and briefly under Trump, told CNBC the payment represented Republican leadership working to enrich the former president.
“I think it is the same phenomenon as when he did this during his reign when he railed. The fact that they are still willing to pay him shows their commitment to meet his demands for enrichment,” said Shaub. “That sends a message that they will not ask that he clean up his act. On the contrary, it means that they are fully involved in his monetization of his political activities.”
Representatives from Trump and his company have not responded to requests for comment.
The RNC’s payment on one of Trump’s properties is the final payment made by Republican officials to a venue owned by the former president. Since losing the 2020 presidential election, Trump has had visits from dozens of Republican leaders, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., And Senator Rick Scott, R-Fla., Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Forbes reported that the gubernatorial campaign paid former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders Mar-a-Lago over $ 10,000 for an event where Trump performed himself. FEC filings show Alabama Senate candidate Lynda Blanchard paid Mar-a-Lago over $ 13,000 for an event at the club in March. Blanchard hosted a fundraiser at the club that month, which featured Trump.
CNBC reported last year that Trump properties received more than $ 17 million from the former president and the RNC’s campaign after the 2016 election. Data from the bipartisan Center for Responsive Politics shows that more than $ 25 million went into Trump properties from 2008 through the 2020 elections. CRP data also shows that during the 2020 election cycle, the RNC paid Trump Immobilien over $ 1 million to host political events.
Mar-a-Lago has spent more than $ 1 million from Republican-led groups on it since 2016.
