Trump’s cash isn’t from the masses but the billionaire boys club
Donald Trump was happy to announce a massive $53 million fundraising haul just one day after he was convicted of 34 felonies. It was a shockingly high number, especially considering that Trump only raised $4 million the day after his arraignment last summer. And for that, he even sold pieces of his suit. Now that the fundraising totals for May are out, it appears that Trump has absolutely crushed President Joe Biden’s campaign, raising an astounding $141 million. That’s $60 million more than the Democratic team—and Biden had a good month. Trump has been tapping his small donor base continually since he decided to turn his time in the White House into a never-ending campaign. So how did Trump go back to that stone and squeeze out so much water? The answer is: He didn’t. Of Trump’s funding, $50 million came from a single check from wealthy banking family scion Tim Mellon. Trump is being bankrolled by a billionaire boys' club—a group of immorally wealthy men sitting on a mountain of cash, who see his candidacy as their best chance to end democracy and bring in an era of neo-feudal plutocracy. Mellon is the heir to a fortune that goes back to the Gilded Age. His family's $14 billion net worth is based on wealth that Mellon’s great-grandfather bequeathed in 1908. In a self-published book, Mellon calls Social Security and Medicare “slavery redux.” He fumes that Black people have become “more belligerent” than they were before the Civil Rights Movement, are “slaves of a new Master, Uncle Sam,” and live on a “largess” that “is funded by the hardworking folks, fewer and fewer in number, who are too honest or too proud to allow themselves to sink into this morass.” This seems perfect for someone born in the lap of extreme luxury who has never met a spoon that wasn’t silver. Now, as The New York Times reports, Mellon has become the first person in this cycle—and perhaps the first person in history—to spend $100 million in a single election. That includes $75 million to Trump and $25 million to spoiler candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. And it’s only June. The second biggest source of funding for Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC in May was $10 million from billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein. Richard Uihlein owns a company that produces bubble wrap and shipping products, but his wealth originated from his lucky position as the heir to the Schlitz family's brewing fortune. His great-grandfather also saddled his family with a pile of money. The Uihleins haven’t written their own self-published tome on the sad state of the peasants. Instead, they make their views clear to their employees through regular tirades disguised as company letters. “High unemployment, bankrupt states, expensive government programs like health care, higher taxes and a relentless global economy make the elections in November very important,” Elizabeth Uihlein wrote in one letter before the 2016 election. “Dick and I love reading newspapers and when we watch TV news, the channel is mostly set on Fox News.” Trump is being bankrolled by a coalition of billionaires who have never known hardship, but sure have a lot of complaints about the people who have faced struggles in their lives. Elon Musk—another fortunate son—has been bringing together groups of billionaires to meet with Trump, plot over how to fund his campaign, and make it clear that if anyone gives money to Biden, he will be furious. In exchange, Trump has been floating a proposal for dropping income taxes completely and replacing it with tariffs that are paid by consumers—a 100% regressive tax system that would vastly benefit the ultra-wealthy while hurting everyone else. It’s no surprise that Trump’s burst of funding in May was largely the result of a big spike in large donations, which increased by six times in the two days after Trump’s conviction as the wealthy generated a false signal of mass support for Trump. Trump isn’t being held up by people sending in $10. He’s running for those who measure their wealth in 10 figures. This is a contest for the future of democracy between the 0.01% and the rest of the U.S. And if the wealthy win, well, the statements from Mellon and Uihlein make clear what happens next Campaign Action
JoriPress
Donald Trump was happy to announce a massive $53 million fundraising haul just one day after he was convicted of 34 felonies. It was a shockingly high number, especially considering that Trump only raised $4 million the day after his arraignment last summer. And for that, he even sold pieces of his suit.
Now that the fundraising totals for May are out, it appears that Trump has absolutely crushed President Joe Biden’s campaign, raising an astounding $141 million. That’s $60 million more than the Democratic team—and Biden had a good month. Trump has been tapping his small donor base continually since he decided to turn his time in the White House into a never-ending campaign.
So how did Trump go back to that stone and squeeze out so much water? The answer is: He didn’t.
Of Trump’s funding, $50 million came from a single check from wealthy banking family scion Tim Mellon. Trump is being bankrolled by a billionaire boys' club—a group of immorally wealthy men sitting on a mountain of cash, who see his candidacy as their best chance to end democracy and bring in an era of neo-feudal plutocracy.
Mellon is the heir to a fortune that goes back to the Gilded Age. His family's $14 billion net worth is based on wealth that Mellon’s great-grandfather bequeathed in 1908.
In a self-published book, Mellon calls Social Security and Medicare “slavery redux.” He fumes that Black people have become “more belligerent” than they were before the Civil Rights Movement, are “slaves of a new Master, Uncle Sam,” and live on a “largess” that “is funded by the hardworking folks, fewer and fewer in number, who are too honest or too proud to allow themselves to sink into this morass.”
This seems perfect for someone born in the lap of extreme luxury who has never met a spoon that wasn’t silver.
Now, as The New York Times reports, Mellon has become the first person in this cycle—and perhaps the first person in history—to spend $100 million in a single election. That includes $75 million to Trump and $25 million to spoiler candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
And it’s only June.
The second biggest source of funding for Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC in May was $10 million from billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein.
Richard Uihlein owns a company that produces bubble wrap and shipping products, but his wealth originated from his lucky position as the heir to the Schlitz family's brewing fortune. His great-grandfather also saddled his family with a pile of money. The Uihleins haven’t written their own self-published tome on the sad state of the peasants. Instead, they make their views clear to their employees through regular tirades disguised as company letters.
“High unemployment, bankrupt states, expensive government programs like health care, higher taxes and a relentless global economy make the elections in November very important,” Elizabeth Uihlein wrote in one letter before the 2016 election. “Dick and I love reading newspapers and when we watch TV news, the channel is mostly set on Fox News.”
Trump is being bankrolled by a coalition of billionaires who have never known hardship, but sure have a lot of complaints about the people who have faced struggles in their lives. Elon Musk—another fortunate son—has been bringing together groups of billionaires to meet with Trump, plot over how to fund his campaign, and make it clear that if anyone gives money to Biden, he will be furious.
In exchange, Trump has been floating a proposal for dropping income taxes completely and replacing it with tariffs that are paid by consumers—a 100% regressive tax system that would vastly benefit the ultra-wealthy while hurting everyone else.
It’s no surprise that Trump’s burst of funding in May was largely the result of a big spike in large donations, which increased by six times in the two days after Trump’s conviction as the wealthy generated a false signal of mass support for Trump.
Trump isn’t being held up by people sending in $10. He’s running for those who measure their wealth in 10 figures. This is a contest for the future of democracy between the 0.01% and the rest of the U.S. And if the wealthy win, well, the statements from Mellon and Uihlein make clear what happens next Campaign Action
