Trump's Political Donations Plummet... Super PAC Raises Only 50,000 Won in August

Former U.S. President Donald Trump [Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Political donations for former U.S. President Donald Trump, who remains embroiled in continuous political controversies, have significantly decreased.

According to major foreign media on the 21st (local time), the super PAC supporting Trump, "Make America Great Again, Again! (MAGAA)," raised only $40 (approximately 56,348 KRW) in August.

MAGAA's fundraising amounts in the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year were around $4 to $5 million. However, the amount dropped sharply to $864,000 in the second quarter of this year. In April and May, the fundraising was $860,000, but in June, they did not raise a single cent.

In July, they managed to raise $351,000, but the amount plunged again in August.

Foreign media analyzed that the decline in donations is due to Trump's ongoing legal lawsuits.

On the same day, Letitia James, New York State Attorney General and Prosecutor, announced that she had filed a lawsuit against former President Trump and his three children on charges of financial fraud. Trump is also under investigation for unauthorized removal of classified documents, attempting to overturn the Georgia election results, and involvement in the January congressional riot last year.

Trump's "Save America" PAC (Political Action Committee) reportedly spent a huge amount last month due to legal lawsuits. A PAC is an organization that supports specific politicians or parties, and unlike general PACs, which have annual donation limits of $5,000 per politician and $15,000 per party, super PACs can support politicians without limits.

According to the U.S. Federal Election Commission, the Save America PAC spent $6.3 million in August, of which $3.8 million was legal fees. This PAC paid $3 million in fees to a law firm in West Palm Beach, Florida, due to the FBI's search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and related legal battles. The Save America PAC's August expenditure was the highest monthly spending by a single PAC during this election period. Foreign media explained that this surge in spending caused the decrease in MAGAA's fundraising.

Foreign media noted that although MAGAA super PAC's fundraising sharply declined, Trump remains one of the Republican politicians who have raised a significant amount of donations. However, the amount that Trump's MAGAA super PAC has supported pro-Trump candidates running in the midterm elections is relatively small. Most Republican candidates are relying on funds from the party's central committee.

Over the past two months, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) raised $11.7 million, showing a comparable performance to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which raised $13.6 million. However, in terms of expenditures over the past two months, the Democrats spent about twice as much as the Republicans. The DCCC spent $23.6 million, while the NRCC spent $12.5 million. In the Senate, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) also raised and spent more funds than the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.