picked up by liberals “PatriotTakes” account On X (formerly Twitter), several critics of the former president and his politics criticized Lara Trump’s proposal to give people a little of what they can. In part, this was due to Patriot Takes misrepresenting President Trump’s request. She wasn’t asking people to save up to donate $5, she was asking them to save the donation for later. Part of this criticism was due to the discomfort of a member of a very wealthy family asking people if they could spare $5.
However, this is a misreading of what is actually happening. This small talk about not being able to afford the donations is instead political rhetoric aimed at reinforcing the idea that Americans are suffering disproportionately under the Biden administration.
This is more clearly demonstrated in an ad featuring Donald Trump himself. In ads running on Facebook, you can see “if available” in context.
“If you can’t afford it, don’t donate!” one person says. “Joe Biden has destroyed our country, so if you can’t afford to work together, don’t even think about it!”
Another says, “Joe Biden has destroyed our country. So if you can’t afford to cooperate, don’t even think about it!”
That’s the point. Lara Trump and her father-in-law aren’t greedily asking poor Americans to send them whatever they can. It wants to reinforce the idea that there are millions of people who are being pushed into economic instability because of the policies of President Trump’s opponents.and that They clearly hope that this idea might encourage stranded donors to help make up for those who are no longer able to donate due to bidenomics.
How do we know President Trump isn’t too concerned about the economic position of his supporters? Because this is the same person who last month pitched his supporters to buy a Bible containing public domain text for $60, a portion of which goes into his pocket. The man argued earlier this week that the stock of his own social media company – whose fortunes have increased dramatically since it soared after the company went public – is worth investing in. This guy is hawking $400 sneakers and Trump-branded cologne. Who tried to get people to buy a $99 NFT, including a promotion that gave buyers part of the suit he wore in his mug shot?
This is a capitalist buffet of a habitual hustler who will definitely take your last dollar if you want to offer it to him, and maybe you really don’t. (You may remember that his 2020 campaign had to refund large sums of money to people who had inadvertently signed up for recurring donations.) If he tells you to keep it in his pocket, it’s probably because he wants something else from you. — like voting — or if he thinks it’s a way to get more money out of you later.
All of this aside, Lara Trump’s call for people to donate $5 has some utility, but it may just mean inadvertently agreeing to donate $5 a month indefinitely. It’s not just that there aren’t any. Political campaigns ask for your small donations because they include your contact information and an indication that you are willing to donate. something. They have a way to go from having no information about you to asking for an extra $5, $10, or $3,000 over the next six months.
Incidentally, in the latest YouGov poll, respondents from low-income households were more likely to support Mr. Biden over Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump had an advantage among middle-income people who were probably less likely to just scrape by.
So, once you’re done donating your $5 to the RNC, why not buy a few shares of Trump Media stock?
