Say What?
Here’s the deal.
The Secret Service reimburses presidential candidates for the expense of their protective agents flying with the candidate. For example, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has been reimbursed $2.6 million so far this election cycle for expense of the flights for her agents.
On the other hand, Donald Trump’s campaign has only been reimbursed $1.6 million, mainly because he qualified for protection later than she did. However, every dime of that money went to a company owned by … I don’t have to tell you, do I?
The difference with Trump is that one of his companies, TAG Air, Inc., owns the plane, so the government is effectively paying him.
The Clinton campaign, by contrast, mostly has been chartering planes from a private company called Executive Fliteways in which the Clintons do not have any ownership interest.
“The taxpayers are actually reimbursing Trump for the travel of the Secret Service agents,” said Brett Kappel, a campaign finance lawyer at the law firm Akerman LLP. “It’s just another example of how the Trump campaign has taken an unprecedentedly large amount of its money and spent it at Trump-owned facilities.”
Just another example. We know the agents stay in Trump hotels and eat at Trump restaurants and that is paid directly by the Secret Service.
So when he said he might be the first candidate tomato money off running for President, he wasn’t kidding.
Thanks to Portman for the heads up.
I’m sure he’s making money. So his campaign combines his two favorite things: people giving him money, and flapping his mouth in front of cameras and microphones about any damn thing that comes into his pointed head.
1Should he choose to accept it, there’s a mission for the Mighty Alfredo. Customarily hotels extend a government discount to people on official business. Any bets that Donnie is soaking the taxpayers full freight on those rooms and meals?
What does Donnie need with Secret Service protection? Can’t tough guy Donnie with his two thug sons Uday and Qusay take care of this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-9kZb9nDoE
2tomato money … to make money ?
3Tomato money?
4PKM: Remember when hotel room doors had the daily rates posted on the inside and those rates were outrageous? When thousands of southeast Texans evacuated for hurricanes they found out why. The nearest available rooms were in central or northern Arkansas. And a lot hotel/motels used those outrageous rates without catching any flak for price gouging. So yeah, you know Donnie’s got some scheme that we’ll read about in a year or two.
5P.P., Nevada here, home to Las Vegas and Reno. In times of maximum capacity and rates, it is not uncommon for hotels to demand 3-5 day stay minimums. You do not want to come here for New Years Eve.
As for Donnie, he should handle his campaign like he does the media – stay home and phone it in…..
6“Tomato money?”
7Tomato money — money made from selling the tomatoes that people throw at him.
8Posted to my FB page …
9Is tomato money like milk money and Drumpf, the bully, is stealing loads of our milk money?
10Spellcheck Strikes Again!
Or somebody’s doing a little organic gardening on the side.
11Why am I not surprised.
12Disgraceful and disgusting. Must that scamming sleaze bilk the tax payers for e dry thing ?
13Rhea: A+
14I have to admit that I’m in awe. This is truly the most complicated and audacious grift of all time.
15Not the only way Herr Trump is grifting-stealing from us.
16His latest fundraising letters to the suckers…err…supporters include one of those USPS Priority Mail envelopes.
Those are pretty high quality envelopes that the post office uses (you’ve all seen or used them), I’d guess they cost at least 50 cents each.
The Trump campaign is likely getting them for free, then sending them out in a fancy fundraiser package, pre-addressed for a return donation from some RWNJ. The actual return rate for these mailers is quite low, so most of these envelopes are wasted.
More of our money down the Trumpian rathole (yes, the USPS is a quasi-independent corp, but still administered by the US gov).